Page 13 of Mated to the Alien Warlord

"Because he doesn't have any camp followers and his army is smaller," I stated. "He can keep pushing forward."

"How far is the clearing?" Gryck asked.

"Only an hour's ride, Your Highness."

"We should leave the camp followers there," Helmut suggested, "and ride through the night to surprise them."

"And have the warriors and horses exhausted when they enter the fight?" Gryck shook his head. "Nyck, but tomorrow morning we will change course to cut him off using the steppe."

A slight, barely audible sigh from Damaris made me turn my head. She still sat erect on her horse, but her body swayed a bit too much with the horse's gait, and I realized she had to be exhausted. Even though she slept last night, I didn't think the hard ground had offered a restful bed.

"You must be exhausted," I remarked.

She gave me a weak smile. "I don't think I've ever been this tired in my life," she admitted.

"I will have my bathing tub brought to you, Lady Damaris," Gryck offered generously.

"I will be in your debt," I thanked him.

"It's the least I can do." Gryck waved my thanks off.

Damaris's expression lifted at his words, and I chuckled that only a khazar would pack a bathing tub with his entourage,a reminder why we need the camp followers, I added sarcastically, although unfairly.

I washed up in the stream last night, but a bath sounded good.Especially if shared with Damaris, my cock suggested, enticing me even more.

NeitherVandornorourkhazar were anything like what I had imagined. Their power was unquestionable, but they didn't appear like the brutes they had been portrayed. Or if they were, Vandor's brutality had played in my favor since he rescued me from my abductors.

Both men were friendly to me, comforting even. I would have never expected the khazar to offer me his bathtub to ease my aching bones and exhaustion.

Despite my weariness, I listened to the men's conversation attentively. Never having been privy to war plans or strategic talks, I found their discussion fascinating. I was, however, aware that all our lives hung in the balance on the decisions the three men made, and I took a closer look at my new mate.

I had already witnessed that he was strong and skilled in battle, but now I saw a new side of him, one filled with the responsibility for the lives of thousands. Responsibility was nothing new to me. My father was responsible for thousands as well, but that was somewhat different. He had to ensure we came up with the tythes we owed and that we had enough food stored for all our denizens as well as the livestock, including our most valuable possession: the horses. I suspected Vandor wrestled with those same obligations, but where we humans relied on the protection of the Thyre warriors to keep us safe from the Udruns, Vandor and the other warlords were the ones to provide us with those warriors. They had to be trained, fed, and paid.

I assumed Vandor to be in his late twenties and wondered how long he had been carrying this kind of responsibility. Years, I concluded, because I didn't see an ounce of insecurity about him. There was no hesitation in the decisions he made, only while he was considering them. This was a man who knew where he stood and the consequences of making a false move, but who had learned to regard it as a part of life rather than allow it to consume him.

He was definitely a man I could respect.

His good looks already sent uneasy flutters through my stomach, and I concluded that, when it came to husbands, I could have done a lot worse. I thought, barring a major flaw I hadn't noticed yet, I might even be able to love this man one day, and that notion pleased me immensely.

Despite my exhaustion, we reached the clearing the scout had reported sooner than I expected. I was so caught up in the men's discussion that the time flew by.

I grew up in Steppenfort. Before my father took me on this journey, I had only been to the forests or mountains a few times with Adrian. Even on our way here, I hadn't had the time to truly appreciate Thyre's beauty. I had been too consumed with thoughts of my husband to be.

Now though, despite my tiredness, I had time to take in the beauty of the large trees making up the forest. They were mostly thick macay trees, but there were others whose names I didn't know that impressed me with their magnificence. Contrary to the massive macay trees, these were slender, growing tall in between their larger relatives.

The River Dunway, which flowed by our settlement, was said to run through all of Thyre, branching off into smaller ones, and there was not one stream, no matter how small, that didn't originate from the River Dunway. Even though I knew all that, I was still surprised to see it running through this clearing. It wasn't as wide as it was by Steppenfort, but the current was just as swift, maybe even stronger.

Vandor helped me off my horse, and I was thankful for it. I had reached the end of my endurance.

"Have a seat here, and I will have a fire and food ordered for you in no time," he promised, placing his thick fur coat over a flat rock by the river.

"Thank you."

"It's my pleasure," he assured me with a smile that weakened my knees even more than they already were. Yes, he definitely was a striking man.

It wasn't just his looks and the aura of power surrounding him that attracted me. I liked the way he took care of me and seemed to be concerned about my well-being and comfort. Of course, I had never lacked either; servants had always been present, fulfilling most of my desires, but Vandor was different. He saw to my needs because he wanted to, not because he was paid to do so. A slight difference, but one I took note of nevertheless.

It felt good being out of the saddle. Leaning back on the rock and warmed by Vandor's coat, I stared at the fast-flowing river water. It was dark, darker even because of the setting sun. Here and there some dying sunbeams glistened off it, and the longer I stared at it, the heavier my lids became.

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