Page 39 of Enchanted Shadows
I moved aside and they headed in, a few whispering variations of “sorry” on their way by.
I stopped Wren, though. She had her arms wrapped around her stomach. And she had been quietly crying since seeing Bram with another woman.
I heaved a sigh. “I am still so damn pissed you snuck out, Wren. That the entire team snuck out because ofyou. Separately, as your brother, I’m also sorry you had to find out what the rest of us already knew about Bram like that.”
More tears flooded her eyes, and I stepped in, wrapping my arms around her. “Dammit. Stop crying. You know I hate it.”
“Am I out?” she croaked.
“Of the team? No. But I meant what I just said. Don’t do it again or you will be. No more second chances, Wren.”
She nodded as she cried even harder.
“Tell me you are done with Bram. For good. It better have been worth something if I am going to deal with loyalist strife for the next few weeks.”
“I’m done with him. And I should have listened to you a year ago when you told me he wasn’t good enough for me.”
“He’s not.”
She smirked as she pulled back, wiping at her eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry they all went with me. I never asked them to.”
I gestured with my head to the barracks. “Go. Try to get some sleep. As sorry as I am that you had to see that tonight, Wren, your ass better be ready to run in the morning.”
“Thank you for having my back, Owen.”
We tended to make things in life far more complicated than they needed to be. “You’re my sister. He comes near you again, I bury him.”
“I didn’t mean to disrespect you, or the team, or make the loyalists mad, or make any of us look bad,” she added.
“You aren’t used to making decisions with a team. Selfish decisions have no room, because of all the ramifications. I had to learn it. You will too.”
She gave my arm a squeeze as she went. “Love you, brother.”
“Love you, Wrenchy.”
The morning was going to come entirely too damn fast, and I still had to get a report ready on all that happened for Jorah and Krew. It wasn’t until my head finally hit the pillow that I really thought about how well the team handled themselves against Bram and his friends. Tonight felt like a huge step backward for the team, but also gave me a little glimpse of what they were capable of.
CHAPTER 13
Emric and I banged on the barracks door long before the sun and told the women to get ready. We stood in the dark, dawn still over an hour from happening.
The women were not grumbling. Just waiting. Waiting for their punishment from the night before.
“Look,” I began, “the cold hard truth is that we live in a world where what happened last night is going to happen again.” I paced in front of the obstacle course where we gathered. “There are some men who will be intimidated and feel that your success as a team is a direct insult to their level of manliness. Because of their own insecurities. Not because it has a damn bit to do with you.”
I took another deep breath and turned. “And the truth of the matter is that our king and queen couldn’t just murder all the loyalists to Theon Valanova, though I sometimes wish they would have. They were giving everyone a chance to figure out life out from under an evil king.”
I sighed. “Because of last night, the loyalists are only going to be more frustrated with your presence here. Will only become more volatile the stronger you become. As your trainer, I feel it importantfor you to know. You will all have to keep your guard up, and you are going to have to fight for respect in a way that a team in Wylan hasn’t had to before. Because you are women. And it isn’t fair, but pretending more isn’t going on here isn’t doing you a damn bit of good either.”
“So before you run,” I added, “because best believe, youwillbe running to the rock and back twice without stopping for what you all did sneaking out last night, but before you do, I want all of you to take five minutes and consider how badly you truly want this. If you still do, we will continue to train. Continue to break ground with a team unlike the rest.” I paused. “But if you don’t, if you don’t want to be constantly looking over your shoulder for the loyalists. If you don’t want to fight for a better realm daily, then save yourself the effort and leave before it gets too dangerous. Too difficult.”
My feet stilled as I turned to look them in the eyes, the bright moon giving us just enough light for me to do so. “I have been fighting for a better Wylan for the better part of a decade. I know it gets exhausting. I know how heavy carrying the torch can become. But I was there when King Krewan drove that sword into Theon and ended him. And I have seen how things are different.”
I continued, “Not everyone adapts to change well. And I have spent a fair share of the last four years trying to maintain peace. This team, your very presence as a team of women in Wylan, lights a match to the loyalists. And I would like nothing more than to see them all burn. But you have to ask yourselves if you are ready for this. If you are ready for the scrutiny. The comments. The baiting.”
I inhaled deeply. “And the worst part is that I cannot guarantee you will not get hurt. I can only promise to train you in such a way that you will be able to defend yourself, should anything go awry. Should anyone have the audacity to mess with you.”
I hit a button on my watch. “So sit. Silently sit and really consider it. Do you each still want this? Because Bram Stirling isn’tthe only prick in Savaryn who will want to make you the punch line of his joke.”
