Page 14 of Tamhas

“I don’t know. What do these Priestesses look like?”

He chuckled, but cleared his throat in an attempt to cover it up. “This is serious. This woman meant business. If she could injure three of us at once, imagine what might have happened if it had only been you. Alone.”

“Thank you for all the faith you have in me.”

“Enough.”

I sighed. “All right. No more joking.”

“Thank you.” He drew a deep breath. “I’m sure you know what this means.”

“I’m sure I don’t,” I said, suddenly dreading whatever it was he had in mind. If it was what I had the feeling it was, my trip was about to be cut short, before it even started. Either that, or I’d have no choice but to make him very unhappy.

“I cannot have you away from the mountain at this time. You need to return.”

I closed my eyes. It was inevitable, wasn’t it? He was bound to tell me to return after something, so out-of-the-ordinary had taken place. Hell, I would’ve done the same if I were in his shoes.

But he wasn’t in my shoes. He didn’t know what was at stake for me. His mistake was the same as Gavin’s: assuming we all were not just willing, but eager to always put ourselves second to the clan.

I’d been doing just that my entire life, and where had it gotten us? We’d still been kidnapped. We’d still lost half our numbers in the most horrific ways.

“I don’t know about that.” I looked down at the ticket I’d just purchased.

Silence. For much longer than I would’ve expected. Long enough that I thought for a moment, I’d dropped the call.

Before I could pull the phone from my ear to check whether we were connected, he spoke.

“What is it about my request that has confused you, Tamhas?”

He wasn’t happy. I’d expected that, naturally.

“If you want to know the truth? The fact that it wasn’t a request at all, but rather an order.”

“And what would you prefer, then? An engraved invitation? A car to pick you up and bring you back?”

“No. Simply the illusion that I have a choice in the matter.”

“Your safety is important to me,” he snarled. “Important to the clan as a whole. I’ve enough to keep me busy here without having to wonder where you are and whether you’re safe.”

“I’ll check in with you, if that’s your fear.”

“Why are you making this so difficult?”

“Because, this is important to me. If it weren’t, I wouldn’t put up roadblocks.”

He was quiet for a long time.

So was I.

One of us might say something we’d end up regretting if we didn’t control our tempers first.

“I’d prefer it if you returned. I would also appreciate it.”

My free hand curled into a fist. He was fighting to remain calm and civil, and I had to do the same—no matter how I wanted to tell him exactly what I thought about his preferences just then. “I understand. However, there’s something I must do for myself. I will return once I’m finished.”

“What could be so important?”

I sighed, unable to answer. “What if I promise to think about postponing my trip? Would that smooth things over for the time being?”

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