"The same mist that brought you here?" Fiona asked with an intent expression.
There was a look on Roscoe and Ghost's faces that Eva recognized. It was the one they got before a hunt. Only this time, the things they wanted to hunt were humans.
Anticipation filled the air.
There was only one army the Trateri were interested in right now. The one that had sprung out of nowhere a few weeks back and had already claimed the life of one of their friends.
A woman by the name of Laurell.
Someone Eva had just begun a friendship with before everything fell apart.
Laurell gave her life for Eva. It was a debt she couldn't repay. Every person present, particularly Fiona, was itching for a little retribution.
And Van had just made that possible
"I know that look," Reece drawled, staring at Fiona. "Forget it. If the mist took them, they're long gone. Far from your reach."
"The mist spat this lot out. Could have done the same for the other side," Ghost suggested.
"Our people had a pathfinder," Reece said. "They didn't. The chances of them escaping the mist are so low I'm not going to bother to calculate them."
"But there is still a chance?" Fiona didn't wait for confirmation, aiming an expectant look at Caden.
After a protracted silence, Caden focused on Fiona and the other two. "Go. If there's even a small chance the army followed them here, we can't allow them so close to the Kyren herds."
Satisfaction chased across Fiona's face before it was gone.
"You coming?" she asked the other two.
Roscoe adjusted his sword belt, the look in his eyes savage. "Beasts couldn't keep me away."
Ghost's response was a simple nod.
"A few of my men can go with you to show you where we landed," Van offered.
Reece rolled his eyes to the sky in exasperation. "It's like talking to a wall. Not one of you paid attention to anything I said about the mist."
Eva thought it was more that they simply didn't care. No Trateri made it through life without taking a few risks. Fiona and the rest had probably considered the outcomes and decided they were worth the possible consequences.
"Observation only," Caden warned, ignoring Reece's complaint. "And I want you all back by dawn tomorrow."
Roscoe and Ghost let out a piercing whistle to summon their horses as Fiona paused to study Caden. "Are you coming? I know you want them as bad as I do."
Caden's gaze caught Eva's before he looked away. "I'll catch up if I can. There are matters that need my attention here."
Eva suspected she was the primary reason for that decision, even if he didn't say it. Part of it, she knew, was to reinforce her authority with Gawain and Van.
Fiona and the rest had learned to listen when Eva spoke. These new Trateri didn't have the benefit of that experience. There was no guarantee they wouldn't try to override her authority.
As someone they perceived as an outsider, she was an easy target if they decided to give her a hard time.
There was also the matter of Caden's overprotectiveness. He knew just as well as she did that being Trateri didn't excuse you from the pettier characteristics that came with being human.
New people meant new threats. Until Caden had assured himself that the clan leaders and their people weren't a danger to Eva or their mission, he'd be fairly insufferable.
She could see it now. The hovering. The making of new rules. Any privacy she'd managed as he relaxed his vigilance over the past few weeks would be gone.
Eva exhaled, feeling resigned.
Caden's love came at a price. An intense, driving need to assure the safety of the people within his heart. It was essential to him. Close to an obsession, one stemming from the uncertainty of his own childhood and the role he'd chosen to take on as an adult.
Before Eva, Fallon Hawkvale was the one Caden had placed the entirety of his focus. He'd made a habit of eliminating any threat to his Warlord before it could ever truly grow to a danger.
Eva's arrival had changed things and with them Caden's priorities.
"You sure?" Fiona asked.
"Go. I can see them back to camp," Eva urged.
He needed to do this, and they both knew it.
Caden's jaw flexed as he stared Eva down, torn between two opposing needs.
"Go," Eva said again. "This is important too."
If this rebel army Van was chasing had managed to escape the mist, they needed to know—and prepare.
Sometimes, even if the mess wasn't yours, you still had to clean it up.
three
Fiona slanted a glance at Caden. "She has a point."
"I know," Caden said.
But just because you knew something in your head didn't mean your heart agreed. Caden was a man of duty, his needs coming second to his responsibilities. Even if he wanted to stay, Eva knew he had to go.
It was who he was. She wouldn't change that. It was why she'd fallen in love with him in the first place.
"You going to be okay? I can stay if you need." Fiona quirked an eyebrow at Eva.
Eva aimed a wry smile at her friend.
Staying behind was the last thing Fiona wanted—which was why Eva appreciated the fact she'd offered.
Over the past few months, it was obvious her friend hadn't been exactly herself. Laurell's loss had affected all of them, but especially Fiona.
The desire for vengeance was a vicious mistress, and it had ridden Fiona hard. Her friend had lost weight and there were dark circles under her eyes that Eva knew came from sleepless nights staring at the mountains.
Eva had seen her out there more than once while making her periodic midnight rounds to check on her charges.
Eva saw how Fiona's inaction chafed, chipping away at her until shadows lingered behind her eyes.
Fiona hid her frustration well, but Eva had learned to be observant and the things she was seeing in her friend said she was getting close to her limit.
Sometimes waiting was the hardest thing. It could grate on the soul—especially when you yearned for a resolution.
"I'll be fine," Eva assured them.
She looked up to find Caden's gaze trained on her. He didn't have to say a word. His silence spoke volumes.
"I will," she said again.
It was as much to reassure herself as him. Eva couldn't always hide behind Caden. Sometimes, she had to stand on her own. Even if the pit of her stomach was telling her what a bad idea that was.
"Besides, something tells me we're going to have a visitor soon. If anything can get their attention and compel them to finally open up communication, this will."
When that happened, it wouldn't matter whether Caden had stayed on not.
Caden dropped the mask he imposed between himself and the rest of the world. It was something he did only rarely—and usually when it was only the two of them.
Eva had always known Caden's love wasn't a wildfire. It wouldn't burn hot and brief, scorching all those involved and leaving them forever changed. Instead, it was like the mountains that surrounded them. Steadfast and deep. Quiet, yet always there. A silent support that never wavered.
Behind his mask was acceptance and the acknowledgment that Eva was right.
She reached out and squeezed his hand, knowing he needed the connection as much as she did. "Come back safe."