Page 3 of Warrioress

“Would you mind filling me in on what you three are discussing back there?” Her words were drawn out with a slow casualness that failed to match the sharpness of her dark gaze. “That is not common tongue.”

He resisted the urge to snap his teeth in irritation so that she would not be able to find a reason to punish them more severely on the spot. “It is not,” he agreed with a faint growl. “It is Ragoru ragii.”

Her brows inched up slightly for a moment before the broad slash of her mouth tipped in a smile that was nothing short of mocking. “So it is. But my question is why you would feel a need to speak so covertly around humans—unless you are planning something?” Her head cocked, her gaze flicking among them shrewdly.

Although they were doing nothing of the sort, he was forced to acknowledge that she would not be an easy female to deceive in any fashion—and would be quick to retaliate. He could see it in the tension coiling within her frame as she prepared herself for anything unexpected that might come. She would attack if she felt that it were needed. Although he knew that his triad could hold their own in a fight against the humans, he did not wish to set the citadel against them completely. Even if they fled Old Wayfairer, humans were notoriously interconnected, and one citadel against them would quickly turn into many once word spread that they were a triad to be avoided and driven away.

“No.” Laro looked away, his gaze shifting to a spot beyond her shoulder. “It is our habit to speak ragii together. There was no intention behind it.”

“Right,” she drawled. “Because the tone of the conversation didn’t sound the least bit threatening.” Lifting her chin, she regarded him suspiciously. “A fair warning—and the only one you will get from me—if you try anything at all, I won’t hesitate to kill you right here on the street to defend the guardswomen of my patrol, or the citizens of this citadel.”

His eyes narrowed on her in turn, but he waved off Vrin’s quiet rumble of a growl as he returned her glare. She was definitely a dangerous female if she could so easily threaten to kill every member of his triad and mean it. And he knew that she meant it. He could see it in her body language, and he could scent her sincerity.

“Understood,” he growled in reply. “We have no intention of violating the laws that we agreed to upon entering.”

“Funny how that didn’t stop you before,” another female scoffed at her left. This female was blood on snow with her reddish-brown headfur, pale complexion, and red cheeks. She shook her head and cut a glance toward the one clearly in charge. “Captain, we should just get them back to the guardhouse and lock them up as quickly as possible. The snow is coming down quicker, so it will likely be a few days until the Council can decide what to do with them. There’s no reason to stand out here in the middle of the street having a confrontation with them.”

“We would be happier to just leave,” Vrin growled as he drew up to Laro’s side. “It is clear that Ragoru are still unwelcome.”

The female turned to gape at him. “Unwelcome? It is you three causing the trouble... and not just with the humans. You did this to yourself. You should be driven out by spearpoint in this snowstorm for breaking the law rather than just suffering the inconvenience and warm shelter of the prison.”

Vrin’s hackles rose in response. Laro eyed him. The male who was once so easygoing and compassionate had a quick and volatile temper in the revolutions since the day he had pulled Laro half-alive from where he had been left discarded in a pit. He needed to calm the male before things spun out of claw. He did not get the opportunity, however, for the male immediately calmed and fell quiet when the female addressed as captain sighed heavily and squinted across the snow.

“Katiera, enough.” Laro’s heart clenched at her uttered command. She sounded tired, and that made him ache unexpectedly for the strain in her voice. She gave the other a female a wan smile that made him even more aware of how exhausted she clearly was. “Now you are the one arguing with them. We can’t let them go given the charges brought against them, but you are right that we need to just focus on doing our job quickly and fairly. We aren’t punishing them, nor do we have the right to blame them without view of the full picture here.”

His ears tipped toward her in surprise. That was... unexpected. His ears twitched uncertainly as he exchanged a cautious look with his brothers.

“We will cooperate, Captain,” he rumbled finally, trying not to wince at the unpleasant roughness of her name. “The female is correct—there is no reason to remain standing here. While we will not be harmed by it, you humans lack our pelts and sicken easily. We are willing to trust that you will not attempt to harm us, and in in turn, for your comfort, we will try to not make you unnecessarily uneasy by speaking in ragii.”

He ignored the look of disbelief Vrin shot him. His brother did not understand just how necessary it was to cooperate and maintain peace with the citadel, even if they were caged and eventually forced out. He had miscalculated enough already to defend himself and his rights to his hunting territory within the citadel. He would not risk more when it was clear that anything they did at that moment would certainly be held against them.

Captain gave him a searching look, but eventually her head dipped slowly in agreement. “Fair enough. Let’s go then. I’m sure you could use something warm to eat just as much as we do,” she muttered as she spun on heel and resumed walking at a brisk pace for her species, her dark cloak fluttering behind her.

Laro grunted begrudgingly to himself as he followed her. He refused to admire her, but he could at least appreciate her fairness and decisiveness.

She was dangerous to his intentions in more ways than one. The sooner he could put some distance between her and his triad, the better it would be for all of them.

Chapter 3

Uma refused to pity the males locked in a cell that, while spacious housing for several humans, was too small for the Ragoru triad who couldn’t even stand at their full height much less have much room to move about. Unfortunately, it was the best she could do for them. At least she saw to it that each had massive bowls filled with thick, meaty stew before locking up and heading out once the night watch arrived. That didn’t stop her feeling a prick to her conscience, however, when she returned to her tiny cupboard of an apartment.

She grimaced as she prepared for bed, acknowledging the fact that, as small as her apartment was, at least she wasn’t trapped inside of it. Truthfully, she only returned “home” to sleep at the end of the day after grabbing some meat skewers and breads from a street vendor. She would probably go mad if she was stuck in her apartment for longer than that.

Which was why she was stomping the snow off her feet so early in the morning as she made her way up to the mayor’s office to report to Guard Guild foreman for the citadel’s municipality. Renny Walsh supervised all the guardswoman stations within Old Wayfairer. There was little Uma could do to ease her conscience without Renny’s direct approval.

Cantankerous crone.

Uma’s lips twitched in amusement as she nodded in greeting the receptionist and headed down the narrow hall to Renny’s office, consciously aware of the fact that snow continued to melt from her boots and cloak.

“Good morning, Bia. Sorry about the mess!” she called over her shoulder in response to the receptionist’s curse following her. “Damn snow wouldn’t let up long enough to give us any kind of break for even a moment.”

“Don’t worry about it, Uma,” the other woman replied with a heavy sigh of exasperation. “This winter seems worse than others. The snow is a constant chore, and it’s not bound to get any better with Mother’s Night approaching. Try to enjoy your day out there!”

Although the other woman couldn’t see her face, Uma grimaced as she headed down the corridor. The snow predictably got heavier every year as Mother’s Night came around with the arrival of midwinter. Soon enough the entire citadel would be closed down for several days, with only a single person on hand and paid very well to live within the small bunk room in the guardswoman’s station. They would see to any prisoners being kept inside while the midwinter winds brought in thick blankets of snow and be available for warders assigned to the various neighborhoods in case of an emergency.

No one wanted the job as it was. The bunks were notoriously hard and uncomfortable, lacking even the most minimal comforts of home, and the station was drafty on the best of days. And that wasn’t even considering the fact that whoever was there would be responsible for taking care of the triad. Despite the allure of what the Ragoru represented, she wasn’t entirely sure if any of the guardswomen assigned to her station would willing to be trapped inside with three very irritable males for days on end.

She shook her head as she stepped into the foreman’s office. What a mess.

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