Chapter 2 Scene 2

Nahl stared at the giant beast of a ganda Dros had led out for him. He wasn’t a very experienced rider and this animal was clearly going to be too much for him, but he wasn’t sure how he could relate that to Dros for whom riding was as easy as walking.

Dros noticed the expression on his face and chuckled. He gestured toward Nahl’s hand. “May I?”

Of all the people in Nahl’s life, none was more sensitive to the difficulties of a sightborn than Dros. That was probably for the best, considering how unsettling touching Dros unprepared could be. He braced himself for the inevitable onslaught, then nodded. The instant Dros’s skin touched his, he was flooded with sensations and emotions. After a moment, the rush ebbed and he could sort through the tangle.

Duty stood above all else in Dros’s mind. The rage that was the battleborn part of him simmered well below the surface, so Nahl could only sense the barest echo. Returning to the front would bring the beast Nahl had worked so hard to soothe out from hiding once again. He had to end this war, before Dros could no longer find his way back.

“You feel very focused today.” Nahl smiled, and hoped the lie was convincing.

“Lots to do.” Dros lifted his arm and placed the flat of Nahl’s hand against the ganda’s muscular gray neck. “This is Cordone.”

The connection from the ganda was a trickle compared to the torrent he still felt from Dros, but within a few beats the sense of her clarified. The animal was possibly the most steadfast creature Nahl had ever touched. Unquestioning loyalty to Dros drove her. She would, and probably had, wade through fire if he asked it of her.

Cordone turned to inspect Nahl with a dark eye, and promptly disregarded him in favor of pushing her head against Dros’s arm. Dros smiled at her and patted her thick muzzle, heedless of the sharp horns that sprung from her head. “She’ll take care of you.”

Nahl understood without question that she would. “Isn’t she usually your mount?”

“I wouldn’t trust your safety to another ganda.”

“Will not having her put you in danger at the front?”

“I don’t fight from the saddle. I need my feet on the battlefield to have the most impact.”

Nahl swallowed. “Will I get to see you fight?” He’d never seen Dros in full battleborn rage and the idea both excited and frightened him. The connection between them wavered as if something opaque passed between them.

“I hope not.” Dros glanced over Nahl’s shoulder toward the reach. “Cosi is coming to say her farewells.” He released Nahl’s hand. “It’ll be easier if we’re not together, I think.”

Nahl drew in a long breath. The sudden isolation hurt like a slap, it always did. “Of course.” He watched Dros go to meet Cosi, but didn’t have long to miss him before Gnar appeared at his feet, begging to be picked up. She coiled around his legs, green eyes imploring.

He cradled her in one arm and scratched her between her long ears with the other. She knew what his packing meant, and her anxiety bled into him through his fingers, heightening his own. “You can’t go. It’s much too dangerous.”

She growled in a way that was adorably disapproving.

“No, I mean it. Don’t try to follow either.”

Cosi swept in then, and took the ulka from him. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Gnar grumbled, but Cosi settled her with stern look.

Grinning, Cosi grabbed Nahl’s beard and pulled him down into a kiss. The wild and confident sense of her filled him until he thought he’d burst. Her desire beat against his chest like a second heartbeat. Deeper there was another emotion, one he’d never felt in her before; something protective…

He pulled back from the kiss gasping.

She stared into up into his eyes. “You know.”

“You should have told me.”

“I couldn’t. You never would have agreed to go.”

“No, I wouldn’t have, and I won’t now. I’m not leaving you here unprotected while you’re-”

She shushed him before he could say the word aloud. “I’m not the one who needs your protection right now. You have to end this war before we lose him. I want you both home safely before it’s time.”

Nahl glanced toward Dros who stood at his mount looking off into the distance as if he heard something there no one else could. She was right. He knew it and he hated it all once. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Cosi sighed. “Thank you.”

“You should hear something soon from the agents I sent to investigate Farina. Watch your back in the meantime.”

“I’ve been watching my back since the day she was born.” She lifted onto her toes to kiss him again. Her affection for him wrapped around him like a warm cloak on a snowy evening. “Be safe.”

She turned away before he could say anything in response. On her way back to the reach she wiped her eyes with her free hand, Gnar held tightly in the other. Even without touching her, Nahl was certain she wouldn’t have wanted him, or anyone else, to see.