Page 33 of The Barbarian's Claim
Rolling my eyes, I returned to tying my weapons to my belt. He said it was safe for Matthew to ride with me. I wanted him to do so. As the clan journeyed during the warmer months, it would be where he belonged. I wanted to experience it with him.
Matthew had been forced to answer questions for the doctor to treat him, but he was still uncomfortable doing so. He chose to stay quiet, tucking his tunic in after the doctor was finished.
With an exasperated sigh, the doctor gave up, tossing his hands in the air. “Fine. But take it slow. If you experience any pain, stop and take a break. The barbarians are supposed to be self-sufficient, right? So there’s no rush to get back.”
“We will do this,” I agreed with a nod. “You are right. We are in no rush.”
The weather would turn soon, but I could usually tell when the snows would come, and we had some time before that still. We could take our time for Matthew’s sake.
Narrowing his eyes, the doctor studied me, then nodded once, finally accepting my words. He touched Matthew’s shoulder, his eyebrows lifted to stress his point. “Okay. If you have any problems, come back here. Or send for me. It would be safer for me to make the journey than you.”
Matthew nodded quickly, reaching out to fist my tunic like he always did when he was overwhelmed. “Th-thank y-you,” he stammered.
The doctor’s face finally softened, and he smiled at Matthew. “You’re very welcome.”
He led us outside, where my stallion waited. Tyaell was temperamental at times, and Godr complained that he would bite if the other stallions got too close to him, but he was well behaved with me. The horsemaster said we were a match made by the gods since our personalities were much the same. And much like me, Tyaell softened for Matthew. After giving him a cursory sniff, he lowered his head to allow Matthew more ease should he wish to climb upon his back. I wouldn’t allow it, not until he was fully healed, but I saw the gesture for what it was and patted Tyaell’s neck in thanks while the doctor said some parting words to Matthew. I didn’t hear all of it, since the doctorleaned to whisper at one point, but I cared very little. My mind was only on bringing my bondmate home so he could rest where he was most comfortable.
Lifting Matthew onto Tyaell’s back, I was quick to join him, tucking him against my chest so he could lean against me and rest. He was a little nervous, having never ridden on a stallion before, aside from his trip to the clan, but he trusted me to protect him and didn’t protest. He waved to the doctor before I steered Tyaell back toward the town gate at an easy pace.
“H-how long w-will it take t-to get home?” Matthew asked as we left through the main gate.
“It depends on how fast we are moving. Since I promised to go slow, it will take longer. It is safer than the forest, though. There are more fields between us than trees.”
“I-I l-liked the f-forest,” he replied quietly.
My lips twitched against a smile. He leaned his head against my shoulder, sinking further into my arms. He was still tired from his recovery, so I encouraged him to sleep. We had a long journey ahead of us, and he needed to rest as much as he could.
Twenty-Two
MATTHEW
It took another week for us to get back to the clan. Einar was being overprotective and would only let us travel for a few hours before forcing us to take a break. We took less breaks while traveling on foot in the forest than we did with his stallion on the journey home. Even Tyaell seemed annoyed at the end of it. He started to ignore Einar’s demands to stop, moving at a determined canter to get back to his home. At that point, the pain had mostly faded, and I felt almost back to normal, so I encouraged Tyaell to keep going, ignoring the irritated grumbling from my bondmate.
When the familiar sight of the clan came into view, I sat up straighter. I wasn’t sure when it had started to feel like home, but I missed it while we were away. Even the fluffier beds weren’t enough to make me want to linger in town. This was my home.
Einar stopped at the crest of a hill overlooking the village. Glancing over my shoulder at him, I frowned at the dark expression on his face.
“W-what is it?”
“I had no time to deal with Orn before we left. They took him away before I could. I do not want him near you.”
Hugging his arm a little closer against my chest, I frowned at the village. “Y-you th-think he’s s-s-still there?”
“If he is, he won’t be for long,” he growled, nudging Tyaell into motion again.
The thought of seeing Orn again made my stomach churn. If a similar situation happened in the town where I grew up, the attacker would be jailed. The barbarians had no jail, so I wasn’t sure what they did with people like Orn, who attacked when they weren’t under threat. I looked for him as we passed the edge of the village and headed for the center, but I couldn’t see him. I did see Simon, though. He jabbed Finn with his elbow to get his attention and stood, smiling at me as we approached.
“You’re back!”
He spoke the common tongue, but it got the attention of everyone around him. The murmurs picked up, and others came closer to greet us. It was a little overwhelming, and I wasn’t familiar with most of them, but they had smiles on their faces and looked happy to see us.
Tyaell was forced to stop because of the group, so Einar got down, helping me to my feet as well. He hovered at my back, a dark scowl on his face. The only person who ignored it was Simon, who threw his arms around my neck and hugged me tightly.
Hesitantly, I hugged him back. It was a strange feeling, I wasn’t sure anyone had hugged me aside from Einar since my family had died. Eventually, I melted into the embrace, resting my chin on his shoulder. It was kind of nice.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” he murmured.
“Y-y-you t-too.”
