Free Siege (The Warrior Chronicles, 5) by K.F. Breene

but…” Cayan lowered to the ground next to Shanti, for once adopting her way. Usually he’d insist on bringing over a chair and getting her out of the dirt.
    “You want a childhood friend around, or is it you couldn’t deny him coming?” Shanti nudged Cayan with her shoulder. “Getting soft, Captain.”
    Cayan nudged her back. “Both, I think. I thought he’d died at one point. That…hit me. I didn’t make the decision with logic, as I should’ve.”
    “We’re human. Sometimes we need to feel our way instead of think it.”
    “I’ve come to that conclusion.” Cayan gave her a sideways glance before digging his fork into a piece of meat. “What do you think we’ll find in the Mugdock lands?”
    Shanti’s hunger evaporated. She pushed the contents of her bowl around. “You were there when we took down the Inkna-occupied city. You saw it firsthand.”
    Cayan’s eyes went distant. A spark of rage flared inside him. He bent to his bowl and lifted a piece of carrot slowly to his mouth.
    “We should have less trouble than with that city,” Shanti said quietly, forcing herself to eat. “From what I’ve heard, the Mugdock don’t have much of worth. The Inkna or Graygual will only be there as a gathering point closer to the Westwood Lands. I doubt Xandre has filled it with competent fighters. Not yet, anyway. As you said, he couldn’t have moved so many across the land that fast. Not without us hearing about it.”
    Cayan didn’t speak for a moment. He finished the rest of his meal in silence, and then just sat for a moment, waiting for Shanti. When she’d finished, he rose and helped her up before opening the flap for her to pass through.
    “Your women are unhappy you let them eat first,” Shanti said, forcing a lightness to her voice she didn’t feel.
    “They aren’t used to army life, and the cooks never make enough the first couple nights. I didn’t want them to be pushed to the back and then go hungry. Plus…I want them to fight for their pecking order. I don’t want it given to them.”
    “But aren’t you giving it to them now by making them go first?”
    “I’m making them angry. The anger will overcome any hesitation to assert themselves. Hopefully. Do you want to sleep among your people, or inside my tent?”
    Shanti slowed as her cat glided ahead of her. Two army men backed out of the way, and then swiftly changed direction. Cayan’s people were still leery about the animals.
    Cayan’s expression was unreadable, and strangely, so were his emotions. She couldn’t decipher what his intentions were. “Why, don’t you want me with you?” she asked.
    She could barely make out the ghost of his dimples in the flickering firelight. “I will stay with you. I wondered if you wanted us to be among your people?”
    “Oh.” His forearm was smooth as she let her fingers drift down and into his hand. She wrapped her fingers between his. “Your tent. I was never one of the pack in that regard. It has always made me stand out.”
    “And Rohnan?”
    “He’ll probably stay with one of the women. Which one, I have no idea. He always has more than a few options.”
    Cayan’s deep chuckle drifted into the night. “Then let’s retire. I have some things I want to do with you.”
    As always, her worry about what lay ahead shed from her like a coat in summer. Cayan’s gentle tug into their secluded quarters turned into a loving embrace and a deep kiss. His hands roamed her body before shedding her clothes, coating her skin in a soft touch. She slipped into their furs and accepted him between her legs, sighing when his body entered hers. It was hard to imagine she could ever cross the line into being the monster Xandre could create with Cayan to keep her grounded.
    Hard, but not impossible.
    Her climax stole her breath, but the horrors Xandre was capable of were not erased from her mind. The worst might yet be to come.

7
    S anders held up his hand to stop the train of horses behind him. He