"Hold on just a second," Anlai began.
And Fendur complained, "I want to hear the story!"
"You can both stay right where you are," I decided. "Tem can leave, if he's so eager to be rid of your company."
Fendur grinned, and Anlai scowled, but their ears seemed to prick up. Oh, goody, front row seats to our friend getting hided by a girl.
My cushion looked at me incredulously. "You're going to kick me out of my own tent?"
"I'm going to do worse if you keep up this territorial bullshit. So — either shut up and quit being such a pain in my ass, or you can find yourself somewhere else to sleep."
Temris smirked then. "If I'm such a pain in your ass, why do you persist in sitting on me?"
"What can I say? I enjoy a nice warm body after spending an afternoon on the hillside," I drawled.
"And what, exactly, were you doing on the hillside?"
I folded my arms. "Apologise and I might just tell you."
He grimaced. Every word sounded forced, like he was fighting his own pride. "I'm sorry, Lyra, for being such a domineering bastard. Is that acceptable?"
"No. You should probably apologise to your friends while you're at it." I was pushing it now, but I didn't really care. He was giving in, and I enjoyed pressing my advantage.
Temris turned to the boys with a muttered curse. His voice full of eternal boredom, he said, "Forgive me. I didn't mean to give offence."
"You know, I didn't actually hear an apology in there," Fendur mused.
"I'd just shut up and take it if I were you," Anlai advised him. "You're forgiven, cousin. Get on with the story. I've been stuck with these two idiots most of the day and I could really use a diversion."
"Very well. Yarrow cornered me at the paddocks with both of his lapdogs—"
"Being an Iyrak myself, can I just say that none of us appreciate that comparison?" Fendur interrupted.
I frowned, "Objection noted. Now let me finish. He wanted me to kill Temris in his sleep, for obvious reasons. I played along for the sake of self-preservation, and as it turned out, he was offering to make me a Valkyr in exchange for saving his worthless hide. Long story short, he tried to kill me, and with a little help from the horses, I turned the tables. So there's likely a price on both of our heads."
"Whoa, slow down. Elaborate on the turning of the tables, if you please," Temris said.
So I told him and watched as Fendur's jaw dropped. The cousins didn't show their surprise so obviously, but I could see the faint traces of amazement in their eyes. It was high time someone recognised my genius for what it was.
At least, I assumed that was the shock factor, until the story ended and Temris scowled with barely concealed rage. "He hurt my horse?"
"That's crossing a line," Anlai agreed, haughtily.
Attacking helpless peasant girls wasn't what ticked the northerners off. Oh, no — it was animal cruelty that got their blood up. I was neither surprised or happy, but I wasn't about to make a fuss. Let them forget that I'd nearly started a civil war with my provocation.
"Nightmare will be fine." I waved a hand dismissively. "It's you I'm worried about, Tem. He'll try again. Soon."
Fendur stood up quickly and collected his sword from the table, returning it to its sheath. He decided, "I'll wake Colloe and round up a few of the corps. We can surround this tent if need be."
"Don't go to too much trouble," Temris yawned. "I am not afraid of Yarrow's lackeys. He's spineless, and I doubt he will try anything with Lyra on the loose. If you are still going to act like a mother hen, fine, but I want your report before you go anywhere."
He sank back down reluctantly. "Is it the men's morale you want to hear about?"
"Yes."
"Word around the campfire is —"
I shook my head. "Stop a moment, please. When do you have time to sit around campfires and listen to all these words? Because I have never seen you do that. Not ever."
Fendur sounded exasperated. "Lyra, it's a way of saying rumour."
"I know that. But why use that particular phrase?"
Anlai looked up sharply at that. "Haven't you ever been to the campfire?"
"I've been trying to keep her away from the corps," Temris sighed. "You know what they're like."
"Yes, I do. They've been nagging me about Lyra for the last fortnight. Everyone wants to see you. Including Eirac — especially Eirac," Fendur added.
"Well we all know the reason for his enthusiasm," Anlai muttered. "I brought Melia along a few nights ago. He wouldn't even stop pushing when I took a swing at him."
"Gods, cousin..." Temris murmured. "Do any serious damage?"
He shrugged. "I wasn't trying to. He may be a prick, but he's of far more use in one piece."
"What's the corps?" I asked, completely lost. The whole conversation seemed to be going over my head, which was all the stranger when you took into account that I thought I knew everything there was to know about northmen.
"It's how we live in the north. A corps is made up of roughly a dozen families who share a longhouse. We work, eat and sleep together — and when the warlord lights the beacon fires, we fight together. All three of us are in the same corps. Bevan, too. That's why I took him on as an underling," Temris explained.
"Sounds...cosy," I noted. "Okay, you can carry on."
Fendur continued speaking as if he had never been interrupted. "The men are obviously riled up. There's excitement about tomorrow — given that it's Solstice and a challenge. They complain about pretty much everything, miss their families and are eager to be home in time for harvest."
"That's nothing new," Anlai said.
"Anything to be concerned about?" Temris asked.
"No. Morale is relatively high for wartime. We won't be facing mutiny any time soon. But you should know, they're starting to call yesterday's battle 'Hellfire Highway.' The bards are having a field day."
Temris had to smile at that. "Let them sing, so long as they still do their work. Speaking of which — I have orders for you, Anlai. You're to stay here with the troops when I go to Canton, splitting command with Hallos and Bevan. Retake Taiga and build a wall across the Pass. It's high time we had something to defend when the Anglian army comes calling."
Anlai scowled, his face like for thunder. "If you think for one moment I'm going to sit on my ass here while you —"
I felt the arm around my waist tense up at the pure defiance in that tone. Yet Temris sounded utterly calm when he said, "I need to know that if I die, my successor will be someone with at least half a brain cell. And I would quite like that someone to be you. So you will stay here and you will survive this war."
"When will you get it through your thick skull that I don't want to be the bloody warlord?"
"You think I do?" Temris asked, too quietly. "Look, I have a responsibility to our people. A responsibility to ensure the safety of my successor."
"There's no guarantee I would even win the melee," Anlai pointed out sulkily. I didn't doubt he was saying that for the sake of argument, not because he believed it.
Temris smirked. "You're right. I reckon Sami's eyeing up the title."
"I have an idea," I said suddenly, just to stop them bickering. "How about you take Anlai and let him get himself killed if it means so much to him. Then Samira can stay here and succeed you. She would win — I know she would."
"Only one problem there, Lyra. We have no precedent for a female Ragnyr. The men might not even let her participate in the melee," he told me, but he also shifted beneath me, and I knew he was thinking it over.
"How could they refuse? All she needs to say is that they're afraid to fight a girl," I argued. "Besides, there was no precedent for a warlord of multiple warbands until you came along. They accepted that quickly enough. Times are changing."
Anlai nodded, quick as a snake. "I approve. All in favour?"
"Of course you approve," the warlord snapped, even as Fendur and I raised our hands. He groaned. "This isn't a bloody democracy. Voting won't get you anywhere, because I refuse to risk the future of Cambria to preserve my cousin's pride."
I considered carefully before I spoke. This was the point where I could swing the argument either way. And it was definitely in my interests for Samira to succeed him, given how little Anlai liked me. So I laid my hand over his and leant back against his chest for maximum impact as I said, "Don't you trust your sister? Leaving the warbands in her hands wouldn't be any sort of risk. She doesn't want to come anyway — thinks we're all idiots."
Temris stared at me for a long while. "It's not Sami I don't trust. It's the men, fickle creatures that they are. But I'll think about it, and that's all I can promise for the moment."
It was the best I could hope for, so I nodded. Anlai wasn't quite so pleased. He waited only another few minutes for Fendur to leave and return before excusing himself. We had a small army outside by then — both Iyrak and their entire corps. I had stayed resolutely inside while Temris went to greet his closest comrades, unwilling to meet them without the benefit of a full night's sleep. But I could hear booming laughter and a particularly boisterous voice which could easily have belonged to this 'Eirac.'
When Temris came back in, he found me standing over the map, staring resolutely at the small x which represented the labour camp at Canton. He would be travelling there after Solstice.
"Do you want to come?" Temris asked quietly. His shirt hung loosely on his body, half-unlaced to show a stretch of scar-flecked, suntanned skin. He was unarmed and unarmoured save for the single sword buckled to his hip. It was rare to see the warlord so exposed. Rare ... and tempting.
"Do you want me to come?" I countered.
"Very much."
"Then why don't you just make me?"
He ran a hand through his already ruffled hair. "So cynical, Lyra. I give people a choice when I can. Anlai is the exception — he is my contingency plan. But you? You would be of far more use at Canton, but I won't force you to risk your life."
"I suppose my decision rather depends on what exactly I would be doing there. Samira said I would enjoy it..."
"You might," Temris said immediately. "But it will also be painful and extremely difficult. Fendur and Colloe will be going, along with a few of my corps. At this rate, it looks like I might take Anlai after all. There will be seven or eight of us, taking on nearly a hundred guards. Now, I have a few ideas about how to do that, but nearly all of them require you. It's your choice, though."
"My choice?" I smiled wickedly. "I rather like the sound of that. Of course I'll come, which you already knew, didn't you? You can afford to give me a choice because you know that I would choose fighting over sitting on my arse any day. Free will doesn't count if you manipulate through it, Tem."
He threw up his hands, grinning. "You got me. But what other option did I have? If I ordered you to come, you would hate me for it. If I ordered you to stay, you would follow us anyway, and still hate me for it."
"What makes you think I don't already hate you?" I asked playfully.
"This," Tem said, and closed the gap between us to kiss me.
I allowed our lips to meet for just seconds before pulling back. Those damned blue eyes fixed on me with nothing less than desire. Doing my best to ignore how easily my body reacted to him, I said, "Point taken. So, are you going to tell me what I will be doing in Canton?"
"Little one..." he warned. "We were only just discussing the disadvantages of manipulation."
"Alright, alright. Tell me later."
I pushed him down onto the bench and sat myself on his lap, facing him. We were in a very compromising position, which did absolutely nothing to temper the feelings obscuring my judgement. My hand skimmed down a rock-hard stomach and came to rest on a ridge of muscle just above his waistline. Temris drew in a long breath and said, "You're damn distracting, you know that? I can't fight Yarrow tomorrow with you in the corner of my eye."
"Then I suppose you'll die," I said bluntly.
He snorted. "You would like that, wouldn't you?"
"You would certainly deserve it."
"Perhaps."
And suddenly we were kissing again — a hot mess of tongues and lips, every movement dripping dominance. His hands closed around my thighs and pulled me ever closer. Something stirred within me, a fire kindling deep in my chest. Just as Temris groaned against my mouth, I drew back and placed an arm strategically between us to keep him at a safe distance.
He regarded me with barely concealed hunger. "See, this ... this is distracting, little one."
"Then we will just have to stop doing it." I shrugged, still not making any attempt to move away. "Oh well."
"Are you sure you would be able to manage that?" Temris asked, no doubt opposed to the suggestion and trying to make me give it up.
I cocked an eyebrow. "I could restrain myself twice as long as you could."
"Really?" he scoffed. "Self-control is not one of your strong suits, Lyra."
"It's not one of yours either."
His thumb was rubbing small circles on the outside of my thigh, which made it extremely difficult to think straight. "Good point. As I see it, there's only one way to settle this."
I caught his train of thought. "You want to make a wager?"
"To see how long we can keep our hands off each other. First one to give in loses," he suggested, a wicked gleam in his eyes.
"And the stakes?"
Temris smirked. "Bragging rights, I suppose."
"Very well," I agreed, although my growing apprehension thought this was a terrible idea. "We have a bet."