"Summon the others. I have a feeling they'll want to hear what Eva has to say," Caden ordered.
Jane inclined her chin, jogging into the night.
"What are you doing outside the camp?" Eva asked, purposefully avoiding the sensitive subject that was most on her mind.
She only planned to explain herself once.
"We decided to change our methods concerning the prisoners," Caden pointed his knife toward a clearing with a single torch in it.
Eva's face held confusion as she spotted the two prisoners staked out on the ground.
For a moment, she didn't understand and then it clicked. He was using the threat of the swarm to terrify them, hoping one of them would break.
The look she sent him held admiration, as she was reminded once again the twisted paths this man's mind sometimes traveled down.
"Will you really let the swarm take them?" Eva asked.
"They certainly think so."
That hadn't been what she asked.
Eva ignored Van's small snicker as she focused on her lover.
Sensing her gaze, Caden slammed the tip of his knife into the ground. "I haven't decided."
Eva waited.
Finally, he looked at her. "What is your opinion?"
To an outsider, it would sound like he was asking her advice, but Eva knew that wasn't it.
In reality, he was trying to decide how much she could live with. How far he could push before she decided he was a monster.
His question was really asking if she could accept who he was.
The answer was yes. She could.
Caden was who he was. He might try to soften his edges, conceal his darkness and pretend he wasn't a killer, but Eva saw through him.
He wouldn't survive for long if he continued to throttle himself for fear of how she'd see him. Just like she wouldn't if she continued to pretend she was fully human.
Love wasn't about just showing someone one side of yourself. The prettiest of sides.
It was about seeing everything. All the ugly bits. The scars and jagged edges. The pieces that didn't fully conform.
It was about seeing all that and loving the person because of those bits. Not despite them.
If Eva denied him this part of himself, he'd suffocate. Pure and simple.
And that, she wouldn't allow.
"You do what you must," Eva said. "Besides, I thought our deal was you handle the human side while I wrangle the mythologicals. You're not trying to change it are you?"
Caden's smile was small. "No, lady."
Van harrumphed. "You really have no opinion about this?"
Eva shot him a look. "He has his skills; I have mine. Unless he crosses a line, I won't interfere."
"Where exactly is that line for you?" Van asked.
Sensing Caden's gaze on her, Eva left aside the fact this wasn't Van's business and answered. "Children and the truly innocent."
The rest were on their own.
Eva had never been the type to protect those who meant her harm. These lands were a dangerous place. They'd swallow the unwary in an instant. Sometimes you had to be brutal to be kind to the ones you loved.
Caden's thoughts were hidden as he inclined his chin. "Understood."
His word felt like a promise, though Eva hadn't really been worried.
Despite what outsiders thought of the Anateri commander, Eva knew he wasn't a mindless killer. Every action he took, every life he reaped was with one goal in mind—protect what was his.
Van let out a loud exhale. "How boring."
"If you want a fight, you can always go bother Chirron again," Caden said without looking at the Lion Clan leader.
Van relaxed, resting his head on his arms again. "Even I'm not that foolhardy."
Though the other man missed it, Eva caught Caden's amusement at Van's retort. It was a small gesture, barely more than the lifting of the corners of his mouth, but it was there.
Smiling, she let herself relax into Caden's side. Sitting here, Caden's strength soaking into her bones, she thought perhaps this ending to a night whose start had been so shitty wasn't half bad at all.
seventeen
Roscoe's jaw cracked around a yawn as he ambled in Eva and Caden's direction, his face still sleepy.
He didn't come alone, Ghost followed behind him. The man was pale but looked worlds better than the last time she'd seen him.
"Chirron let you out of bed?" she asked, somewhat surprised.
Chirron didn't strike her as someone willing to bend his own rules. He'd still been threatening to tie Ghost down if the warrior tried to set a limb out of his blankets when she'd made her own escape.
That hadn't been too long ago. Things shouldn't have changed to this extent.
"Chirron wasn't consulted." Chirron's knee length tunic flapped around his legs as he strode into view, his glare hot enough to light Ghost on fire.
A glare whose target quickly changed to Eva in the next second.
She stiffened at the burning accusation she saw there.
"I understand he's not the only one who has decided to treat my words as air." Chirron aimed a thin smile at Eva.
She knew that look. That tone. It was the same one her mother had once given her and Elis when they were in trouble.
Just like back then, Eva had to fight to keep from squirming. She'd done nothing wrong.
Despite knowing that, it didn't make her feel any less guilty.
She offered Chirron a stilted smile. "I wasn't left much choice in the matter."
And if she had to do it again, she would.
The healer would just have to accept that there were things out of her control. Tonight's events were one of them.
The look in Chirron's eyes was flinty. "I can't tell you how many times I've heard similar excuses. It's enough to think no one in the clans has a bit of free will."
Eva flinched at the stinging rebuke. One she probably deserved for her weak attempt at shifting blame.
In Chirron's place, she'd probably be just as furious if one of her charges disregarded her well-meaning instructions.
Granted, Caia had a habit of doing exactly that, and it drove Eva just a little bit crazy every time it happened.
Chirron's gaze swung back to Ghost. "And you—you're going straight back to bed as soon as this is over."
Ghost saw a spot on the ground and lowered himself with visible effort. "Guess that depends on exactly why we were all brought here."
Ghost listed to the side, Roscoe caught and steadied him with unobtrusive movements designed to preserve Ghost's pride.
Caden and Van pretended not to see, giving their attention to Gawain and Fiona as they joined, Jane at their back.
The Anateri gave Caden a nod to say everyone was here.
Fiona spotted Ghost. "You're up." Happiness lit her face as she jogged over, giving the man a one-armed hug.
Fiona's cheeks were still creased in a smile when she looked in Chirron's direction. "I thought you said he'd be down longer."
The healer's lips curled down. "Don't look at me. Apparently, nobody considers my advice worth listening to."
Fiona drew back from Ghost with a frown. "How are you feeling?"
There was a sweetness in Ghost's smile that was rare. Warmth and affection Eva suspected he didn't show to many.