"What. The. Fuck?"
"Eva did tell you not to mess with the fire fox," Caden said. "Now you know one of the reasons why."
Van sputtered, looking out of sorts. "One reason? You mean there's more?"
Gawain moved up beside them. "That was interesting. Care to explain why the creature seemed fixated on you?"
"He wasn't after me.” Caden’s jaw clenched. "This was meant to distract us."
And he'd fallen for it.
"Looks like they're finally stopping for a break," Ollie observed as the warriors in front of them slowed.
"About time. We've been riding for hours." Jason shifted in his seat with an uncomfortable expression.
Ollie sent him a look. "Don't tell me your ass is hurting. What are people going to think of a herd master who can't even take this little bit of riding?"
Jason straightened with a scowl, his mouth opening on a sharp retort.
"Enough, you two," Eva cut in, preoccupied with checking the back trail for what felt like the hundredth time.
Fiona and a few others, including Buck and Witt, had disappeared down it quite a while ago. They had yet to come back.
There was an uneasy feeling in the pit of Eva's stomach that had only grown as the morning dragged into the afternoon.
Nothing had happened yet, but there was a tension in the air that made her think it was only a matter of time. A quiet in those around her that had Eva on edge.
"We all had to start somewhere," Eva told Ollie, determined not to let her uneasiness get the best of her. "Or did you forget all the trouble I had the first few times we had a movement on horseback."
Ollie flashed a grin of remembrance. "That was fun. I'll never forget your face after that first day. You looked so upset."
Damn right she had. And that first day had nothing on the second. She'd reached a level of uncomfortable she didn't know was possible.
"Yet, you somehow managed to forget to tell me about muscle balm," Eva reminded him with a glare.
Instead, he'd let her suffer. And suffer she had. That first week with the Trateri had been agonizing.
Ollie looked unrepentant. "I had to see what you were made of."
Eva gave him a sidelong look. More like he'd wanted to play a prank on the newbie.
"Besides, there's a difference between you and him," Ollie said with a sly smile. "You weren't Trateri. He is."
Jason grimaced.
"You're getting soft if this short ride is enough to make you uncomfortable," Ollie told him in a frank tone. "That's what staying in one place will do to you."
"Give it a rest, old man," Jason groused.
Ollie sucked in a breath. "Who are you calling old?"
Jason sent him a victorious look. "Do you even have to ask?"
"I'm only a few years older than Eva," Ollie argued.
Eva held up a hand. "Don't drag me into this."
It was enough that she'd probably have to play mediator for the next few hours. No way did she want to be any more involved.
"Too late," Ollie said.
Eva's response was forestalled as a Trateri rode up to them.
"We'll be stopping for a short while. Might as well get comfortable and stretch your legs while you can."
Jason groaned with relief, already dismounting.
Eva sent the Trateri a grateful nod. "Thanks for letting us know."
She made to dismount when she noticed the Trateri hadn't moved.
The woman cleared her throat. "Your friends are a little way ahead."
Eva frowned, not missing the hesitation before the word friends. There were only two she could think of that would cause that sort of reaction.
Jason paused in the act of stretching as Eva settled back onto Caia. "Where are you going?"
"To see my friends."
"Wait for me," Jason called, grabbing for his horse's reins.
Ollie smirked at him. "Not going to ride after her?"
Jason scowled and hurried after Eva on foot. She shook her head with a grin, putting the two out of her mind.
She didn't have far to ride before she found the reason for the woman's hesitation. Eva slowed Caia, wanting to observe the tableau in front of her before she made her presence known.
Brisa frowned down at a set of cards held in front of her chest. Warin was in front of her, a few Trateri Eva didn't recognize next to him.
Judging by their clothes they were a mix of Lion and Rain.
Sebastian peered over Brisa's shoulder with an intent, focused expression.
In the middle of the group was the pile of the shiny pebbles Brisa had managed to take from Warin this morning.
Eva started to understand why the woman had warned her. She shook her head, not knowing whether she should be impressed Warin found a way to negotiate his pebbles back or worried.
Sebastian studied the cards, absentmindedly working his mouth.
"Are you going to play or not?" Warin grumbled. "You're taking too long."
"We are thinking," Brisa snapped.
She and Sebastian went back to staring at their cards as Jason arrived next to Eva, panting lightly. "What did I miss?"
Eva nodded at the group. "See for yourself."
Jason squinted with a frown. "They're playing cards?"
"That's how it appears," Eva answered.
It seemed Brisa wasn't willing to wait for Roscoe to teach her and had found someone else to learn from.
Eva would feel better about that if she didn't know how the Trateri viewed their games. They considered newcomers fresh meat and were known to muddy the rules in their favor.
Something Eva didn't think either Brisa or Sebastian would appreciate.
Eva's suspicions were confirmed seconds later when Brisa set a card down in the middle and Warin laughed.
"Warlord beats scout," he said. "That means this round goes to me."
Brisa eyed the stones with a frown. "I thought scout beats Warlord when assassin is played the round before."
Warrin shook his head. "Only if soldier isn't played by another player."
"Ah, crap," Jason said. "Those idiots are changing the rules."
Eva glanced at him in startlement. "How can you be sure?"
"Because those aren't the rules," Jason said, raising his voice so those playing could hear.
Brisa and Sebastian lifted their heads to stare in his direction.
Jason's expression soured. "They're playing you."
"Stay out of it," Warin snapped. "This doesn't concern you."
"It does if you're cheating," Jason responded.
"It's only considered cheating if you're caught," the woman across from Warin argued.
"Which you just were," Eva said. "Play properly."
"Or what?" she sneered.
Eva fixed her with a calm look. "Or else your opponents might decide to eat you."
The woman and Warin shot uneasy glances at Brisa and Sebastian. As if on cue, the two smiled, showcasing pointed teeth capable of shredding muscle and cracking bone.
"Fine, we won't count this round," Warin conceded.
Brisa smirked, a twinkle in her eye that said she'd known all along that they'd been trying to scam her. "Shall we continue?"