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Zara paces up and down the garden path, the hem of her dress picking up more and more dirt. Her mother would be so mad at her right now if she saw what she was doing. Zara pauses to run her hands through her hair. Wolfe and his army have gone from the sight of the manor now. They won't come back. Not now that Logan has escaped. Her fingers snag on a knot and she works to undo it. It's something to occupy her mind and her hands for a little while. It releases fairly quickly and she resorts to pacing once again. The hem of her dress is now a murky brown.
"Zara?" She stops and swings round.
"Egan." She says, a smile forming on her lips. She rushes to him and takes his hands. He regards her warily, her behaviour out of the ordinary for him.
"Ebony told me that you wished to speak with me."
"Ask me to marry you." She rushes the words from her mouth.
"Excuse me?" He frowns and glances around. "You told me you wished to wait until this mess was over. This mess has just gotten bigger."
She gulps before scowling at him. She releases his hands and pokes his chest. "What happened to you wanting to marry me? Am I spoilt goods now?" With each question she jabs him before turning on her heels.
"Of course I want to marry you but..."
"There is no but, you either ask me to marry you or you don't. If you won't I will simply find someone else." She declares with a wave of her hands.
Egan catches her by the arm and studies her. She squirms under his thoughtful scrutiny. "Logan has escaped from the dungeons; I cannot believe that you are in your right mind in these moments. Saying you will marry another only proves it." Zara breaks away but does not leave.
"Logan will be captured; it will only be a matter of time." She starts, no longer sounding so desperate. "I have to start living my life again no matter what is happening concerning him. I want to marry you." She strokes his arm, looking up at him with wide, beguiling eyes. "You have been there for me through everything so far and I now see what I should have seen a long, long time ago. We are a good match and I do not want to wait anymore."
She waits for his response as his mind considers her words. She wonders why he has not jumped at the chance. With only a few short words he could become part of a great and powerful family with lands as far as the eye can see. He could not possibly decide not to marry her, not now.
He sinks down onto one knee and takes her hand. Zara smiles down at him, her face growing in warmth and adoration towards him. "I am afraid I do not have a ring to hand." She laughs.
"I do not think it is necessary." She soothes his worry.
"Zara Ricell, will you do me the great honour of becoming my wife?" The moment draws out and Zara struggles. This is what she wants, this is what she planned. She should be saying yes.
"Of course." She finally manages. His face breaks out into a huge grin and he stands. She grins back, unable to tell how much is real and how much she is faking. A hole has formed inside her and she does not know what will fill it. His hand cups her face and he slowly leans in. She swallows nervously. His lips touch hers. She kisses him back and closes her eyes. Another face jumps into her mind and she flinches.
Egan breaks away and looks at her with concern. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, of course I am." She replies, cursing herself inwardly for flinching. She does not want to feel the guilt that has risen within her. "We must go and tell father our good news." She places her hand within Egan's and pulls him to go and find Lord Kier.
○ ○ ○
Hunter helps Logan down from his horse and assists him to a nearby tree. Hunter is relieved he chose two horses that would not wander off if given the chance. It would have made this escape much more difficult. He loops their reins over a low branch and returns to Logan. "Arm over." He orders and Logan loops his arm over Hunter's shoulders. He helps him to a nearby river and sits him down on the bank.
Hunter leaves his side but soon returns with some bread and some dried meat. He hands it all over to Logan whose stomach rolls at the smell. "Eat," Hunter orders and Logan shoots him a look but follows his orders. He needs to stretch his stomach again and he needs to find the energy to continue riding. He eats the bread first before tackling the meat. He manages to get it down with several large gulps of water from the river.
He looks across at Hunter who lies back with his cloak drawn over his face, shielding his eyes from the bright sun. His chest rises and falls softly. Logan leans back and Hunter stirs. Hunter lifts the cloak and tuts loudly. Logan groans. "What?" He asks annoyed.
"You can sleep when you do not smell." Hunter rises and offers his hands to help up Logan. He has no choice but to accept. He assists him further down the river where a natural pool has been carved out. Hunter leans down and with one hand pulls off his boots. Logan doesn't bother, knowing that his boots are most likely filled with blood. Logan sits down by the poolside and Hunter wades in. It comes up to his waist at the deepest point. Logan eases his way in and starts to wipe the blood from his clothes. Dried blood swirls around him and he grimaces. Hunter gets out of the water but does not go far. He cannot risk his brother drowning after getting this far.
When Logan has got the blood from his skin Hunter wades back in and helps him to the bank. He disappears and returns with a bundle of clothes. He frowns at Logan and gets a chuckle in return. "I can get dressed by myself." Hunter laughs and walks away.
Logan sighs in relief when he removes the clothes he has been wearing for far too many months. It is so nice for him to no longer wear Jasiel's blood or his own. His knees have scarred heavily from falling so many times. Hunter returns when Logan calls out for him. He helps him to his feet and they return to the horses.
"Sleep for a few hours, and then we really should move on." Hunter tells him. He climbs up a nearby tree to keep a look out. Logan finds a comfortable spot on the forest floor and soon drops off.
○ ○ ○
"Identify yourself." Logan wakes to his brother bellowing those words. He sits up quickly, surprised to find some energy and strength in his muscles. He looks up where his brother has notched an arrow on a bow, ready to release it into whoever dared to discover them here. "Identify yourself." He shouts again, releasing the arrow as a warning. He quickly notches another. Logan sees two figures that raise their arms into the air, they appear to be surrendering.
"Relax, would you?" One of them calls out and Hunter frowns, lowering the bow just slightly. "Wolfe sent us." He brings it up again and releases another arrow. They both quickly duck as it sails through where his head was a brief moment ago.
"Hunter." Logan calls up. "Why did you do that?"
Hunter climbs down and stands protectively in front of Logan. The two figures come closer, one growing in size, the other remaining the same. The one who called out is familiar to both Hunter and Logan. Hunter would prefer them not to be there though. His green eyes sparkle with mischief as he winks at Logan. Hunter snarls. "What are you doing here?" He questions, irritation seeping from his pores. Jag grins.
"I thought I said that already. Your hearing is going at such a young age." Hunter deftly flings a knife at him. It sinks into the bark directly beside Jag's arm. Jag raises his eyebrows and shakes his head. "Wolfe sent us." He says slowly, articulating every word. Hunter glares at him.
The giant of a man behind Jag pulls the knife from the tree and chucks it back at Hunter. Hunter reaches out and clasps it by the handle before securing it back into his belt. Jag looks back at the man and shakes his head. His thought process is easy to guess; Hunter flings a knife at him and then he gets it back? Hunter nods at the giant who is also familiar to all present.
"Leo." Hunter acknowledges. "I order you both to return to Wolfe and keep your mouths shut." Logan looks at his brother in surprise. Surely they could use the two men whose loyalty will never be in question.
"No can do." Jag replies. "You are no longer a Usani and no longer in charge of Wolfe's army." Hunter grits his teeth, he already knew that would happen but it is not great to hear. "Wolfe ordered us to find you."
"And do what? Bring us to him. I am not putting him in that position." Hunter almost growls in reply.
"No." Leo intervenes in case Jag was going to attempt to have a laugh at Hunter's expense. He did not want to see Hunter get too angry, not when lives were at stake. "Wolfe ordered us to help you get Logan to safety. We are not allowed to report anything back to him and we must follow your orders from this point on."
"Go home." Hunter orders.
"No." Logan argues. "You cannot be keeping watch all the time. Let them remain until I have at least regained my strength."
Hunter sighs loudly and brushes his hair back before nodding. "Fine, but my word goes." Leo nods and Jag bows his head. "We should head out again; it's too dangerous to remain in Ricell lands."
"Where are we heading?" Leo asks as he helps Logan to his feet.
"To the Tikva lands. We cannot return to Usani nor Iceni. Staying here is too dangerous so we must go to Tikva and hope they do not recognise us." Hunter glances back at the three men and groans. One of them is close to collapsing, one will not fit in with the tall people of Tikva and the other will tower over them. They have a few months until they will be safely in another territory but Hunter does not like their chances of going in unnoticed.