Page 42 of Mastering their Maiden

“I don’t think he expects us to return until the procurement ceremony is complete,” Draven’s man said. “And when you return, if he feels you’ve been corrupted or influenced—”

“Say no more,” Kaiden interrupted, his voice clipped and tight. “I know Ryne wouldn’t hesitate to label me a traitor if it served his aims.”

Kaiden’s expression was hard, but I frowned, reading between his words. Ryne raised Kaiden, but only wanted to keep him as a pawn. He wanted Kaiden as a lackey, and if he broke out of that role, he was useless.

I knew Kaiden didn’t believe that, at least not on the surface. But deep down that knowledge had scarred him. To imagine the one who taught you how to use a sword would turn that weapon on you at the slightest provocation was heavy, and even though Kaiden had three sets of shoulders to help him bear this burden, it wore on him.

Which was why when he’d insisted we all march together. Should there be any doubts in Kaiden’s loyalty to our tribe, Dex, Zander, and I along with our whole squadron needed to be there to shore him up. We needed to assure the masters that while Ryne might have his own ambitions for power, ambitions so large he’d slaughter a family if it meant achieving them, Kaiden had none of his own. His loyalty was to his tribe as a whole, not to one man, and not to himself.

“Anything else?” Kaiden asked, an edge in his voice I didn’t like to hear.

The soldier grimaced and set his hands on his hips. “When you asked for supplies, there was debate on whether or not we should respond. Ryne’s soldiers have been sending letters talking about how disobedient the women are in your village, calling them greedy, demanding, and saying they have no respect. They include letters from your village’s Elders that back up these claims. It has helped stir up fear that we could lose control and made people wonder if Ryne’s style of subjugation is necessary.”

Kaiden scowled, but I stepped forward and shook my head. “Fear aside, there can’t be masters who truly believe that. Not after those women were released from Ryne’s dungeon. There have been births by women who’ve been brought into submission through discipline and rewards instead of—”

“Even with the births we’ve had, there are barely a hundred of us left, Master Umber,” he said. “If we lose these villages, we’ll lose women who can bear our children. And if that happens…”

Our tribe dies, I filled in silently.

It was the truth. As much as the villages needed the supplies we offered, we needed them more. That’s why we catered to some of the Elders’ demands. That’s why we established procurement protocols. Ceremonial and unnecessary, perhaps, but it was to try to make the women feel special. To show them how important they were, how much care went into selecting and keeping them. How worshiped they would be. Disciplined, but rewarded. Their submission earned them our loyalty and devotion.

But the Elders’ lies and Ryne’s insistence on full subjugation confused the women, and I was well aware that sometimes our behavior only served to deepen the divide between us. There was safety with the demons they knew. No matter how vile the Elders behaved, it was familiar. We were still new, and therefore dangerous.

Aria had helped us change that perception in her village. Her friend Summer was a perfect example of the change taking place. Kaze and Ellis had defected from Ryne’s troops to ours and kept us in the loop about any plans Ryne communicated with them. They’d also made Kaiden aware that they planned to claim Summer and adopt her son as theirs.

I’d seen them with her recently, and though I wasn’t sure how much they’d disciplined her—if they’d had to at all—there was trust between them. One that I knew Makan and a few of Ryne’s other soldiers had tried to break by terrorizing her when she asked for additional rations for her growing child. Kaze hadn’t allowed it. I’d watched him snatch packages out of Makan’s hands and give them straight to his woman. And each day that happened, Makan’s skin seemed to turn a shade greener with jealousy.

Draven’s soldier left after giving us the rest of the reports from his commander and returned to shore up the fence. The men Ryne had sent down a few months earlier had left it to rot because they no longer considered the Skepna a threat. There hadn’t been a direct attack on the villages in years, but that didn’t mean the risk had abated.

I turned to Zander, recalling what Aria had told me early this morning. “Is it true that you and Aria saw two Skepna while out in the woods?”

Zander shrugged. “There are always a few wandering around this area. I’m surprised they haven’t been scared off.” He grinned to himself and reached down to grip the short throwing spear on his hip. “Our girl is talented with a bow, and she’s getting to be adept with this. She was fearless when we came across them, Umber, fearless.” He said it with so much pride I couldn’t help but smile. “She wanted to kill them but I said to leave it so we didn’t have to deal with the mess of the bodies.”

“That was wise,” I murmured, though Aria’s expression when we left tugged at my thoughts. “Fearless as she is, even you can’t deny she was worried when we left.”

Zander’s proud smile turned fond, and his expression was almost placating. “She’s eager for us to return. It’s easier to coax kisses from her ever since she talked with Kaiden. She likes to think she’s defiant, but she aches to submit.” He gave me a nod, turning toward the village square where Kaiden was walking. “That’s why she was being fussy. She needs us.”

I laughed and shook my head. Need might be a strong word, because Aria was capable and strong on her own. But the thought was appealing, and it stuck with me as I followed after Zander, my cock half-hard and aching to be—

“Kaiden!”

The voice was low and sharpened by tension. I whirled around, and a moment later Kaiden sprinted past me with Zander hot on his heels. They raced toward where Dex was by the gate, reaching for the sword on his back. I stalked forward, craning my head around the gathering soldiers so I could see the threat.

It was a rider. A Kavari rider judging by height and breadth of the figure. The horse he rode on was one of the smaller ones kept by villagers and merchants, not the larger ones that were trained to bear our weight. It panted with the exertion of carrying him, but it wasn’t until he was right up on the fence that I recognized the man. Dusky blond hair framing a square face, muted gold eyes, a snarl twisting his wide mouth.

“Makan?”

Kaiden said his name with an air of irritation tainted with concern, and it wasn’t until I heard a soft cry that we all realized Makan wasn’t alone. In his arms was a child, inconsolable with tears. His dark hair curled at the ends, and every single one of my partners froze when Makan jumped off the horse, passed the child to Dex, then stormed up to Kaiden.

“Rober knows.”

Kaiden stiffened. “He knows what?”

“He knows what you’ve been planning. With Quade and Klev and the others. Elder Hoval has been whispering for over a week about your maiden walking around with papers stuffed in her pockets. They searched her bed and—”

“Godsdammit,” Kaiden snarled, raking a hand through his hair. “Do they know you’ve left to warn us?”

Makan wasn’t sure. I heard that much, and I could tell he was still speaking by how fast his lips moved. Kaiden was listening. Dex and Zander were listening, so were all the soldiers who’d rushed to the gate.

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