Page 26 of The Lost Guard's Healer

Aldus nods in agreement. “Very well. I trust you can prepare to leave within the hour?”

“We can,” Bohan says.

“Excellent,” Aldus says. “I have but one more stipulation. I want my Galene to go with you.”

Bohan opens his mouth to object, but Aldus raises a hand to cut him off.

“Her Task with Tarin is technically not complete,” Aldus says. “I’d like her to go with you to continue watching over him. A hunt will help mature her. And, once you are back, that will be the end of her Task.”

“She will not like that,” I say.

Aldus grins at me. “She will not. But you leave her to me.”

Chapter eleven

Galene

My fists are balled tight as I walk through the fields near the village. I tried pleading with my father not to make me go on the hunt, but he was adamant and had promised my Task would be complete on my return.

If going on the hunt means I can finally wash my hands of the Oathlander, then that is what I must do. Not like I have much of a choice anyway—if I said no, I wouldn’t complete my Task. And after everything I’ve already done, everything I’ve already done for Tarin, that’s not an option.

The sun is high in the air, drifting in and out of the heavy dark clouds, as we leave the fields and enter the barren grassland of the Brownlands.

I know why I’m here. It’s because I am unwed and without a child. I’m seen by many as a disgrace and an unwanted pariah. What good is a woman who refuses to settle down and start a family?

It’s not my fault I’ve never met a man I was interested in. And I certainly have liked none of the eligible men that others have tried to set me up with. Most boys are intimidated by me, and the older men want someone more agreeable and less opinionated.

We’ve spent half a day traveling so far, going slowly by foot. I’ve heard many stories about what hunting is like, but I never knew how boring it could be.

Bohan, leading the group, points ahead. “There. The foothills of the Shadowstand Mountains. That is where we will find the boar.”

The other hunters, Zayne and Wills, are quietly surveying the surrounding land, their eyes constantly moving. I’m surprised that Freddick is with us, as he is a new hunter and has never been on a proper hunt beyond the village. He may be in his twentieth year, but he acts more like a naïve, innocent teenager. But now his expression is dour, and he hasn’t spoken this entire trip. I can see how much he’s mourning his father, and it breaks my heart.

Wisely, we have not given the Oathlander a weapon, so the hunters are the only ones carrying spears, knives, and bows and arrows. I keep my dagger sheathed on my belt, although I don’t intend to use it.

I sense Tarin walking closer to me and ignore him until he finally speaks.

“I know you don’t want my company,” he says. “But you will be happy to know that I will be leaving the village once we return.”

I turn to him sharply, and cannot help the exasperated sigh that escapes me. I shake my head. “My father told me my Task with you will be complete on my return. He didn’t mention that you will also be leaving.”

It was smart of my father not to mention that. I would have stayed behind if I had known that the outsider would leave regardless if I went on the hunt or not.

“I won’t be happy until you have your back to the village,” I tell him.

There’s a strained, troubled look on him when he clears his throat. “I want to apologize.”

“For your odor?” I say. “There is no apologizing for that.”

“For my people,” he says, which catches me off guard. “I… did not know of the murder of your mother ten years ago. Can you tell me more about it? I might remember something if I knew more about it.”

“I care not what you know,” I say. “Do not ask me about my mother again.”

“Why are you always trying to get into our business?” Bohan asks, turning towards us as we walk. He adjusts the longbow on his back as he gives Tarin a challenging look.

“I mean no offense,” Tarin shrugs. “I’m a curious creature. And I’d like to help where I can, as I have your people to thank for being alive.”

Bohan sniffs violently. “You can thank us by shutting up and staying out of our way.”

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