Page 27 of The Lost Guard's Healer

I think that should be the end of it, but Tarin surprises me by continuing to speak.

“I might know a few things about hunting and fighting that I could teach you.”

A booming laugh explodes from Bohan. Zayne and Wills join in with low chuckles.

“There is nothing an outsider can teach me,” Bohan says. “Enough with this nonsense.”

I’m glad Tarin has the sense to leave it at that. He must have sensed what I did. If he’d continued to push Bohan, the Head Hunter would likely have attacked him.

We walk for some time with the sun beaming down on us. I watch the shifting shape of a group of birds passing through the sky. The pack over my shoulder is beginning to feel heavy and annoying.

Zayne addresses Tarin. “What part of the Oathlands are you from?”

It takes Tarin a few seconds to answer, which tells me he is thinking of a lie.

“The city center,” Tarin says. “Are you familiar with the Oathlands?”

“I visited when I was younger,” Zayne says. “I was not born a Shanti. I grew up in The Kingdom.”

Tarin raises his brows, and my expression matches his. I never knew Zayne was from the Kingdom. He stands at over six feet with a powerful build, deep-set dark eyes, and a thick square jaw. His complexion is lighter and creamier than an average Shanti, but I’ve never considered that to mean he was an outsider. From the non-reactions of the other hunters, I take it that Zayne’s heritage has not been a secret from them.

“A Kingdom folk among the Shanti?” Tarin says. “How did that happen?”

“I… did not enjoy my upbringing,” Zayne says. “I decided to leave in my late teens. I traveled the land for a time. I met many decent Oathlanders. Your people are very welcoming, and you like to feed people.”

Tarin chuckles. “We do.”

“Eventually I found the Shanti People, and I was accepted among them,” Zayne says. “I have been one of them for almost thirty years now.” His voice drops into melancholy.

I want to ask why Zayne is being so open with him. Why are we entertaining this Oathlander?

Something draws Bohan’s attention. He straightens and takes a few steps toward the rolling hills in the south. The land steadily grows greener with an abundance of life, and it’s through a thin woods that I see what Bohan has noticed.

Far to the south, a hundred or so soldiers are marching in close formation. They are hard to see, but their gleaming white armor catches the sun and makes them stand out against the rolling fields.

We stop to watch the distant figures through the trees.

“Are those… Kingdom Soldiers?” Freddick asks, a hint of fear in his low voice.

“What are they doing?” Wills asks.

“It doesn’t concern us,” Bohan says with some annoyance.

“They are training,” Tarin says. “Soldiers will often march across the surrounding lands to remain familiar with the land and keep their fitness up. Also, it acts as a reminder to anyone who may be looking that the military is present and organized.”

“He is correct,” Zayne says.

“I didn’t think the Kingdom ventured this far out, so close to the Wilderness.”

“They are far enough away not to bother us, so we do not need to bother them,” Bohan says, and nods for us to keep walking.

“Our Oathlands Military would also march,” Tarin says, half in thought. “But we do so less for the show of it, unlike the Kingdom.”

Bohan seethes through his teeth. “You think you Oathlanders are so much better than everyone else. Better than us Shanti.”

“That’s not true,” Tarin says. “I just think we have our customs, and you have yours.”

Bohan points a frustrated finger at him. His other hand is on his longbow, I note. “You are not here to speak, outsider. That is enough from you.”

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