Chapter Seventeen

Tedra noticed the mountain about midmorning, when they finally left the wooded region for a stretch of low hills intermixed with flat plains. Mount Raik, Challen named it, and it was a magnificent sight, rising straight up in the south to a pointed peak so high its top was capped with ice even in these subtropical climes. There were other mountains they were leaving behind in the north, the Bolcar Range, beyond which were the unknown lands of which Kystran was supposedly one. A long mass of purple hue, it could still be seen easily above the trees behind them, though there were no impressive peaks to it like Mount Raik, toward which they were now heading.

Close to noon, the green-grassed plains dwindled, and Tedra started seeing cultivated fields of grains and vegetables, but no houses or barns to go along with them. The trees were back, huge stately ones wind-breaking for a flowering orchard, a golden-leafed grove half surrounding a small blue lake, another forest of vivid color, where orange, yellow, and bright red leaves mixed with every shade of green and brown.

This they entered by a well-packed dirt road that wound around tree trunks, showing that nothing had been cut down to make way for it. Natural. Tedra liked that, that nothing had been destroyed to make room for man. In fact, she liked everything about this land, the pleasant weather, the beautiful scenery, and the men weren’t so bad either.

Those whom Challen rode with shared a warm camaraderie, joking and ribbing one another, frequently laughing over humor that Tedra didn’t quite understand yet, though she would with time. She had experienced a moment of keen embarrassment when she left Challen’s tent that morning to find those warriors mounted on their great hataari, other hataari loaded down with the fruits of their hunt, and all just waiting for them. It was made even worse when she realized that they’d spent an extra day of hunting yesterday because Challen had spent the day with her, and every one of them had to know why Challen had delayed their departure.

And Challen, that overgrown lout, hadn’t made the uncomfortable moment any easier by being overly familiar with her when he set her on his hataar, his hands lingering first on her waist, then trailing down her bare leg for all to see. Of course, he’d just finished sharing morning sex with her and so was still in a mellow, amorous mood. She’d promptly been put back into the mood she’d gone to sleep with, which was one of pure vexation, since Challen hadn’t taken her annoyance with him last night into account, insisting she still cuddle against him and give him his good-night kiss after their talk.

But her new mad had lasted no more than half the morning, the day too beautiful, the company too good-humored to savor it any longer than that. Even the rope around her wrists didn’t bother her as much as she’d thought it would. That was likely because Challen had left the tent early and come back with another rope, one he turned into a belt for her, which in turn made her brief covering more decent than some warm-weather outfits she owned. She’d been really grateful for that belt, the more so that she’d got it without having to ask. From his high-handedness of the night before to his doing something like that… there was more to her barbarian than she’d first thought.

Shortly after midday they stopped next to a meandering stream to share cold meat left from last night, also the small round cakes of a sweet white bread called crumos. The area was still well into the forest and amply shaded. Birds chattered overhead, along with small furry creatures that lived mostly in trees. Tedra had noticed at least a dozen new animals that morning, but all harmless, and all quickly disappearing at the approach of the large hataari.

She wasn’t untied for this short meal, but that was all right, since Challen was then forced to the effort of helping her, thereby slowing down his own meal, which was in a sense poetic justice she found amusing. Stretched out by her side, he used his long dagger to cut chunks of meat into bite-size pieces to hand to her. He’d tried to put the food to her mouth at first, but had got a finger bitten for that demeaning effort. But she wouldn’t have felt so smug or amused about the arrangement if she’d known he took pleasure in it. And if she’d realized he was deliberately taking his sweet time to provide an excuse to send the others on ahead, her nose would really have been bent out of joint.

As it was, she didn’t suspect a thing, not even to wonder why none of the other warriors offered to wait what she figured would be only a few minutes, since Challen was already cleaning his dagger when the rest started moving on. Before the last man was gone from sight, he stood up; she did, too, moving directly toward his hataar so she wouldn’t have to be told. But when he came up behind her, it wasn’t to lift her onto the animal’s back.

She accepted his arms coming around her and the gentle squeeze she received. She was, after all, feeling sated and mellow and all-around good for no reason she could put her finger on. She was also already accustomed to the fact that her warrior simply liked hugging and having her body pressed close to his. But after a moment he turned her around, and she wasn’t even aware her rope belt had been removed until she felt his large hands beneath her covering, cupping her buttocks to draw her even closer, then moving upward without hindrance over the bare skin of her back.

When she started to ask what he thought he was doing, her mouth was covered by his and the question answered, and also forgotten. The warrior knew how to kiss in a way that was extremely thrilling, bringing lips, tongue, and even teeth into play, and heat, Stars, the heat, setting off sparks in all points of her body. It wasn’t long before she was stretched out on the soft grass, lost to the realm of sensation.

After the excess of yesterday, her body had been feeling neglected without her realizing it, even after she had been awakened that morning to dance to this very tune. But that was hours ago, and so her pleasure was full when it came, intense enough to wring a cry from her that set off a cacophony of answering bird calls from above.

Coming back to reality was slow, but her first clear look at Challen’s expression set off warning bells. He was a man who had just had a victory of some kind, and it took another moment for it to come together in her mind, the fact that they were not in a place “where he slept,” the fact that she could have refused that joining, the fact that she had lost the option from the moment he kissed her, not because it was gone, but because she couldn’t think straight when he was setting off fires in her newly awakened body.

“Why did you do that?” she asked, just to be sure.

He didn’t try to pretend he wasn’t aware of her meaning. “To see if I could.”

“You mean to see if I would let you.”

“Let us not quibble over a moot point.”

“I’ll quibble if I want to quibble,” she shot back as she wiggled out from under him. “We’re talking major advantage-taking here, Challen.”

At that he chuckled. “Woman, to what do you object, that you did not think to say no, or that you did not want to say no?”

Color stole up her neck into her cheeks. “That isn’t fair. You gave me no chance to think of that or anything else.”

“Which was my intention.”

“You’re trying to turn me into a claimed woman, aren’t you?” she accused him. “One you can command anywhere, anytime?”

His look said if-the-shoe-fits, but he answered, “This cannot be done during your service, for while you are challenge loser you have my protection, and only a woman without protection can be claimed.”

“That’s going round the block, warrior. We both know how the other would prefer it, and you’ve just proved you’ll try to have it as you want it no matter what my official status is.”