Fearless (Nameless #3)(22)
“Don’t worry,” said Gryphon. “Gabe is only a few rows back. He’s safe.”
Zo scowled and pushed Gryphon’s arm away. “Maybe for now. Just wait until I’m done with him.”
Without bothering to wait for the two leaders to finish their discussion, Zo stomped toward the crowd of Raven. Both Chief Naat and Laden stopped talking and watched her in puzzled wonder as she passed them.
“Gabe!” she called, when she reached the wall of warriors.
The crowd parted, and Gabe walked toward her with his signature half-smile peeking through the weeks of blond beard on his face. His sword hung from a sheath at his hip and a bow was strapped to his back. Even Gryphon had to admit the man cut an impressive figure.
He jogged toward Zo, and with little effort scooped her into his arms in a complete spin. Zo rested her ear to his chest and returned the embrace as her skirt danced around her ankles.
Gryphon hadn’t realized he’d drawn his dagger until the familiar curve of the hilt cut into his hand from squeezing it too tightly.
When Gabe set Zo back down on her feet, she drew back her fist and threw it into Gabe’s face. Gryphon, along with the rest of the Allies and Raven witnessing the display, gasped in unison, then in laughter as Zo hissed words impossible to hear.
When she finished her rant, she spun on her heel and crossed the divide separating the two groups with head held high. She offered Laden and Chief Naat a firm nod, communicating an as you were, and stepped back in line with Gryphon and the Allies.
“Sorry,” she mumbled to him, taking back his arm as though nothing had happened. “That couldn’t wait another minute.”
Gryphon smiled and stared across the valley, locking eyes with Gabe. Visible even from this distance, the skin on Gabe’s left cheek had turned an angry red. His stance mimicked that of the sword strapped to his side—hard and unbending.
Though he knew Gabe had already been brought low, Gryphon lifted his arm to rest behind Zo’s back, his hand cupping her narrow waist. Staking his claim.
He had a feeling his blow cut deeper than Zo’s.
Chapter Nine
Laden stood before the crowd and cast his hands out wide. “In one week’s time, the Allies will host our first ever Ostara in honor of our new guests, the Freeman and the Raven. At dawn, two companies will leave this valley to invite both the Kodiak chief and the Wolf alpha to join us for the festivities. This Wolf tradition will mark the uniting of our clans as well as the wedding of the Freeman leader, Stone, and his soon-to-be bride.”
Zo squirmed next to Gryphon. She still hadn’t told him that she would be included in the company heading to the Kodiak Caves. She massaged the hand that struck Gabe—a painful reminder that she shouldn’t have been as happy as she was to see him safely home.
The crowd disbanded. Raven warriors rushed to meet their families. Commander Laden called for Gryphon to accompany him back to his tent. With a sigh, he turned to Zo and said, “Do you feel like he’s trying to keep us apart?”
Laden certainly had kept Gryphon busy since their arrival.
“Find me after?” she asked.
He must have noticed her throbbing hand, because he plucked it from her side and raised it to his lips. “Count on it.”
As Zo watched Gryphon’s and Laden’s retreating forms, the buzz of laughter and conversations around her fizzled. Heads turned in her direction. Heat warmed her back—the temperature difference subtle, but noticeable—as someone came up behind her, invading her personal space.
Zo closed her eyes, knowing and dreading the source.
“Go away, Gabe.”
“Please. We need to talk.” Gabe rested his hand on her lower back and guided her through the crowd. Zo might have fought him, but she didn’t have the energy or inclination to make another scene.
“I don’t know what to tell you,” he said, walking at her side. “I’m sorry.”
Zo pushed past him as they wove through a sea of curious onlookers. So many of these men knew her and Gabe to be the best of friends. Over the last few years she’d heard rumors of Gabe’s intention to propose marriage one day, but she and Gabe had never so much as kissed before a couple of weeks ago, and even that hadn’t been her idea.
Gabe was a friend. A brother. She couldn’t deny her physical attraction to him, but she’d never cared for him in a romantic way. He’d surprised her with news of Gryphon’s death, and she was in shock when he met her unsuspecting lips with his.
“Sorry isn’t good enough, Gabe. Not for this.”
Gabe jumped over a black and barren fire pit to keep pace with Zo. When he landed, he snatched up her hands before she could yank them away. “Zo, when I left Gryphon I truly believed there was no way he’d survive. I didn’t want you to agonize over the long and painful question of his survival. I lied because I believed it would be the truth, even if it was an eventual truth.”
Zo stopped struggling against Gabe’s hold on her. “But why lie to Gryphon?”
At the mention of Gryphon’s name, he threw his hands into the air. “Listen, I panicked. I care for you, Zo. We’d just survived the Gate, and I thought we’d finally be together. Then I saw the way you worried over Gryphon. I felt you leaving me for him. I couldn’t stand it.”