Page 32 of Winds of Destiny

Chapter Eighteen

Cam

There’s nothing like some excellent sex to set the world to rights again.

Of course there’s more to life than sex—far more to the life of aprincethan sex, for certain—but as far as physical outlets go, it’s climbed past research at home and riding Lulu to sit close to the top of things I enjoy, just below using my power. Three nights in a row of passion followed by falling asleep against the broadest chest imaginable have left me feeling energized.

I wonder what it would feel like to use my power right now. I wonder how big of a wind I could create from the sheer sense of pleasure I feel. Strong emotions tend to fuel bigger breezes—my fear of Embros was enough to literally send me flying. If I were to let my powers out while Kai and I had sex, would I blow the tent clear off us?

It’s a fun thought, but my ability to use our city’s fabled power isn’t something I can reveal to the Dellians yet. My father insisted on this point—he called it a security measure, which I found ridiculous, since this escort exists to keep me safe. But when Turo agreed, saying it was better kept in reserve just in case something unexpected happened, I let myself be persuaded. It’s not like any of the Dellians are showing off their powers, either. The only thing I’ve seen them do so far is use the heat they can generate to inflate their special tents, which…

I had expected to sleep rough, under canvas, exposed to the chill of the night and the crawl of insects across my face. To my surprise and delight, my escort has packed special, two-layered tents that allow them to fill the space between layers with air heated by their powers. It takes time, but by the end of it, you have a tent so tall you can stand in it, a layer of hot air between you and the ground, and a very comfortable, bouncy surface for fucking.

If that’s the most their powers can do, it’s still pretty good.

I end up eating my words the very next day.

The first person to notice the sound is Turo, naturally. It’s the middle of the day, and I’m hot and sweaty andreallylooking forward to reaching an actual settlement tomorrow where I’ll be able to bathe, because all this travel has left me wanting to dunk my whole body underwater and scrub until I’m raw from soap instead of sun. It’s safe to say I’m not paying attention to much of anything at the moment, but the second Turo begins to move away I know it, even though he’s behind me. It’s like I have a sense that tells me where he is.

I brush my fingers over the pearl hanging from my neck as I turn and watch his long stride turn into a smooth, easy run to the top of the nearest berm. The land waves this close to the ocean are very tall, beyond what I can see over, even on Lu’s back.

“What’s he up to?” Kai asks, his brow furrowed. He’d never admit it, but he’s even more of a protector than Turo is, equally concerned for everyone in the group—well, possibly a bit more for me, but that’s because he’s got to keep me in form for his prince.

“Running off to piss, no doubt,” Rusen says, then lifts a hand to cup his mouth. He shouts something, but I don’t know what it is, because all of a sudden it’s all I can do to keep my seat as Lulu darts sideways and jumps, flapping her wings in a frenzy.

“Whoa!” I stroke her neck to try and settle her, but she’d not having it. She’s aquiver with tension, scratching up dirt with her claws like she wants to run. “What’s wrong with you?” I wonder.

“I think he’s about to tell us.” Kai points at Turo, who’s running back toward us much faster than he left. I can hear something now, a rumble that’s growing louder and louder.

“Aurochs!” he shouts. “A herd of them are running the trench! Get the wagons to higher ground, now!”

“Aurochs?” Bristleback aurochs are the largest animals that live on the plains, but despite their fearsome size, they rarely bother caravans. “Why are they running?”

“Something must have spooked them. Doesn’t matter.” He points toward the berm to the left. “Get up there and be ready to run if they turn toward you.”

Absolutely not. “I’m not leaving you here.” Wait, that sounds bad. “Anyof you,” I amend.

“Cam…”

“Close ranks,” Kai says, as if it’s just another day. “Wagons out, rams in. We don’t want anyone to get any ideas about charging.” His men get to work immediately, pulling the rams into place and putting chocks behind the wagon wheels so they won’t go anywhere.

Turo looks like he wants to pull his hair out. “Why are none of youclimbingalready?” he asks, taking hold of Lu’s halter and guiding her behind the wagons without bothering to ask me.

Well, fine. Then I won’t say “thank you,” either.

“The wagons won’t make it up this grade in time,” Kai says, and I can feel that he’s right. The ground is trembling—no wonder Lulu is distressed. “It’s fine. We’ll make them go around us.”

“A circle?” Rusen asks eagerly.

“A spear, I think,” Kai says, grinning. “And quickly. Weapons, set!”

The Dellians move to form a triangular shape in front of the wagons—and Turo and me. Kai is at the front, and as I watch, he puts his sword and shield out in front of him, their metal edges just touching. His men form up behind and beside him, two on one side and three on the other, and extend their own weapons until a mishmash of blades, staves, and shields are arrayed like the world’s most haphazard defense in front of us.

“Let it build,” says Kai commandingly. “Channel it, but give me control.”

“Control of what?” I glance at Turo, who’s still holding onto Lulu but looking out at the Dellians. He isn’t telling me to run anymore, which means he must have faith in what Kai is doing, I suppose. But whatishe doing?

Suddenly, the first of the aurochs rounds the corner of our trough a few hundred feet away. It’s a massive beast, with two-pronged horns that spread as much as six feet across and a back covered in bristling hairs so thick and matted they look like spines. It’s followed by a score more just like it, and it’s all I can do not to drag Turo up here next to me and flee. Five more seconds and—

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