All of the men watch Aron closely. I notice Yulenna is silent, her expression one of worry. I can't blame her. We're going to the edges of the world apparently, to extremely dangerous places and she's a bed slave who isn't wanted by her owner. She's probably wondering what her place is in all this and what will happen to her. I make a mental note to befriend her and reassure her that she's safe…and if she doesn't want to stay, I want her to feel comfortable with leaving.

Aron shakes his head. "Waiting like that is waiting for death, is it not?"

It's the right thing to say. The men's eyes light up with enthusiasm. "Shall we hunt them down, my lord? Raise an army in your name?" Solat asks.

"Perhaps not." Aron rubs his chin thoughtfully, and he seems to like the idea. "Perhaps on to Yshrem?"

Yulenna makes a face.

"What?" I ask, narrowing in on that. "What's bad about Yshrem?" Jesus, do these people hate everywhere? No one wants to go to Novoro, or Yshrem, and Katharn and Aventine were crap. Where is it that's safe and relaxing to go to?

She flinches, pulling her cloak close about her shoulders when everyone stares at her. "It is just…" She wrinkles her nose. "A kingdom of scholars and wizards. Adassia is much nicer."

"Adassia is conquered by the Cyclopae," Markos corrects. "As is Yshrem. And the Cyclopae are devotees of my lord Aron."

Cyclops? Freaking cyclops? I've heard everything now…but I'm not surprised. I mean, if there are zombies and angels and gods walking the earth, why wouldn't there be cyclops?

"My lord Aron, may I ask what is in Novoro and beyond that you seek?" Kerren—the quiet one amongst the soldiers—speaks up and asks.

"Yes, you may ask," he says, and turns his back to them. Aron stalks toward me and then puts his hand on my chin. "Say everything to them," he murmurs. "We keep no secrets."

Right. As in, shut your mouth, Faith. "Will do, big guy."

He studies my face thoughtfully, and his thumb moves against my skin, just inches from my lips. Before I can wonder if he's going to touch me more, or kiss me, he releases me and turns away, his cloak swirling. "Let us not be on our way."

The men scramble to their feet, full of enthusiasm. All of them except Kerren, of course, whose face is flushed with embarrassment at being ignored. The others clap him on the back as if to sympathize, but then everyone is mounting up on the woales and Aron looks impatient at me, waiting for me to join him on our land-hippo.

"I'm coming," I mutter, my butt already hurting at the thought of another day (or a week) in the damn saddle.

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46

Oddly enough, I enjoy the company of the soldiers and Yulenna as we travel.

The dynamic's weird at first—no one is sure whether or not to talk around Aron or even me, and so it's awkward and quiet when we're around. I get tired of that and by the time we hit the road on the second day, I start nagging the men (and Yulenna) to tell me about where they came from, how they got to be soldiers, and anything else I can think of. When Aron doesn't smack them down for daring to talk to me, they ease up a little and soon the conversation is flowing.

For all that the men are battle-hardened and have been soldiers since about the age of sixteen, they feel so young. They laugh and make merry, playing pranks on each other as they ride their woales and teasing about wenches they left behind in other cities. Kerren—the quiet one—has a sweetheart back in his hometown, whereas Solat is the ladies' man. Yulenna even joins in the teasing, chatting with the men and laughing with them.

Me, I feel a bit like a team mom. Maybe it's because I don't know jack about this world other than what I've overheard or what Omos taught me. Maybe it's because they all look at Aron guiltily when they're a little too loud or boisterous. Aron, for his part, doesn't really take part in the conversations. He occasionally snorts with amusement at overhearing something, which tells me that he is paying attention, but he's quiet.

And he's extremely, extremely protective of me. He hovers near me and frowns if anyone moves too close. He makes sure I never lift anything heavy. He keeps a possessive hand at my waist at almost all times. He insists I get the best tent and largest portions of food first. And if one of the men laughs a little too hard at one of my jokes, Aron gives them the stink-eye.

It’s kinda cute but it also makes everyone just a little afraid of him.

He also completely, utterly ignores Yulenna.

Yulenna, for her part, has tried really, really hard to get into Aron's good graces. She tries to flatter him with conversation, makes herself available at all times, tosses her hair so much that she looks like a high-spirited horse, and constantly goes up to him, trying to figure out what he wants or needs. It's obvious that she'd feel more certain of her place if he would just fuck her, but he completely and totally ignores her.

"You're going to give Yulenna a complex," I whisper to Aron one night as we're under the blankets in my tent. "She really, really wants to please you, preferably on her knees."

He just snorts. "I have interest in her,” he lies. And then he holds me close, his hand on my waist. "Go to sleep."

Aron always sleeps in my bed. Between that and the fact that he ignores Yulenna, it's clear that they all think we're fucking. One morning I get out of the tent, my hair a tangled mess of snarls, and catch the men smirking as if sharing a secret joke. I guess it makes sense that they think we're together like that. Heck, I have days where I wonder why we're not together like that. I let them go on believing it, too, because what am I going to say? That Aron isn't interested in sex? It's clear from Yulenna's hurt confusion that he is. That he likes sex a lot.

But Aron's never put the moves on me. He's never even really come close, and other than that night at Tadekha's Citadel, you'd think we're brother and sister…which makes me feel all sour and irritated inside. I start to study Yulenna, trying to determine what she has that attracts Aron that I don't.

Not that I want to attract Aron, of course.

But if I did…

I watch as Yulenna rides next to Solat. She's laughing and giggling at his flirting, and her loose breasts sway under the thin fabric of her dress. Her hair is in a sexy, loose braid over one shoulder and she looks clean and pretty. I glance down at my own tunic. It's got a stain from breakfast on it, it's faded and old and belonged to a man. My hair's pulled into a wild topknot just because I don't have the mental fortitude to touch it while it's dirty, and my tits are tightly bound under the leather band.

I am most definitely not bringing the sexy to travel.

I wonder if that's a mistake, though. I wonder if I should be trying to seduce Aron so he'll help me get home once he gets home? I don't know what to think.

The weather stays nice for most of the next week, even if the environment continues to change. The thick, tall forests thin out and the roads get progressively rockier. It gets colder with every day that passes, as if we're climbing in altitude, and in the mornings, my breath puffs visibly in the air. I wake up with my body plastered to Aron's for warmth, but if it bothers him, he doesn't say a thing. As we ride, the flat lands turn into hills, and then the hills turn into massive, craggy mountains that loom overhead.