Page 54 of Returned to the Vissigroth
“I don’t know about you,” she said, already checking the weapons strapped to her belt, “but I hate the idea of them going off on their own.”
“Agreed,” Oksana said without hesitation.
I felt it too, that twinge of unease. The mountains weren’t just stone anymore. They were mystery and threat, a graveyard of something ancient and angry. Letting the three most important males in our lives walk into that alone? Ney. Absolutely not.
Thalia turned to me, hesitating for the first time. “I want to hear everything. All of it. About you. About… everything.” Her voice caught. “But?—”
“Zyn,” I interrupted, already moving to fetch a cloak from the side of the tent, “let’s not let them get away.”
Oksana let out a short laugh. “Gods, you two really are related.”
Thalia grinned at me, wide and teary-eyed and filled with something fierce. “Come on, Mother,” she said, and the word made my insides fly. “Let’s make sure they don’t start the fun without us.”
I nodded, that thread of warmth inside me tightening, strengthening. “Lead the way.”
We crested the rise just as Darryck’s voice reached us on the wind, low but fervent. “…we'll send dragoons all around the mountains; there have to be openings, we just have to find them.
“Ladies.” Darryck saw us approaching first and threw out a warning to the others, who all turned to look at us.
“What can we do for you?” Myccael asked, too smoothly. His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“For starters, we’ll need nictas,” Oksana said brightly, a sugary smile aimed at her mate.
It was almost comical, watching all three warriors freeze and stiffen like they'd just been asked to hand over their swords.
“Ney,” Mallack said flatly, before Myccael could speak again. “Absolutely ney.”
Thalia’s brow rose. “Excuse me?”
Myccael stepped forward, his tone firm but not unkind. “I’m leading the vissigroths into a potential clash with Eulachs and outlaw remnants. That is no place for a seffy.”
Thalia’s boot crunched against the gravel as she took a sharp step forward towards Darryck. “Do you remember what happened the last time you went off to war on your own?”
Darryck stiffened like she’d drawn a blade. His mouth opened, then shut, then opened again. “That was different?—”
Oksana leaned toward me and muttered under her breath, “I heard it ended in a scandal and a duel.”
I blinked. “Aduel?”
She nodded, clearly not at all bothered by the prospect of a repeat.
Darryck seemed to rally. His voice rose, his shoulders squared. “This is not some border skirmish or hunting party. This iswar.It’s real, it’s dangerous, and I will not have the three of you marching into a potential ambush because of—” To his credit, he hesitated.
“Because of what?” Thalia asked, her voice pure velvet and venom.
He wisely didn’t answer.
Mallack stepped in then, his voice lower, quieter, but more final. “Daphne. If something happens to you again,” He stopped himself, jaw clenched. “Ney. I won’t let it happen.”
“I’m not fragile,” I said softly.
“I know,” he said, meeting my eyes. “But I’m not risking you either. Not until we know what’s waiting in those mountains.”
Myccael crossed his arms, nodding. “Same goes for you two,” he said, glancing at Thalia and Oksana. “This isn’t about what’s fair. This is strategy. We need you safe in case this turns into something larger.”
Oksana didn’t argue. Not with words. But the sharpness in her gaze promised a reckoning later. Thalia looked from Darryck to Myccael to Mallack, her eyes narrowing. “So you’re really doing this?”
“We are,” Darryck said, not unkindly. “And we’ll be back before dusk. Stay in camp.”
