Page 35 of Saved By a Barbarian

“Let’s see who was successful. Hopefully, we do not need to do this twice.”

It was hard to see from a distance with the pouring rain how many were taken down. I knew that mine was, and I’d heard thumps that made me think I wasn’t the only one who succeeded, but how many was a good question. Jogging down the hill, I tipped my head as we got closer.

“Three?”

I looked at the other hunters. Orvak and Rath both looked confused, so I doubted it was them who missed their shot, but when I glanced at Rhos, his face was flushed bright red. A slow grin pulled at my lips.

“Did you miss?”

“Not on purpose!” he grouched.

“Does one ever miss on purpose?” Orvak teased.

“What happened? Was the target too big?” I added with a smirk.

“Perhaps he needs more training,” Rath commented, a mask of stoicism ruined by the way his eyes danced with mirth. “I thought he was ready for such a hunt.”

Rhos groaned and dropped his head back, speaking to the skies instead of us. “Why must I be stuck with them? What did I do to deserve it?”

Laughing, I threw an arm around his shoulders, tugging him closer. “You love us. Do not pretend otherwise.”

He put up with more teasing while we prepared the dead coiwak to move. They were too large to tie to the stallions’ backs, so we’d brought a cart with us for the journey home. Rhos was assigned to draw the cart, since he missed his shot, but he was good natured about it, and his mount, a sweet and patient stallion, never seemed to mind pulling the extra weight.

“Luckily for you, Verus’s kill is large enough to cover your mistake,” Rath commented as we loaded the coiwak into the cart. Mine was so heavy, it took both of us to lift it.

Jerking my head around, I eyed him hopefully. “Does that mean what I think it does?”

Rath dipped his chin once, a slow smile spreading across his face. “I believe this is enough for Morak. It is time for us to go home.”

Relief and excitement exploded in me, and I couldn’t help but let out a whoop, thrusting my fist into the air. Finally, I would return to my Patrick. And once we were together again, I was going to ask him to bond with me. Orthorr would have to accept it, or we would leave once Patrick was able, but I would not go another day without Patrick knowing who he was to me.

It took a lot of encouragement,and several days of conversation, to convince Saneth that speaking with Tavik was the best plan of action. We offered him other ideas at first, since he seemed so against it, but none seemed good enough for him. It wasn’t until Yamileth found out why he was visiting that he was convinced, and only after she fed him two cups of very strong barbarian alcohol.

“I can’t have a full cup by myself,” Finn murmured, watching Saneth drain his second cup. “It only takes half to get me drunk. Any more and I’ll pass out. I don’t know how he can manage two.”

Snickering, I shook my head. Yamileth offered me some, but while I was no longer in the splint, I still needed a cane to walk and didn’t want to mess with my balance by drinking.

Saneth set his cup down with a thunk, his face screwed up in drunken determination. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

Yamileth rolled her eyes. “We will not be joining you. This is a conversation between the two of you.”

I’d never seen Saneth pout before, but it was a little hilarious seeing such a tough barbarian stick out his bottom lip like that. Finn had to hide his laughter behind his hand, his shoulders shaking with the effort.

“But what if he hates me?”

“Then come back here and I’ll give you more ale,” Yamileth offered, waving him toward the entrance. “Now go before the storm starts again.”

The rain hadn’t stopped, but it was more of a heavy drizzle now, and there was no more lightning. I looked forward to whenthe weather changed, but spring rain lasted at least a month. We had a few weeks left.

With a whine, Saneth got to his feet, listing a little from the alcohol in his system. I steadied him with a hand on his arm, and Yamileth gave him a little push toward the tent flap. She followed him and watched him walk away before waving us closer.

“Come.”

“Where are we going?” I asked as I followed her, leaning heavily on my cane. The rain had made my leg ache since I’d hurt myself.

“We can’t hear them from here. He went around the bend. We need to get closer.”

“We’re going to eavesdrop?” Finn whispered harshly, even while he followed us both out of the cooking tent and in the direction Saneth had wandered off.

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