He'd relented, which had led her here, watching Jason stomp back and forth as he muttered to himself. All the while he slapped a leather strip against his leg.
"How long has he been doing that?" Eva asked.
Ollie looked up from the hoof he was examining. "Since I got here a little while ago."
Eva looked over her shoulder to where Jane waited nearby. The Anateri had made it clear that wherever Eva went, she was to follow.
Considering Eva still felt rather discombobulated, she chose not to argue.
"You've got to talk to her. Do you know how long it took me to hunt down three of the horses last night?" Jason didn't wait for an answer. "Hours, Eva. Hours in the dark with those—" he waved his hands around. "Bugs. They could have eaten me. Left me as a Jason flesh sack."
Jason whirled, making rude gestures up at the rock formations overhead.
Eva wondered how he'd react if she informed him the Tenrin he was hoping to insult was on the opposite side of the cliffs.
"He's really worked up. I don't think I've ever seen him this mad before," Ollie observed as he propped a forearm against the horse he was tending.
"And I get to mediate. Lucky, lucky me," Eva muttered.
Ollie patted her shoulder. "Being Hardwick's number two suddenly isn't looking so bad anymore, Lady Caller."
Eva sighed, pushing off the rock she'd been sitting on. Besides some residual weakness, her muscles responded nicely. "You know I wouldn't have left if I hadn't had to."
Ollie winked at her. "I know, but don't expect to get out of the teasing. It's what family does."
Not Eva's family. At least not the one she was born to.
Eva waved up at the spot she knew the Tenrin was hiding. Unsurprisingly, the girl remained out of sight, not even a single feather showing.
"Lady Tenrin, could you stop scaring the horses. My apprentice tends to get a tad cranky when he's without sleep. Please and thank you."
Jason glared at her. "That's it?"
Eva lifted a shoulder. "What do you want me to do?"
"I don't get cranky," Jason flared.
"If you say so."
But that wasn't going to change the truth. Jason was a cranky pants when he didn't get enough shuteye. Everyone knew it. Eva. The horses. Everyone.
Before Jason could argue any further, Jane closed in on Eva. Jason went on alert, forgetting his anger.
"Movement in the sky," Jane informed Eva.
The Tenrin finally stirred from her cover, poking her head out enough to watch the approaching blobs of color before withdrawing after one penetrating stare.
Jason reached into his sack and pulled out a stick wrapped on one side with rags. He tossed it at Ollie before retrieving a second one along with flint and stone.
Eva watched with some amazement as they lit their torches with efficient movements.
"We practiced a little," Jason explained, seeing her gaze.
"Maybe more than a little," Ollie corrected.
With the familiarity both had displayed, they must have repeated the action dozens of times to be able to light the torches that quickly.
Warmth spread throughout her chest as Jason gave a jerky shrug.
"It only seemed appropriate to protect ourselves and the herd," he said.
They didn't have time for any more conversation as the blobs in the distance took on shape, revealing the Kyren as their unexpected visitors.
"I've been wondering when they'd show up," Ollie said.
Eva nodded, not entirely surprised that the Kyren were making a move on the very same morning she was allowed out of the tent.
They waited as the Kyren neared, landing a few feet away from them.
"Polaris, Danyon," Eva greeted, noting that Sebastian wasn't with them.
As the Kyren most friendly to humans, she took his absence as a sign that things weren't off to a very good start.
Jason drew close to Eva's back.
Eva gestured toward him and Ollie. "These are my friends—"
There's no need for an introduction to those who aren't important, Danyon interrupted.
Eva's shoulders tensed. Ollie and Jason, picking up on her mood moved closer. Their gazes jumped from her to the Kyren, their faces uncertain.
Eva gave her friends an awkward smile that felt stiff and unwieldy.
You said humans would prove themselves worthy. You were wrong, Danyon continued.
There was a sick feeling in her stomach, made even worse when she realized that two men she admired and respected were being insulted and didn't even know it.
It burned.
She'd expected push back from the Kyren. She'd anticipated having to defend herself and the Trateri over their decision to leave the valley and move closer to the herd lands.
That didn't stop the trembling in her hands as she clenched them into fists. It wasn't fear causing her to shake but rather rage. An anger she couldn't afford to release because doing so would jeopardize everything she'd worked for.
"Eva?" Jason asked uncertainly.
She shook her head at him, hoping he would let it go. He did, but she caught the slight flex in his features that said he'd guessed at what they'd said.
The excitement he couldn't hide faded and his gaze became cold and hard. He watched the Kyren, the way Caden or his Anateri would. As if they were adversaries who might need to be put down.
Ollie's stance firmed, his face no longer open or friendly.
Their reactions bolstered Eva. They reminded her that the alliance was important but not at the expense of their self-respect.
If being in the Kyren's good graces meant losing her voice when those close to her were hurt, she'd rather burn her bridges while she still could.
Eva's chin lifted as she met Danyon's eyes with a hard look. "Are you really this dumb?"
There was fire in Danyon's eyes as he stamped one foot and lowered his head, so his horns were pointed at Eva.
Alarm spread across Jason and Ollie's faces as they tugged at her.
Eva held still, meeting Danyon's challenge with one of her own. "I said the Trateri didn't harm the red backs, and they didn't."
"Eva?" Jason said again, sounding like he thought she was losing her mind.
She wasn't. She knew exactly what she was doing. Probably.
"And if you're going to insult my friends, maybe you shouldn't have come in the first place," she continued.
At their core, the Kyren were predators. They respected strength. Show weakness now, in this moment, and they'd see it as confirmation everything they believed about humans were true.
Brave words from someone who needs us, Danyon sneered.
Eva's eyebrows lifted. "Has there been some mistake? Whoever said we needed you?"
You are on the run. Hunted by your enemy. Without allies you won't survive.
"Maybe. Maybe not." Eva fixed Danyon with a calm expression. "But I'd rather die than compromise my honor. You don't have to like my friends, but you will respect them in my presence."
We didn't come here to argue, Polaris interrupted. Orion wishes to see you.
Eva couldn't say she was surprised. She'd been expecting this call from the moment she awoke.
"As you wish," Eva said, conceding.
Not that she had much choice. As brave as her words had been, she didn't really want to destroy the tentative ties between their two people. If there was room to compromise, she would.