The next day dawned before Drake was ready for it, but “sleeping in” on the road was a luxury he was going to have to learn to live without. It felt good to wake up on his own, before first light, without anyone coming into his portion of the tent to rouse him. His own mother had roused him yesterday. He wasn’t about to let that happen again.
There had been no word from Kel or his pack. Did that mean his attempt to recruit them had failed? If so, that would suck, but he didn’t have any more time to waste trying to meet with ferals who had no interest in giving him the time of day. If they joined him, he’d have some new scouts and warriors, and if they didn’t... he’d figure out something else.
Once Drake was dressed in a silverweave tunic, pants, and a thick cloak to ward off the morning chill, he found Lydia waiting in full battle maid attire by the entry to the tent. Which battle maid stepped out into the camp with him varied between, Lydia, Valentia, and Nicole. He’d expected Valentia today since Lydia had been here yesterday.
Still, it was always nice to see his steward. He was always impressed with how well put together she looked every morning. Lydia smiled pleasantly as he approached.
“Did you sleep well, lord?”
“I’ll sleep better when we’re home and we’ve tucked the fish prince into bed. How about you? Sleeping okay?”
“I am fine, lord.”
“Any word from Kel?”
“None. Shall we join the line for breakfast, or shall I have it brought here?”
“Let’s do the line,” Drake said. “I could use the cold air to wake up.”
After Lydia stepped out, he gave her a moment to survey the camp for threats. After she beckoned, he stepped out into the chill morning and joined her. The faintest edge of orange tinted the horizon, but the camp remained lit at all times during the night with torches maintained by the zarovians or others. Keeping everyone safe remained a priority.
Drake had just set off to the chow line with Lydia in tow when River slipped from between two tents and hurried over. “Apologies, lord, but we have a visitor.”
The former courtesan looked striking as ever, even in servant clothes. How this woman managed to look like a million bucks when she was sleeping in the same camp as everyone else remained a mystery for the ages. Still, the worry on her face wasn’t what he was used to.
“Who is it?” Drake asked. “And why did they send you to get me?”
“Lord Skybreak felt it best if I came to speak to you while her rangers expanded our perimeter,” River said. “The visitor is a feral, and she’s come alone. She has also refused to speak of her purpose here. All she has said is that she will speak only to you.”
Drake grimaced. “We’ve played this game before.” He wondered if this feral had some way to teleport him. “Still... let’s not keep her waiting. If my day’s going to be complicated by fuckery, I’d prefer to get that out of the way before breakfast.”
“This way, lord,” River said.
Drake followed her through the camp with Lydia at his side and was unsurprised when Valentia joined them not long after. He saw no sign of Nicole, but given she was Nicole, she could be right beside him and completely invisible. He suspected she was, somewhere.
He reached the zarovian perimeter and nodded to the two big lizardmen standing guard. They parted to let him through, and when he stepped past them, he was surprised to find he knew this feral. He’d met her yesterday.
It was Sidori, the brown and gray catgirl who’d been one of the two guarding Kel. The catgirl who was also Sachi’s sister. Of Sachi herself, there was no sign.
“Morning, Sidori.” Drake kept a safe distance. “You needed to see me?”
One brow rose incrementally as she considered him, and the single ear she still had twitched to face him. Perhaps she was surprised he’d remembered her name. He hoped it was something like that and not... plotting.
“Lord Gloomwood. Thank you for coming out to meet me. I apologize for rousing you so early, but I was given little choice in the matter. Kelarin will not be coming today.”
Drake hid his disappointment as best he could. “So his answer’s a no?”
“He will not be coming today,” Sidori repeated. “No other packs will meet with you. It would be best if you returned to your manor at once. Now, may I go?” She glanced behind her as if nervous. “Your rangers made it clear I would not leave with your permission.”
That was just as ruthless as he’d expect from Sky. He also appreciated Sky’s caution. Something about Sidori’s arrival and words just felt... off.
As much as Sidori tried to hide it, Drake knew she was nervous, even frightened. It was the way her ear flattened incrementally when she spoke, the way her tail wouldn’t sit still. Drake hadn’t known, until now, that he’d known Sachi enough to pick up on her subtle verbal tics, but her sister’s were similar. Sidori was worried about something.
Also, Kel had said that if he wasn’t going to take Drake up on his offer, he wouldn’t come at all. Why send Sidori? All of this smelled wrong.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said. “Did Kel and others decide not to join me?”
“It is time for you to leave,” Sidori repeated.
“Or what?”
“Or my pack will suffer for your refusal.”
Drake nodded as his worst fears were confirmed, followed by the question of what he was going to do about it. “Exactly what happened after Kel left my camp last night?”
Sidori’s calm evaporated as her ears flattened and she bared her teeth. “If you do not allow me to depart, the others will assume I have failed in what I promised. My pack will suffer. That is all you need to do know.”
“So another pack... what? Took your pack captive?”
“And what if they did? What will you do about it, lord?”
The way Sidori twisted his title told him exactly how she felt about manor lords. Given how Drake felt about most of them, he couldn’t blame her. Still, it rankled that she assumed he’d hang her out to dry without at least asking for help.
“What I’ll do depends on exactly what happened last night, Sidori,” Drake said calmly. “So why don’t you tell me everything instead of simply assuming I’m an asshole?”
As Sidori hissed, any pretense of pleasantness or reserve vanished. “Had my father not insisted on meeting with you, none of this would have escalated to the point it has now. So I will assume whatever I wish about you!”
“So this other pack came after him because he met with me? Why? Did Lord Mistvale make a law against you folks joining other manor lords?”
“Are you going to let me leave?” Sidori demanded. “How much more must you take from us before you will be satisfied? You have my sister and my father. Who else do you want?”
“So this is about Sachi joining my manor?”
She stared with her eyes like slits.
“To be clear, I wasn’t even here when that happened, and Sachi certainly hasn’t told me anything about it. All I know is Kel seemed like a decent guy, and now he’s in trouble. I want to help him, if I can. So let me help.”
“The help of a manor lord comes with costs one can never repay,” Sidori said icily.
“Enough, sister!” Sachi breezed past Drake’s side and approached Sidori with her ears pushed back. “You are wasting Lord Gloomwood’s time. If we can help the pack, we will help them, but only if you stop behaving like an idiot child.”
Sidori glared at her. “You think your precious manor lord will help us?”
“I know he will, if there is help to be had,” Sachi said evenly. “He is a good and brave man who does as he claims. Now. Tell me. What happened to our father?”
Sidori glared at her sister for another long moment before she visibly folded. Her shoulders sagged, her tail dropped, and her ear twitched in and out. The fight left her.
“Last night, after Father returned from speaking with Lord Gloomwood, Elaran’s pack intercepted us.”
“And?” Sachi demanded.
“He named Father a traitor,” Sidori said quietly. “The pack as well, and me.”
“So is it to be fostering or execution?”
“Fostering for the pack,” Sidori said. “Execution for Father, but only if I return now. If I do not... Father’s sentence will be passed along to the pack.”
Drake once more considered how insane this world continued to be. “So these other ferals are going to execute Kel and... foster... the rest of you out because you talked to me?”
From what he’d read, “fostering” was when a pack of ferals took in a feral from a different pack. It was usually done out of generosity rather than spite, but there was no question in his mind that it meant Kel’s pack would be split, like spoils, among the other packs... even if split up families. How the fostering was done would be up to the pack leaders.
“Yes,” Sidori continued quietly. “If I return, the pack survives. If you imprison me, all die. So if you wish me to beg, I will beg. Please. I beg of you. Let me save my people.”
Drake was annoyed enough by this complication that he decided caution wasn’t worth it today. “And what happens if I just go kick Elaran’s ass?”
Lydia touched his hand. “We do know their numbers or their capabilities, and we have already lost people. It is a risk to assume we can solve with through force.”
“I know that,” Drake assured her just as quietly. “But I won’t just let a guy get executed because he gave me the time of day, and this is Sachi’s father. We need to know more.”
Sidori watched him with narrowed eyes. “That is not a battle you would survive.”
“So just how big is this pack?
“Eighty-two ferals run in the Granite Pack. None dare challenge them.”
“That’s...” Drake paused. “Okay, that’s a lot more than I expected.” Even on a good day, with Sky’s people, eighty-two Sachis would tear his vanguard apart. He wasn’t about to risk the lives of her people and his unless he knew they had a good chance to win.
“Have I satisfied your curiosity?” Sidori asked sardonically. “Can I go now?”
Drake considered his options in silence, but only for a moment. This needed to be a quick decision. The lives of everyone in Kel and Sidori’s pack depended on it.
“I just have one more question before you leave,” Drake said. “Is Elaran also Lord Mistvale’s prime?”
Sachi eyed him in surprise.
“What?” Drake asked. “I read books.”
Sidori also seemed surprised by his question. “Elaran is Lord Mistvale’s prime, yes, but... why would you even ask that? What do you know of my people or their lives here?”
“Just what I’ve read when I had time. Still, what I have read is pretty clear about how things work when someone’s accused of treason. The treason Elaran claims Kel committed is against Lord Mistvale? That’s why he captured Kel and your pack?”
After another moment of suspicious staring, Sidori nodded.
“Then as Lord Gloomwood, I can challenge that ruling in a scrap,” Drake said. “The winner decides the truth of Elaran’s accusation. Or do you not do that anymore?”
Resentment eclipsed Sidori’s visible moment of hope. “Your human thralls cannot fight in a scrap, nor can your zarovians. You have no one who can stand as champion but...” She trailed off as she realized what he was suggesting. What he’d already figured out.
Sachi glanced his way. “You wish me to fight as your champion?”
“Only if you wish to fight for your father’s pack,” Drake asked. “I’m not going to force you, but I will back you if you want to make that play.”
“And, as the manor lord who sponsors me, you understand what you must surrender if I lose?”
“I do,” Drake said. “But I don’t think you’re going to lose.”
Their gazes remained locked. Drake could only imagine the mental turmoil Sachi might be hiding from him, whatever complicated family history and painful past she must be sorting through as she weighed her next words. If she’d fight for them.
“If you wish me to be your champion,” Sachi said, “I will fight for you in the scrap.”
“Why?” Sidori whispered in shock. “After all this, sister, why?”
Sachi glanced at her. “Because I finally have an opportunity to prove you wrong.” She bared her sharpened teeth. “I’d never miss the chance to do that.”
The next day dawned before Drake was ready for it, but “sleeping in” on the road was a luxury he was going to have to learn to live without. It felt good to wake up on his own, before first light, without anyone coming into his portion of the tent to rouse him. His own mother had roused him yesterday. He wasn’t about to let that happen again.
There had been no word from Kel or his pack. Did that mean his attempt to recruit them had failed? If so, that would suck, but he didn’t have any more time to waste trying to meet with ferals who had no interest in giving him the time of day. If they joined him, he’d have some new scouts and warriors, and if they didn’t... he’d figure out something else.
Once Drake was dressed in a silverweave tunic, pants, and a thick cloak to ward off the morning chill, he found Lydia waiting in full battle maid attire by the entry to the tent. Which battle maid stepped out into the camp with him varied between, Lydia, Valentia, and Nicole. He’d expected Valentia today since Lydia had been here yesterday.
Still, it was always nice to see his steward. He was always impressed with how well put together she looked every morning. Lydia smiled pleasantly as he approached.
“Did you sleep well, lord?”
“I’ll sleep better when we’re home and we’ve tucked the fish prince into bed. How about you? Sleeping okay?”
“I am fine, lord.”
“Any word from Kel?”
“None. Shall we join the line for breakfast, or shall I have it brought here?”
“Let’s do the line,” Drake said. “I could use the cold air to wake up.”
After Lydia stepped out, he gave her a moment to survey the camp for threats. After she beckoned, he stepped out into the chill morning and joined her. The faintest edge of orange tinted the horizon, but the camp remained lit at all times during the night with torches maintained by the zarovians or others. Keeping everyone safe remained a priority.
Drake had just set off to the chow line with Lydia in tow when River slipped from between two tents and hurried over. “Apologies, lord, but we have a visitor.”
The former courtesan looked striking as ever, even in servant clothes. How this woman managed to look like a million bucks when she was sleeping in the same camp as everyone else remained a mystery for the ages. Still, the worry on her face wasn’t what he was used to.
“Who is it?” Drake asked. “And why did they send you to get me?”
“Lord Skybreak felt it best if I came to speak to you while her rangers expanded our perimeter,” River said. “The visitor is a feral, and she’s come alone. She has also refused to speak of her purpose here. All she has said is that she will speak only to you.”
Drake grimaced. “We’ve played this game before.” He wondered if this feral had some way to teleport him. “Still... let’s not keep her waiting. If my day’s going to be complicated by fuckery, I’d prefer to get that out of the way before breakfast.”
“This way, lord,” River said.
Drake followed her through the camp with Lydia at his side and was unsurprised when Valentia joined them not long after. He saw no sign of Nicole, but given she was Nicole, she could be right beside him and completely invisible. He suspected she was, somewhere.
He reached the zarovian perimeter and nodded to the two big lizardmen standing guard. They parted to let him through, and when he stepped past them, he was surprised to find he knew this feral. He’d met her yesterday.
It was Sidori, the brown and gray catgirl who’d been one of the two guarding Kel. The catgirl who was also Sachi’s sister. Of Sachi herself, there was no sign.
“Morning, Sidori.” Drake kept a safe distance. “You needed to see me?”
One brow rose incrementally as she considered him, and the single ear she still had twitched to face him. Perhaps she was surprised he’d remembered her name. He hoped it was something like that and not... plotting.
“Lord Gloomwood. Thank you for coming out to meet me. I apologize for rousing you so early, but I was given little choice in the matter. Kelarin will not be coming today.”
Drake hid his disappointment as best he could. “So his answer’s a no?”
“He will not be coming today,” Sidori repeated. “No other packs will meet with you. It would be best if you returned to your manor at once. Now, may I go?” She glanced behind her as if nervous. “Your rangers made it clear I would not leave with your permission.”
That was just as ruthless as he’d expect from Sky. He also appreciated Sky’s caution. Something about Sidori’s arrival and words just felt... off.
As much as Sidori tried to hide it, Drake knew she was nervous, even frightened. It was the way her ear flattened incrementally when she spoke, the way her tail wouldn’t sit still. Drake hadn’t known, until now, that he’d known Sachi enough to pick up on her subtle verbal tics, but her sister’s were similar. Sidori was worried about something.
Also, Kel had said that if he wasn’t going to take Drake up on his offer, he wouldn’t come at all. Why send Sidori? All of this smelled wrong.
“You didn’t answer my question,” he said. “Did Kel and others decide not to join me?”
“It is time for you to leave,” Sidori repeated.
“Or what?”
“Or my pack will suffer for your refusal.”
Drake nodded as his worst fears were confirmed, followed by the question of what he was going to do about it. “Exactly what happened after Kel left my camp last night?”
Sidori’s calm evaporated as her ears flattened and she bared her teeth. “If you do not allow me to depart, the others will assume I have failed in what I promised. My pack will suffer. That is all you need to do know.”
“So another pack... what? Took your pack captive?”
“And what if they did? What will you do about it, lord?”
The way Sidori twisted his title told him exactly how she felt about manor lords. Given how Drake felt about most of them, he couldn’t blame her. Still, it rankled that she assumed he’d hang her out to dry without at least asking for help.
“What I’ll do depends on exactly what happened last night, Sidori,” Drake said calmly. “So why don’t you tell me everything instead of simply assuming I’m an asshole?”
As Sidori hissed, any pretense of pleasantness or reserve vanished. “Had my father not insisted on meeting with you, none of this would have escalated to the point it has now. So I will assume whatever I wish about you!”
“So this other pack came after him because he met with me? Why? Did Lord Mistvale make a law against you folks joining other manor lords?”
“Are you going to let me leave?” Sidori demanded. “How much more must you take from us before you will be satisfied? You have my sister and my father. Who else do you want?”
“So this is about Sachi joining my manor?”
She stared with her eyes like slits.
“To be clear, I wasn’t even here when that happened, and Sachi certainly hasn’t told me anything about it. All I know is Kel seemed like a decent guy, and now he’s in trouble. I want to help him, if I can. So let me help.”
“The help of a manor lord comes with costs one can never repay,” Sidori said icily.
“Enough, sister!” Sachi breezed past Drake’s side and approached Sidori with her ears pushed back. “You are wasting Lord Gloomwood’s time. If we can help the pack, we will help them, but only if you stop behaving like an idiot child.”
Sidori glared at her. “You think your precious manor lord will help us?”
“I know he will, if there is help to be had,” Sachi said evenly. “He is a good and brave man who does as he claims. Now. Tell me. What happened to our father?”
Sidori glared at her sister for another long moment before she visibly folded. Her shoulders sagged, her tail dropped, and her ear twitched in and out. The fight left her.
“Last night, after Father returned from speaking with Lord Gloomwood, Elaran’s pack intercepted us.”
“And?” Sachi demanded.
“He named Father a traitor,” Sidori said quietly. “The pack as well, and me.”
“So is it to be fostering or execution?”
“Fostering for the pack,” Sidori said. “Execution for Father, but only if I return now. If I do not... Father’s sentence will be passed along to the pack.”
Drake once more considered how insane this world continued to be. “So these other ferals are going to execute Kel and... foster... the rest of you out because you talked to me?”
From what he’d read, “fostering” was when a pack of ferals took in a feral from a different pack. It was usually done out of generosity rather than spite, but there was no question in his mind that it meant Kel’s pack would be split, like spoils, among the other packs... even if split up families. How the fostering was done would be up to the pack leaders.
“Yes,” Sidori continued quietly. “If I return, the pack survives. If you imprison me, all die. So if you wish me to beg, I will beg. Please. I beg of you. Let me save my people.”
Drake was annoyed enough by this complication that he decided caution wasn’t worth it today. “And what happens if I just go kick Elaran’s ass?”
Lydia touched his hand. “We do know their numbers or their capabilities, and we have already lost people. It is a risk to assume we can solve with through force.”
“I know that,” Drake assured her just as quietly. “But I won’t just let a guy get executed because he gave me the time of day, and this is Sachi’s father. We need to know more.”
Sidori watched him with narrowed eyes. “That is not a battle you would survive.”
“So just how big is this pack?
“Eighty-two ferals run in the Granite Pack. None dare challenge them.”
“That’s...” Drake paused. “Okay, that’s a lot more than I expected.” Even on a good day, with Sky’s people, eighty-two Sachis would tear his vanguard apart. He wasn’t about to risk the lives of her people and his unless he knew they had a good chance to win.
“Have I satisfied your curiosity?” Sidori asked sardonically. “Can I go now?”
Drake considered his options in silence, but only for a moment. This needed to be a quick decision. The lives of everyone in Kel and Sidori’s pack depended on it.
“I just have one more question before you leave,” Drake said. “Is Elaran also Lord Mistvale’s prime?”
Sachi eyed him in surprise.
“What?” Drake asked. “I read books.”
Sidori also seemed surprised by his question. “Elaran is Lord Mistvale’s prime, yes, but... why would you even ask that? What do you know of my people or their lives here?”
“Just what I’ve read when I had time. Still, what I have read is pretty clear about how things work when someone’s accused of treason. The treason Elaran claims Kel committed is against Lord Mistvale? That’s why he captured Kel and your pack?”
After another moment of suspicious staring, Sidori nodded.
“Then as Lord Gloomwood, I can challenge that ruling in a scrap,” Drake said. “The winner decides the truth of Elaran’s accusation. Or do you not do that anymore?”
Resentment eclipsed Sidori’s visible moment of hope. “Your human thralls cannot fight in a scrap, nor can your zarovians. You have no one who can stand as champion but...” She trailed off as she realized what he was suggesting. What he’d already figured out.
Sachi glanced his way. “You wish me to fight as your champion?”
“Only if you wish to fight for your father’s pack,” Drake asked. “I’m not going to force you, but I will back you if you want to make that play.”
“And, as the manor lord who sponsors me, you understand what you must surrender if I lose?”
“I do,” Drake said. “But I don’t think you’re going to lose.”
Their gazes remained locked. Drake could only imagine the mental turmoil Sachi might be hiding from him, whatever complicated family history and painful past she must be sorting through as she weighed her next words. If she’d fight for them.
“If you wish me to be your champion,” Sachi said, “I will fight for you in the scrap.”
“Why?” Sidori whispered in shock. “After all this, sister, why?”
Sachi glanced at her. “Because I finally have an opportunity to prove you wrong.” She bared her sharpened teeth. “I’d never miss the chance to do that.”
