Chosen (The Warrior Chronicles #1)(50)

As if reading Sanders’s mind, Jonhas rushed in, arms and legs everywhere, trying to mix up his opponent before he smacked him down… and landed on his back.

Rachie had barely moved. His movements had been straightforward and efficient, and now he stared down at Jonhas with a distraught expression.

“I didn’t want to,” Rachie said in slight embarrassment. “I told you that—”

“Enough!” Sanders barked. Rachie flinched. It shouldn’t have been as gratifying as it was. “Rachie, head to the Pit. Jonhas, keep at it.”

It was time for Shanti’s Honor Guard to get evaluated. He didn’t understand their style, but he couldn’t argue with results. Rachie had been way behind everyone else before the foreign woman showed up, and he’d just won the fight with no strain. The other guys she trained were showing the same sort of results. If they didn’t excel at one art, they were masters at another. Leilius could barely hold a sword, but with a long knife and some cover, he was silent and deadly. Rachie had just proved that hand-to-hand combat was his forte. Marc was now apprenticing with the doctor, which had always known the kid had talent, but hadn’t been able to get it out of him until recently. Gracas was a blur with any weapon he used and often surprised himself when he won mock battles. That kid was under-confident, if anything.

And then there was Xavier. He was a leader. Even the Captain was taking special interest. He was large but still fast. He could work with nearly any weapon he tried. He had great aim with arrows and knives. And most of all, when he talked, men listened. The group was turning into Xavier’s Honor Guard more than Shanti’s. She talked to him, he talked to his men, and they all excelled.

Sanders had asked Shanti about it the other day, wondering if she didn’t feel the pinch of Xavier taking her power. She had shrugged in her unconcerned way and said, “The Captain thinks I can’t be reasonable. So I am giving him his chain of command. What do I care who gives the orders, as long as the goal is met?”

Sanders would care a great deal, actually, but he didn’t want to sound insecure by saying so. But one thing he couldn’t ignore anymore--Shanti had great skill, and she could train. She could be a valuable asset. Sanders hated to admit it, but it was best for all of them if she stuck around. He just wondered how long that would last.

Chapter 26

Two weeks later, Lucius stood with his back to the window, completely naked, when Shanti walked in. The man had a well-shaped body with wide shoulders, but he wasn’t overbearing. His muscles were cut and defined, and he stood balanced. He was an attractive man with a calm demeanor and patient air about him. He was a good Chance. Steady, strong, a good fighter, and reasonable. He also wasn’t bashful like so many of the men here were.

“I hear you are able to leave this jip-joint?” Shanti asked as she sat on the bed.

“Oh good, she has another wonderful little colloquialism,” the doctor remarked in his usual dry tone. He was sitting in the chair, putting his instruments into a leather bag. “With apparently a complete disregard for privacy. I wonder why no one has tried to take her home to mother?”

“I am being released today,” Lucius said, ignoring the doctor.

“I hear you are to return as my Chance. Was that your choice, or were you appointed?”

“Your Chance? I’ve heard you use term before. What does it mean?”

“My…co-fighter, I guess. My teammate. The one who watches my back, you might say. When I need protection to use my Gift, you provide it.”

“Caretaker comes to mind,” the doctor commented.

Shanti shook her head in frustration. “It’s hard to explain, I guess. You are my charge, I am yours. We are—we trust each other—“ She shook her head again. “It’s hard to explain.”

Lucius nodded slowly. “I volunteered.”

“Good. Otherwise it wouldn’t work. You’ll be like a sibling to me. A brother. It forbids anything sexual. Our bond, when it comes, needs to be closer than that. You need to leave me behind if that is for the good of the people. And I you. Love and sex make people crazy—makes people irrational. They do stupid things, especially men. There is no logic in it. It does not belong on the battlefield.”

“Understood.”

“Not only men do stupid things for love,” the doctor chimed in, placing his bag on the ground and clasping his fingers in his lap. For a man who loathed dealing with Shanti in any capacity, he was happy enough to banter against her comments.

“On the battlefield, I meant,” she clarified. “Off the battlefield women are their own force. I once tied a woman up and hung her from a tree by her ankles because she went after my—“ Shanti broke off immediately as an image arrested her—her love, lying with opened, sightless brown eyes covered with a film of blood. She lowered her head and focused on her breath, forcing the image away.

The room went deathly still; apparently the doctor and Lucius were unsure what to say to a strong woman showing weakness. The door opening was a welcome relief.

“Oh, Captain, I’ve been meaning to ask you—“ Shanti said after the large figure came to a slow halt in the doorway, studying na**d Lucius for a second before swiveling his gaze to Shanti. “What does it mean that you are a fairy?”

The room went very still for a second time, but for an entirely different reason.