Page 30 of Primal Vow

Taryn glanced back at him, his sharp features unreadable in the dim light. "You didn't cause anything," he said, his deep voice rumbling.

Rhys frowned, his brow furrowing. "But if I hadn't been there—"

"My warriors are good men," Taryn said, his tone firm. "But they're young, and they're untested. The temptation was too much for them to fight."

He glanced back at Rhys, his sharp eyes unreadable. "That's not a failing on their part, or yours. It's simply the way things are."

Rhys swallowed hard, his throat bobbing. Despite the rain plastering his curls to his forehead, his scent was thick in the air, teasing at the edges of Taryn's senses. It was a heady, maddening thing, a distraction that Taryn had been trained to ignore from birth.

But even he had to admit that it was a powerful temptation. For his young warriors, still untested and untempered by experience, the distraction must have been unbearable.

It was distracting to him, too.

As if he could read Taryn's thoughts, Rhys spoke, a wry half-smile on his face. "Sorry, big guy," he said, his voice soft. "I know this can't be easy for you either, having me around."

The words were simple enough, but Taryn could sense the fear that ran through them, questions that Rhys was too scared to voice.

Will you turn on me, too?

Like everyone else?

Taryn didn't reply for a long moment. The only sound was the steady drum of the rain and the crunch of their boots against the jungle floor. "You're my duty. And I don't abandon my duty, no matter the cost."

He turned back to Rhys, his sharp features set in a firm line. "I need you to trust me, Rhys. Can you do that?"

Rhys blinked up at him, his green eyes wide. For a moment, Taryn could see the hesitation flickering across his features, the lingering memory of Krye's hungry gaze and the knowledge that Taryn's own warriors had nearly turned on him.

But then, slowly, Rhys nodded. "I trust you," he said, his voice soft but certain.

Taryn felt something in his chest loosen. He knew that it was a big thing to ask, especially after the events of the day. But despite everything, Rhys was still willing to put his trust in Taryn's hands.

Taryn nodded. With that, he turned and began to pick his way through the jungle once more. Rhys followed in his wake, his steps a little more certain now, his shoulders a little less tense.

Taryn set his jaw, his sharp gaze fixed on the path ahead. He would see both of his duties through, no matter the cost. He had the strength, the determination, the focus to make it happen.

All he needed was Rhys's trust.

And somehow, against all odds, the human had given it to him.

Chapter twelve

The wilderness stretched out around them, untamed and dangerous. The storm had finally passed, but the air was hot and heavy with the scent of rain.

Taryn crouched down, examining a dent in the damp earth. "Someone tried to hide their passage, but the mud's too fresh," he said.

Surviving in the wilds of Vasz wasn't just about knowing how to hunt and fight, apparently. It was about knowing how to track, how to read the stories that the ground and the plants told. Rhys was a fish out of water here, surrounded by nothing but nature. "It just looks like more mud to me."

"It looks like good news," Taryn continued, standing back up. His eyes were bright and alive, even though his face was as inscrutable as ever. "It doesn't matter how good at hiding they try to be. We're on their tail now."

They set off again, deeper into the wilderness. As they walked, Rhys knew he should have been focusing on anything else: the other humans, the wilds around him, anything.

But he wasn't.

The moment that he'd nearly had with Taryn kept replaying in Rhys's mind. He'd been nearly lost in the strange desire to see how far he could push Taryn, the promise of pleasure just a breath away... and then Soren had to go and interrupt them.

But on the other hand… Rhys couldn't shake another image from his mind: Krye's eyes narrowed, lips curled back in a snarl as he advanced on him. The young Borraq warrior had looked at Rhys with an unsettling mix of hunger and menace.

In that moment, Rhys had been forcibly reminded of how alien and dangerous the Borraq truly were. For all of Taryn's quiet restraint and the camaraderie Rhys had started to feel, they were still a species apart. Primal instincts simmered beneath the surface.

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