It had been a good decision he and his sister had made. Sending Gaius out with the Mì-runach and Branwen the Awful. Brutal warriors, all, there was never a fight they backed away from. Nor did they question where they were going or why. The most Gaius got was Brannie asking him his logic behind certain tactical choices, but she was always up for the ride. He really liked that about her.
Before they’d left the Provinces, Gaius had had the royal blacksmiths fit them all with special armor. It vaguely resembled that worn by his centurions but not enough to make them stand out. They looked like soldiers for hire who made decent coin from their exploits. And, more important, their armor, like their weapons, grew with them. If they shifted to human, their armor shifted with them. And when they shifted back to dragon, it went with them also. That way, they never had to worry about losing their armor if they suddenly had to go from human to dragon.
“We’re hungry,” Caswyn complained once Gaius and Brannie were in earshot. Of course, they were always hungry.
Rolling her eyes, the temper-growing-shorter-by-the-day captain snarled, “Then get something to eat.”
“Don’t have to snap,” the Mì-runach snarled back.
She nearly had her sword out when Aidan stepped between the pair. “There’s some sheep over that hill. Over there. Go get some, brother.”
Growling—or perhaps that was their collective stomachs—Caswyn and Uther wandered off.
“And bring us something back.” Aidan smiled down at Brannie. “I’m sure you’re hungry, too.”
“Shut up.” She reached down and grabbed Didacus by his jerkin, dragging him off toward the horses.
Aidan smirked at the king. “She adores me, you know.”
“So that’s how the Southlanders get by.” Aidan frowned at that, so Gaius added, “Delusion.”
Aidan laughed. “Well, it works for our queens. . . .” He motioned to Didacus and Brannie. “Are we going to question this one?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll have to wait until Caswyn gets back from eating. He’s the one who’s been trained in the art of torture.”
“My Uncle Thracius had whole detachments trained in torture. I never saw it as an art form, though.”
“It is. If you want to keep them alive long enough to get the information.” He motioned to Brannie and Didacus. “I’d best go with her. If he wakes up and gets a bit mouthy . . .”
Gaius chuckled and nodded.
Feeling a little worn down these days, Gaius made his way over to a large tree stump. He sat down and stopped to dig his hands into his hair, resting his elbows on his knees.
He honestly didn’t know how much more of this he could do. He missed his home. He missed his sister. He even missed Aunt L?titia. And while Brannie and Aidan were tolerable enough, the other two Mì-runach put Gaius’s fangs on edge. The constant bickering. The less-than-intelligent discussions.
As a son of the Sovereign Empire, Gaius had no tolerance for stupid dragons. And by gods, those two Mì-runach were just plain stupid.
Plus, he was growing frustrated. Despite hunting down so many of his kin and those loyal to them, Gaius was still no closer to finding Vateria. It was as if she’d vanished. He wanted to believe her dead, but no. If she was dead, Gaius was sure that Aggie would sense it through the lines of magick. They had an unholy connection now. One forged in blood and hatred and the need for vengence.
With the tips of his fingers Gaius briefly scratched his scalp in frustration before dropping his hands. He gazed at the ground, already feeling defeated when he hadn’t even asked Didacus a question yet.
Knowing he couldn’t face his cousin like this, Gaius did the one thing that had helped him get through these months away from home. He thought about Kachka. Just remembering her face always made him feel better. Gods, what he wouldn’t give to have had her riding by his side during all this.
“Do not be so weak, lizard. You will be fine.”
Shocked to hear her voice, Gaius immediately sat up . . . but . . . it wasn’t Kachka. It was some other woman. A woman he’d never seen before.
“Pardon?” he asked, trying to slow down his heart.
“I said, mind if I sit?” She gestured to the stump he was on. He quickly realized this woman did not have the accent of someone from the Outerplains. She also didn’t look like anyone from the Outerplains. She was tall, true. And beautiful. But brown skinned like those of the Desert Lands. Dressed for battle and travel, she smiled down at Gaius.
“Of course.”
He moved over a bit, blew out a breath. He should not have been that excited just to hear Kachka Shestakova’s voice—which he guessed had just been his imagination. What the hell was wrong with him?
The woman dropped her travel pack to the ground with a heavy sigh and moved her shoulders around as she sat down beside Gaius.
“You wouldn’t be looking for a sword for hire, would you?” she asked.
“Sorry, no.” He had more than enough swords at his disposal at the moment.
“Thought I’d at least ask.” She held up a small pouch, offering the jerky within.
Gaius shook his head and stared off, trying to again focus on dealing with Didacus and finding Vateria. How was he ever going to find Vateria?
“What about Annwyl?”
Gaius blinked. “Pardon?”