“He has a fan club now,” Senri told her, rolling her eyes. “His half-Elvasi bloodline isn’t detracting from his uniqueness among the Andinna. A lot of females are eyeing him like a piece of meat.”
“Gods,” Mave groaned, rolling her eyes as well, then remembered her own errant thoughts every time she saw him or even began to think of him. “He is a good-looking male, isn’t he?”
“He’s bulkier since you’ve left,” Allaina practically purred.
“I noticed that. He’s been working a lot, practicing. He’s going to be an exceptional warrior.” Mave chuckled. “So, if he’s so attractive, why has no one grabbed him up?”
The three women looked around, and it was Senri who answered.
“From the perspective of a female who isn’t interested in him, I would hazard to guess he’s unapproachable. He spends all of his time with Trevan, a pure Elvasi, and Dave, the resident human. Trevan will keep them wary. What really holds off all the young females who have taken interest is you.”
“Me?” Mave huffed. “I haven’t been here for a season.”
“Well, not so much you but what you’ve done. You have them being trained by your males, and they talk to Alchan on a first name basis. In your efforts to protect them from others, you’ve put them high in the ranks.”
“Good. I’m glad they’re being respected. And honestly, if Emerian is interested in any female, in particular, he’ll learn to approach her. She shouldn’t feed him an easy fuck.” Mave shrugged. Mave had never really considered Emerian’s sex life her business.
Now that she considered it, she had no problem with other females steering clear of him. She had laid eyes on him when he came off the ship, and her attraction had been immediate. Since then, she lived with the attraction, as she did with dozens of males, without ever acting on it. Males were nice to look at, but that didn’t mean she wanted to keep all of them. If she was accidentally keeping him from being happy with a female more appropriate for him, then there was an issue.
“That’s…problematic,” she mumbled to herself.
That made all of them turn on her, eyebrows going up.
“Please explain,” Senri said, leaning in.
“If I don’t want him, but I’m inadvertently chasing other females away, I need to correct that,” Mave said, sipping on her wine as she pondered the problem.
“You might need to give him a guiding hand or have someone in the Company do it,” Allaina said pointedly. “He’s a lot like you. He doesn’t really know what to do with Andinna culture, not yet. Lessons from a book are different from really living it, and he’s not really living it, not when he’s hanging out with Trevan and Dave all the time.”
“I’ll do it,” Mave promised, taking another sip. “If I can’t, I’ll send Matesh or Luykas after him. Are you interested in him, Allaina?”
“No, I have my hands full.” Allaina side-eyed Yenni, who growled in that satisfied way everyone knew the implication of. Allaina was going to be the handful once no one was looking.
The conversation could go no further. Drums began in the village, sounding off to tell everyone in the valley something was happening.
“I bet I know who that is,” Senri said softly. “Mave?”
“I need to get to Alchan. If one of his generals is here, I need to be at his side. Politics.”
“You use whatever excuse you want. I’ll follow, slowly. I’m probably going to walk.” Senri stood slowly, stretching her back.
“I need to leave with Mave. Yenni, could you walk Senri back to the village?” Allaina fixed her long black hair, running her fingers through it to make it look tamed.
“I will.” Yenni shifted to warrior in a heartbeat, from friend and lover to protector and guard.
Mave jumped first, Allaina following.
As they approached the village, Mave saw Alchan flying in and followed him to where he landed. He nodded to her, the only acknowledgment. Allaina landed beside her, clasping her hands and squaring her shoulders.
“I have to make a stronger impression than the last time Seanev rode into the village with Leria and a bunch of warriors,” she whispered to Mave. “So he can report to Leria, I’m strong and don’t need any of her damn advice anymore.”
“Females,” Alchan muttered under his breath. Mave reached out and slapped his arm with a soft growl, getting a chuckle in response. He looked back at her, revealing a smile. “I didn’t expect you to come. He’s passed over the ridge. They’re moving fast. He’ll be here any minute.”
“Where’s Rain?”
“He’ll be here any moment.” Alchan looked up, and Rain was hovering to talk to someone, pointing out directions and different areas of the valley. When he landed, he gave a wounded sigh.
“We went over placement of Seanev’s warriors weeks ago, and they’re still going to fuck it up,” the mutt said, rolling his eyes.
Nevyn and Varon arrived next, Varon looking in a particularly bad mood, not a common sight. Luykas followed them, then Matesh, who came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. Zayden was last. Bryn wasn’t going to make it. They all knew he was still asleep from being out too late the night before and would be running more night training once the sun fell below the horizon. Mave knew Leshaun wouldn’t arrive either, since he was avoiding crowds now.
Seanev rode in like he was meant to be a general. His head held high, he rode slowly once he made his way into the village on the main road, dust kicked up by the horses. The Andinna living in the village were quiet, waiting to see how Alchan would welcome the general. It wasn’t a secret Alchan had favorites, and Seanev wasn’t one of them.
Seanev stopped ten feet away and dismounted, walking the rest of the way when one of his warriors took his horse’s reins.
“My king,” he greeted, bowing in front of Alchan. “I’ve brought four hundred warriors and one hundred others. Crafters, priests, and…hopeful nobles.”
“Welcome. It’s good to see you again.” Alchan hugged Seanev when he straightened.
“Before we get to the big stuff, I want to introduce you to someone,” Seanev said, apparently cautious.
“In front of everyone?” Alchan raised an eyebrow.
“Yes.” Seanev seemed downright scared, and Mave couldn’t really begin to guess why.
Mave looked between them, then moved closer to Alchan’s side. She didn’t have her swords, but she was willing to put her body between the two of them if she needed. She had no idea what was happening, but if Seanev was already worried, then she needed to be as well. Alchan only shrugged when she looked at him for an explanation.
“Lilliana, will you come forward?” Seanev called behind him.
Mave watched as warriors parted. The female revealed made Mave even more confused. The female was short and curvy, without a single toned area on her body. Her hips were wide, and her eyes were large as she looked at Seanev, then Alchan. Her face turned pink, and her eyes dropped. She bowed to the king, lower than any female was required to.
Mave felt the need to growl, but she wasn’t sure why. Something deep and instinctual didn’t like this female, which meant Mave needed to watch herself. She wasn’t going to judge this female without knowing what caused it. Beside her, Allaina growled softly, even more surprising.