Page 19 of The Physician's Barbarian
Almost like he understood me, the horse picked up the pace, and if the moment wasn’t so serious, I would have whooped at the speed we were going. It was dangerous—falling off would surely kill me, or at least injure me badly—but it was thrilling atthe same time. I’d never let loose enough to enjoy something like this before.
My enjoyment was short-lived as we caught up to Godr and matched his stride. He glanced over, doing a double take when he realized it was me that was chasing him.
“Ambrose?” he shouted incredulously.
“Slow down!” I called back, gesturing with my hand to get him to understand what I meant. When this was all over, I was going to take those language lessons more seriously. I wasn’t making this kind of mistake again.
Thankfully, Godr seemed to understand because he tugged lightly on his horse’s mane, slowing the animal down. My horse kept pace, slowing with him, and we came to a stop together.
Godr was wide-eyed as he said something to me, that same sweet concern on his face I’d come to recognize over the past few days. I shook my head, giving him a chagrined smile.
“I still don’t understand you. And that’s my fault. I should have taken the time to learn. I never meant to hurt you. None of this was your fault. I made assumptions and took matters into my own hands. You did nothing wrong.”
It was his turn to shake his head, showing he didn’t understand. At this point, we were just talking at each other. I should have brought someone with me to explain things to him. I’d made another stupid decision in my haste to fix things, and now we were stuck trying to talk without any hope of actually communicating.
Huffing out a laugh, I ran my fingers through my hair, admitting mostly to myself, “I’m a mess. I’ve been in survival mode since Evie was selected as tribute, and I’m making stupid decisions.”
Godr cocked his head, urging his horse closer to press his leg against mine. Reassuring me like he always did. When hisexpression turned pained again and he tried to pull away, I reached for him, snagging his arm before he could.
“Don’t. Please don’t blame yourself. This is my fault, Godr. I’m sorry.”
He put his hand on top of mine, his eyes searching my face for answers neither of us could give. Even if I had the words to speak with him, I wouldn’t know what else to say. He probably thought he’d taken advantage when it was really the other way around.
Godr’s head whipped around suddenly, and his eyes narrowed. I followed his gaze to another dust cloud coming our way. Shit. Had someone followed me because they thought I was running away? Or did we have something else to worry about?
“Godr…” I asked, worried. I really needed a better way to communicate with him.
His hand squeezed mine, and he waited to answer me until the dust cloud got closer and he could see who it was. His sigh was relieved when he said, “Einar.”
I didn’t know what that meant, but his relief was enough for me. It probably wasn’t an enemy, at the very least.
It didn’t take long before the newcomer came to join us. Something about him was familiar, though I couldn’t quite place where I knew him. It wasn’t until he pulled to a stop beside us and a smaller man peeked out from behind him that I realized who he was.
“Matthew?”
He gave me an awkward smile and a wave, still quiet like the last time I’d met him. He’d needed treatment for a stab wound to the abdomen. He was lucky to have lived long enough to get to me. His barbarian, who I now recognized as Einar, had stayed glued to his side through the whole ordeal and glared at me whenever I came into the room. If I hadn’t been needed to keep Matthew alive, I doubted he would’ve let me that close tohis lover. As it was, he’d taken Matthew back to their clan earlier than I would have liked, mostly because I worried about him riding on a horse for who knows how long while still recovering.
Einar’s eyes were narrowed suspiciously on me. “You are the physician,” he said gruffly.
“I am,” I agreed. “I wasn’t running away. I just wanted to make sure Godr was okay.”
He grunted in response, which honestly didn’t surprise me. Einar was exactly what I thought when I imagined a barbarian. He was gruff, thickly muscled, covered in scars, and if the weapons were anything to go by, incredibly dangerous. He wasn’t outwardly affectionate with Matthew and I’d felt the need to ask more than once whenever Einar was out of sight if Matthew was safe or needed to be rescued. He’d always said he didn’t, that he was happy with the barbarians. That should have been my first clue that I didn’t know everything about the barbarian clans and how they treated tributes.
Godr said something to Einar, who responded in kind. Matthew watched them curiously, but he didn't look worried about whatever was being said.
Switching back to the common tongue, Einar said, “We will go back now.”
I was fine with that, but before we went back, I wanted to make sure Godr and I were on the same page first.
“Wait. Do you mind—Would you tell him something for me?”
“No,” Einar grunted in response. “You want to talk to him, learn our tongue.”
His outright refusal surprised me, but before I could argue with the terrifying man, Matthew poked him in the side and gave him a tiny scowl. Something like a smirk flashed across Einar’s face, but he shook his head. “I am no translator, zoragar. He can ask another.”
That got him an eye roll in response, and Matthew opened his mouth, his words trembling as he spoke. “I-I c-can t-t-try t-to?—”
Einar growled, which made me think he was frustrated about Matthew’s stuttering. That wasn’t fair to judge him for—it wasn’t something many people could control—and I couldn’t sit back and listen to him berate the poor man for doing his best.
