Page 50 of Enchanted Shadows
“I don’t like crying. You don’t have to tell me anything thing more. You’ll tell me when you’re ready. I need to get back and make sure the others haven’t hog tied Emric and gone back to Savaryn.”
“You’re dropping it?” Confusion was all over her beautiful damn face, her face drawn together by a line in her brow.
“I am. For now.” I shrugged and began walking back toward the path. “A little secret about me? Ihatetears.”
“You, the Big Bad General Raikes, sheer aggression and more muscles than any one man should possess, are scared of crying?”
“Pretty much sums it up, yeah.”
She laughed. “Okay, General.” She looked to the cookie container which was now empty. “Oh. We ate them all.”
“Jorah knows I’m prone to snaccidents, that’s why she only sent this many with me. The rest she will deliver.”
She hit me with a grin. “Okay then. I suppose we should head back.”
My footsteps fell in next to hers. “Do I need to check on you every single night to make sure you don’t walk out here?”
“No. I’ll bring Molly and Wren next time.”
Our feet padding on the path were the only sounds heard as even the birds called it a day. “Speaking not as your general currently, how is Wren doing?”
“She was wrecked and guilty that first day, but training is proving to her how strong she is. I think she knows she deserves someone better than that man. She’s been practicing with her Enchantment non-stop. Building it up.”
“Good.”
“Speaking as not a member of the team currently, you are a good brother to her. She defends you all the time. I know she loves you.”
“I love her. She’s my sister. Annoying as hell on occasion andtends to make terrible decisions, but I wouldn’t leave her in it alone, you know?”
“I wish I had that,” she said quietly. “I wish more than anything I’d had that.”
“Do you know how hard it is for me to not demand right now a list of who has hurt you?”
“Why do you even care?” she snapped a little more harshly. “Aletta had family drama too.”
“Because you don’t even see all that you are capable of. You’re too busy running from your past.”
“I’m good at running,” she said a few beats later when we arrived back at the barracks.
“Well, when you are tired of it, I’m here.”
“Goodnight, General.”
“Goodnight.”
Damn. I thought I was close to getting somewhere with Zara tonight. I couldn’t help her if I didn’t know what was going on. Add that I also knew the loyalists were up to something, but I couldn’t stop it until they provoked us. I was trying to stay ahead of it all and prepare, but it was hard to prepare for an enemy you couldn’t see. Likewise, I couldn’t find even a glimpse of the dead king’s magic after it was seen the one time.
I was losing my touch. Stress tension was building up in my neck and between my shoulder blades. I didn’t know what the last few weeks of this would bring, but at least today there were cookies.
CHAPTER 16
Ihad a huge barrel of cold water in the middle of the training ring.
“A bit small for a community bath, don’t you think, General?” Vivian deadpanned.
These women and their wit were killing me. Daily. I shut my smirk down. “Best not take a bath in it, Viv. Today, for our team strategizing, you are going to lift this bucket in the air for ten minutes straight. If one drop splashes out, you run extra. Enchantments are obviously encouraged, but the only caveat is that all of you must participate in keeping it above the ground at some point.”
“Can we have a moment to game plan?” Jessina asked.
