Page 35 of The Physician's Barbarian
His horse must not have appreciated the comment because he flicked Godr with his tail, and I swore he gave him a dirty look. Godr laughed, stepping out of range and squeezing my hand again.
“Ready, kolrav?”
“What does that word mean?” I asked as I climbed onto Rhoddgorr’s back. I was more than ready to go home.
“I will tell you when we get back,” he called over his shoulder, already trotting back the way he came. “Keep up with me now! I promised Sebastian you would be back within a week!”
My jaw dropped. “What?”
His laugh was carefree and happy, and when I nudged Rhoddgorr to catch up to him, and he raced ahead with a grin, I found myself laughing too. It wasn’t what I expected, but in this moment, heading toward my son and my home with the barbarian who swept me off my feet by my side, I finally felt free.
Twenty-Three
AMBROSE
“How?!”
Sebastian’s cackle made me smile as I stood outside our larger tent. While Godr had left to retrieve me, the clan had expanded his tent so that Sebastian could stay with us. He had a little section all to himself that he could close off to have his very own room. He loved it. There hadn’t been any part of joining the clan that he disliked. But I think the best part for both of us was that we could see each other whenever we liked. I didn’t come home late and run off again a few hours later, forcing him to care for himself. And when I was busy with a patient, he had Godr and the rest of the clan to watch out for him. He was a happy kid. And currently kicking Godr’s butt in a game Godr called stone circle. I was godsawful at it, but Sebastian picked it up like he’d been playing all his life.
Ducking into the tent, I found them seated at the low table, setting up another round. Godr mock-scowled at Sebastian, shaking a finger at him.
“You’re cheating somehow. I haven’t figured it out, but I will.”
Sebastian just grinned wickedly, putting his hands behind his head in a cocky pose that made me laugh.
“He doesn’t cheat. You’re just awful at that game,” I said as I kicked off my boots to come join them.
Godr gasped, staring at me with wide-eyed betrayal. “My own bondmate? How could you!”
Snickering, I smacked a kiss on his lips and jerked my chin at the game. “Go on. I want to see this so-called cheating.”
“I’m not cheating,” Sebastian said, then smirked. “I totally could, though. He’s really easily distracted.”
“True,” I nodded, snagging the bowl covered with a towel that had been set aside for me.
I couldn’t always eat with the clan if someone needed me, but Godr and Sebastian always made sure I was fed. I leaned against my bondmate as I ate, watching with a smile as Sebastian taunted Godr throughout the game. He was totally cheating, but I wasn’t going to say anything. Sebastian was the king of distractions, and Godr was very easily distracted. Especially now that I was home. He wrapped himself around me, only half focused on the game as Sebastian sneakily switched some stones around. They had little symbols painted on them, one set for each player. Each person tried to get their pieces across the board first, but I could never figure out how it worked.
While they played and teased, I let myself soak in the image of the three of us together. I’d thought after Alora died that I would spend the rest of my life alone, raising our son and running my practice, dealing with awful patients who never listened until stress or old age took me. Instead, I had a clan who cared about me, a team of healers to support me, and I got to raise my son with a loving man who was determined every day to make me smile. When I wasn’t busy, we went riding togetherand snuck private moments when Sebastian was off with his friends learning the ways of the clan. He might never be as big as the other boys born to barbarians, but he was fast and scrappy. Within days of meeting him, the other boys had accepted him like he’d been living there all his life. It was so much better than in town where he mostly avoided the other kids, who teased him for having a physician father who everyone hated. Here, he could truly be a kid.
A whinny made Godr’s head come up, and he kissed my temple, ruffling Sebastian’s hair as he went to put on his boots. “I’ll be back. Make sure he doesn’t cheat,” he said to me, laughing when Sebastian stuck his tongue out in response.
It didn’t surprise me that he wasn’t quick to come back. One of the mares was close to giving birth. He’d warned me he would need to help her when the time came. I took Sebastian to the river to wash up, and got him ready for bed. It was cold now, so there were small fires in the center of each tent to keep warm. I added a log and kissed my son good night, crawling into bed with a sigh of relief. The only thing better would be when Godr came to join me. He excelled at being my little spoon, and I slept better holding him.
“Ambrose, kolrav. Wake up. You must see this.”
I grumbled in protest. I didn’t want to get out of my warm bed yet. But Godr was insistent, and when I didn’t wake up fast enough, he started kissing me. If there was one thing that could get me to wake up, it was his lips on mine.
In my sleepy state, I momentarily forgot we shared a tent until Godr grinned against my lips.
“Soon. Come with me, rokhandar. I have a gift for you.”
Resigned, but still smiling, I let him tug me out of bed. I pulled on my boots while he checked on Sebastian, covering his little body with a thick fur to keep him warm. All those sappy, gooey feelings that Sebastian complained about whenever I sawhim and Godr being sweet came out, and I had to fight the urge to drag Godr off somewhere to show him my appreciation.
The cold winter wind whipped around me as we stepped outside. I shivered and curled in on myself, suddenly not feeling so sappy toward my bondmate who’d dragged me out here.
“Godr…”
“Trust me,” he chuckled, taking my hand and dragging me toward the field where the horses normally slept.
