Eckbert’s village had already agreed to the treaty. If they tried to go back on their word, Shea feared what might happen to them.
“That is the number that was agreed upon when you signed the treaty. Are you saying that you’re unable to meet these terms?” Fallon’s voice was calm, not giving any hint to his thoughts.
Shea looked up at him in concern, noting the suddenly alertness on his face, like that of a wolf that had just scented prey. His body was tense where it touched hers. She liked these people and didn’t want to see them end, not when it was her stories that had led the Trateri to them.
His hold tightened on her and his eyes dropped to hers in warning. Her mouth thinned, but she kept her council. For now.
Eckbert waved his hand. “Bah, of course we can. That’s not the problem. I want to know why you’re not taking more of our hunters. I can easily give you double that.”
The response was met with a long silence. Fallon blinked at Eckbert in a rare moment of surprise. Caden and the other Anateri studied the other man with undisguised curiosity.
“This is an unusual request,” Fallon’s response was slow in coming. “I’m afraid you have me at a loss.”
Eckbert gave a grunt, sounding more like a crotchety old man. “Yes, I imagine so when you’re dealing with the land dwellers. You’d be hard-pressed to find an honest one among them. For the most part, we avoid them since we’ve had trouble with them in the past. Greedy lot, but none of them want to work for what they have.”
Fallon studied Eckbert, his expression calculating. Shea could almost hear the thoughts turning over in his head. “What is your reasoning behind offering me more men?”
“You take more men; they get to see the world. Maybe when they come home they bring wives.” The elder’s face turned crafty. “Maybe even Trateri wives.”
One of Fallon’s men choked, his laugh disguised as a cough.
Fallon nodded. Only someone who knew him well would be able to tell that the response amused him.
“I’m sure we can accommodate you. I will speak to my generals to find places for the extra men.”
The elder threw his arms out wide, the cane hanging down uselessly, “Aiie, that is outstanding.” He shuffled forward, his balance slightly wobbly without the cane. Fallon’s guards stiffened as the elder got close to Fallon and Shea, his hands lightly patting both of their faces.
“And you must come for dinner tomorrow night. We will throw a feast to celebrate. There will be much entertainment.”
He released Fallon and gestured forward several of his people, all women that Shea could tell. They giggled as they advanced, swarming toward Fallon and Shea.
Caden stepped forward, trying to use his body to usher the elder and the others back. “The Warlord is a busy man.” He was only half-successful. He managed to keep Fallon out of reach, but the women transferred their attention to Caden, who quickly found several pairs of hands patting his cheeks—and other portions of his anatomy.
“We’ll be there,” Shea volunteered, finding herself inordinately amused by how uncomfortable the attention was making Caden, a man who usually possessed confidence and a raw power that warned others of his danger. She looked up at Fallon pointedly. “Won’t we?”
Humor danced behind his eyes, before he broke her gaze and looked back at Eckbert and the women tittering every time one of them touched Caden. “We wouldn’t miss it.”
“Aiie, brilliant.” Eckbert clapped his hands and started shuffling back towards Fallon. Caden grabbed him and tried to steer him away.
“That’s enough. He gets it. You can’t just grab onto the Warlord whenever you want. There’s a protocol to these things.” Caden’s voice was irritated as he tried to keep from getting entangled in Eckbert and the other women’s affections again.
Shea bit back a laugh, finding the sight of the normally austere commander flustered too funny to resist.
Fallon leaned down, saying into her ear, “I think we best get going before Caden feels his only recourse is to draw his sword.”
Shea snickered and took the lead, skirting the women and Caden as Fallon chuckled and followed.
“Fallon, where are you going?” Caden asked, the faintest trace of outrage in his voice.
“You seem to have this well in hand,” Fallon called back.
“Fallon! Damn it, Fallon?” Caden tried to keep the women at arms distance with little success. There were just too many of them. Together they were bolder than they would have been if there had been just one or two. “Curse it, I’m not a damn toy. Let me go.”
By now Fallon and the other two guards were laughing outright at Caden’s struggles as the rest of them continued past.
“We should run. He’s going to be angry when he finally gets free.” Fallon grabbed Shea’s hand and took off. She followed, her unrestrained giggles making it difficult to keep up. Her humor in the situation lasted almost the entire trip down the tree.
*
Caden’s molesting by the village women and the clear unease of the Anateri as they began their descent down the tree—something only possible through the use of ropes and flimsy ladders—lifted Shea’s mood. Seeing hardened warriors pale-faced and wide-eyed when it came time to step out into nothing with only the promise of a sturdy rope in your hands to keep you from falling went a long way to restoring some of her dignity.
As soon as they set foot in camp again, Fallon withdrew, projecting the fierce warlord again. She hadn’t realized how relaxed he’d become in her presence until now. Shea knew it was inevitable. He’d been easy-going and comfortable on the trip down, but as they got closer she could tell he was mentally drawing on the mantle of his station. It was enough that he’d been willing to have their brief interlude.
They hadn’t even reached their tent when the new general approached, his eyes flicking to Shea and then away in dismissal.
“Fallon, I’ve been looking for you all morning.”
Fallon stopped, turning his attention to his general. Shea continued on. She had no interest in getting caught in their conversation. She had many things to think on. Though their climb down had been pleasant, it did nothing to solve any of the many problems they faced. She needed to reassess—figure out how she felt about things. Listening to the general, a man who clearly had no respect for her, would not make that an easy task.
“Shea, a minute, if you please,” Fallon said to her back.
Shea turned and looked at him, her eyebrow raising in question. He had a pleased expression on his face, like a smug feline. Her eyes narrowed on him. She didn’t like when he got that expression on his face. It usually meant he was going to convince her to do something she definitely didn’t want to do.
“Braden had a few questions about the beast board instituted by the Horse clan. He’d like to see if it’s feasible to implement such a board throughout the rest of the army.”
Braden’s face was neutral as he looked from Fallon to Shea, but Shea got the feeling that he was impatient over having Fallon’s focus split—that he’d have preferred if Fallon hadn’t called her back. It was a feeling Shea reciprocated.
“Yes, I had heard mention that some of the other clans might be interested in replicating what Clark and Charles created.”