Page 17 of Mastering their Maiden

“Do you hear that?” Kaiden asked, his eyes narrowing. “I hear shouting.”

“I hear it too,” I agreed, taking hold of the reins as we both urged our horses into a canter. Soon we were in a slow gallop, my eyes widening when I saw Ryne’s men standing behind the Elders, a wall of purple tunics surrounding one of the market stalls. I frowned when we ran right through the gate. The unguarded gate. An invitation for any man or beast to walk right in and start problems.

I was certain Kaiden would have a talk with our men later, but right now our focus was on the group of women, some of them carrying children, others clutching baskets, while Aria stood at the front of them, her strawberry hair tied into a thick braid down her back as she gestured wildly and bellowed at Elder Hoval and Elder Micah.

“…the reason there isn’t enough food. Your greed and selfishness—”

“If you want to talk about greed and selfishness, you should look inward!” Hoval shouted as he gestured toward a few women with babes in their arms. “Our decree says no union shall happen without our consent, no child shall be conceived without our blessing, and yet we have women who continually defy our laws. They are the selfish ones, and you are selfish for—”

“The Kavari bring rations every week. Fresh fruits and vegetables,” Aria spat, pointing a sharp finger at Hoval, her pretty face twisted into a snarl. “You keep the best food for yourselves. You let children waste away while you stuff your faces with—”

“Your face should be stuffed with cloth and your backside whipped for insolence!” Hoval growled, looking toward Ryne’s men. “Take her and whip her then bring her to the sept. I’ve had enough of her shrill voice and constant blathering about—”

“You’re going to be hearing a lot of my shrill voice if you don’t start putting out enough rations for all of us,” Aria challenged, her eyes narrowing when one of Ryne’s men stepped forward. “Do it,” she challenged, shoving her tiny body into his space. “I’ll take however many lashes if it means—”

“Quiet,” the soldier snapped, and fire surged inside my blood when he put his hands on her shoulders and shoved so hard, she fell back. “It’s not your place to dictate—”

“Keep your filthy hands off her.”

Zander flew past me, Dex hot on his heels, the rest of our squadron jogging behind them. Kaiden snatched the back of Zander’s tunic and threw him back, and I grabbed him in my race to catch up with the group, noting the set of Kaiden’s shoulders as he pushed past the crowd of women to where Aria was, putting his body in front of hers. Dex was next, and he grabbed her off the ground and held her by the biceps. An imprisoning pose, but I could tell he wasn’t doing it to keep her captive. She was his grounding point, because if he didn’t use something, he’d be swinging his fists and aching for blood just like Zander was.

“Get the fuck off me, Umber,” Zander growled when I pulled him back, putting a hand on his chest. “They touched—”

“Dex is the only one touching her now,” I grumbled. “You barging in and punching one of Ryne’s men is just going to make everything worse.”

He exhaled a bull’s angry snort through his nose, gripping my wrist to steady his own anger as Kaiden glanced at Aria then to the stall, where there was barely enough food to feed a horse, let alone an entire village.

“What is the meaning of this?” he demanded, scowling at Ryne’s soldiers then at the Elders. “Why haven’t the rations been given out?”

“The Elders were in the process of handing them out, but this girl interfered,” the soldier who’d pushed Aria explained. “She needs to be whipped for interfering with village—”

“They need to be whipped for starving their own people for years!”

Aria screamed the accusation, and I saw Dex’s arms flex to hold her back. The women watching looked scared, but a few of them shouted in agreement.

“I went two days without food.”

“When we refuse to entertain them in our homes, we are denied our share.”

“You can’t keep it all for yourself!”

“Quiet!”

Elder Hoval’s voice cracked like a whip, and behind him the other Elders and their wives looked wary at the growing irritation of the crowd. Hoval stepped into the booth, walking past Kaiden to get right in Aria’s face. Dex moved Aria behind him, extending an arm across her chest when she continued to push back.

“Her insolence cannot be tolerated. I want her punished for her lies. We barely have enough for our families let alone—”

“You have barely enough?”

Kaiden’s voice was calm, his gaze determined as he moved to where Hoval stood, gently pushing him back toward the stall. “The rations we bring in weekly, the vegetables and fruit and salted meats, they’re not enough for every person to have plenty?”

Hoval’s eyes stayed fixed on Aria, his shoulders rising and falling with his labored, angry breaths. “The extra rations help, but it is not enough. So many mouths. So much demand. We need our share first.”

“It’s our right!” one of the wives proclaimed. “Why should we give up our portions for people who disobey our laws? There just isn’t enough for everyone.”

“That seems unlikely,” Kaiden countered, turning his eyes to the woman quickly before looking back to Hoval. “Since this seems to come up frequently, I’ll have more brought down. But my men will be in charge of distribution. I want to ensure each person receives a fair share, yourselves and our soldiers included.”

Kaiden’s smile was met with a scowl, but he gestured to the stall and to the others in charge. “This will take some of the weight off your shoulders. Having watched our king manage our city and its supplies for years, I know how stressful ruling can be.”

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