In camp, she was surrounded by other Trateri. Out there, she'd be vulnerable and alone.
"You can borrow my tent," Fiona inserted. "I won't be sleeping in it tonight."
Eva nodded, grateful for the offer. "I'll head there once I've reassured myself the herd is alright."
Eva gave Caden a warning look when he opened his mouth to argue.
"I have to take Caia back anyway."
The mare lifted her head from where she'd been investigating the wreckage of Eva's tent. There was an almost surprised expression on her face, as if she'd hoped no one would notice the hundreds of pounds of horse flesh standing right beside them.
Caden's face wasn't happy. In fact, it was perilously close to grumpy. An emotion not often associated with her stoic commander.
To her surprise, he didn't argue. "Very well."
His nod was short before he stalked after Jane and Drake.
Van lingered, his face holding a surprisingly astute expression. He shot Gawain a glance. "Coming?"
"You couldn't keep me from this." Gawain strode after Caden.
"I'd think after your experience with Caden's brand of interrogation you'd want to stay as far away as possible," Van called.
Gawain's shoulders bunched, but he didn't turn around, ignoring Lion Clan's leader as the other man sauntered in his wake.
Fiona lifted her eyebrows at Roscoe and Ghost. "Choose."
Eva glanced between them. "What are they choosing?"
"They know," Fiona said, not looking away from her men.
"It's your turn. I went last time," Roscoe said.
Ghost folded his arms over his chest and sneered. "No dice. I paid you back by taking your place to watch over the camp."
Understanding dawned and Eva rolled her eyes. "You're talking about who gets to stay behind with me."
The men gazed at Eva with identical looks of stupid before resuming their conversation as if nothing had happened.
"I still say you do it," Roscoe drawled. "I haven't sat in on a good torture session in weeks."
"I'll be fine." Eva waved her hands at Polaris. "There's a Kyren right here."
"No offense." Fiona shot a not-quite apologetic look that was much too frank to be in the realm of true apology at Polaris. "But we don't trust the Kyren any more than they do us. She's important to the Trateri and me personally."
Polaris's ears tilted forward. If he took offense, he was holding those feelings close. Eva couldn't catch even a hint of his emotions.
Ignoring the Kyren, Fiona pinned Eva with a stare. "If you're going out to the herd, you're taking one of them with you. I've already lost one friend. Don't make me lose another."
When Fiona put it like that, how could Eva say no?
She lifted a hand to show she wouldn't interfere.
"We could do it," Buck offered as he and Witt joined them.
Roscoe scoffed. "Thanks, but we've got it."
"What? You don't trust me?" Buck's grin was teasing as he sauntered away, saying over his shoulder. "I'm hurt."
Witt gave Eva a respectful nod before following his companion.
I am leaving as well. Don't forget we are watching you.
"Not much chance of that when you remind me every other minute," Eva muttered as Polaris spread his wings and took flight.
Roscoe and Ghost's argument fell silent as they took in the Kyren's passage.
Roscoe was the first to cave. "Fine, I'll go with her. But you owe me."
Ghost clapped him on the shoulder and hurried away before he could change his mind.
"You two make it seem like I'm a burden or something," Eva remarked.
"It's more that neither of us have gotten to see the commander break someone. It's a good opportunity to learn new skills."
Eva didn't know how to respond, so she turned her attention to Caia.
"Well, my dear, have enough fun for the night?"
Caia snorted, letting Eva take hold of the halter and guide her to the field where Ollie and Jason were probably waiting.
"We need to have a talk about your propensity for attacking creatures much more dangerous than yourself," Eva told the mare.
Wouldn't it be nice if something as simple as that would solve all her problems?
twelve
Caden shadowed the Anateri and their two prisoners, ignoring the clan leaders following him.
Movement in the darkness caught his attention. Caden's lips curved. It seemed Covath wasn't as sanguine about giving up his prisoners as he pretended.
Caden would bet anything he owned that Tenrin surrounded them, ready to report back regarding Caden's actions.
That was alright. Let them watch.
This would be a good lesson for them in what happened to the Trateri's enemies.
Caden didn't plan to hide his brutality nor was he concerned about what his actions might reveal.
He was what he was. A killer.
Their allies would either accept that fact or they wouldn't. Caden couldn't change who he was.
He could try. For Eva, he would. But he knew himself and this world. He could only pretend to be a bunny for so long before his fangs and claws wet themselves in blood.
If he was destined to fail, why go through the trouble?
Besides, the Kyren and Tenrin had their own dark sides. In that way, they were more similar to Caden than Eva. Maybe that was why they were all so drawn to his herd mistress.
She had a light inside of her that made beings like them want to bask in its glow.
Possess it for their own.
It was his job to make sure no one ever got the chance to damage that light.
And he always accomplished his mission.
"Anyone ever tell you, you're a bit scary when you get that look in your eyes." Van smacked his lips in dissatisfaction when Caden continued to ignore him. "I'm surprised to find you so eager to take up this role. I would have thought you’d want to keep this side of yourself from the pretty herd mistress."
Caden could feel Gawain's sharp gaze on him, even as the other man was careful to keep his presence low-key. Fallon's foster brother had grown smarter since he was arrested under suspicion of trying to assassinate the Warlord.
If he wasn't still a threat to Fallon's rule, Caden might even find himself liking the other man.
"Is it because you're bored of playing the noble hero?" Van mused, undeterred by Caden's silence. "I imagine for a man like you it's hard to resist getting your hands dirty."
Van had always been the talkative sort. As adept at verbally poking a person's weak spots and exposing chinks in their defenses as he was at physically pounding others into submission.
He pecked and pecked until he discovered a person's soft underbelly.
It was probably why he had lasted so long as leader to the most volatile of the clans.
He acted simple, even when he was anything but.
Fiona caught up, Ghost a shadow at her side. She sent Caden a fierce look. "Where are they?"
Caden nodded to the tent Drake and Jane had just dragged the prisoners into.
Fiona wiped her palms on her pants, the only sign of her nerves. She licked her lips as she stared at the tent, thoughts moving behind her eyes.