Fearless (Nameless #3)(48)
Zo’s stomach churned as she lay next to Raca. Neither pretended to sleep as the failure of their journey weighed heavily upon them. Like it or not, in a few hours they’d leave to report their failure to Commander Laden.
A muted but distinct roar filled the cave, then died, making Zo think it was only the product of too little sleep and too much worry. Then the roar sounded again. Louder than before.
“What was that?” Talon asked. He pushed himself up off his padded bed and walked over to the large wooden doors that sealed off the chief’s wing of the Kodiak cave system.
“It could be an uprising,” said Ikatou. “My people are hungry for vengeance. If word of our arrival and dismissal leaked to the clan, Murtog might finally taste the frustration of his people. Loyalty can only go so far.”
Talon unlatched the door and pushed it open. “The guards are gone.”
Zo and the others climbed to their feet just as another thundering roar filled the cave.
“An uprising?” asked Zo.
“What will they do to Murtog?” asked Raca.
Ikatou held up a hand, silencing the group. “Listen.”
A deep voice, faint but distinct, interrupted by yet another roar.
“It can’t be,” muttered Ikatou.
Without warning, the Kodiak bolted through the door and down the moonstone tunnel. Raca strapped on her quiver and reached for her bow in one flowing movement. She nocked an arrow and approached the doors with caution.
“No,” said Talon, already walking toward her.
“Try and stop me,” was her only response before sprinting out the door and into the spiraling tunnel after Ikatou.
Talon growled and ran after her, leaving Zo to trail after him.
The noise ahead grew louder. Between the echoes of her footfalls, Murtog’s voice seemed to fill every inch of the cave, bouncing off stone in riotous glory. She burst into the main cavern to find it filled to capacity with Kodiak adorned in fur and buckskin coverings. Every head towered above Zo’s. Off to the side, Murtog stood with arms outstretched and an obvious sheen of tears trailing down his face. “The time for mourning has passed. Tomorrow, we march to avenge our loved ones, and soon, to bring them home.”
The battle cry that followed forced Zo to clamp her hands over her ears. Murtog walked off the dais a true chief and passed Zo, Raca, and the others back down the moonstone tunnel to his chambers without a word.
Zo took Raca’s hand in hers and squeezed. The Raven princess stared after the Kodiak chief, mouth hanging open and the beginnings of a smile lighting her beautiful eyes.
Ikatou carried no such self-discipline. He sprinted over to Zo, took her by the waist, and tossed her five feet in the air. “You did it!” He wrapped her in a giant bear hug that cut off both circulation and air. When he finally set her down, Zo looked back over to Raca and grinned. “I don’t think I did anything.”
Chapter Seventeen
Gryphon couldn’t bring himself to cheer with the rest of the Allies when the first wave of Kodiak emerged from the gap and made its way down into the narrow valley, exactly one week and a day following Zo’s departure.
He was consumed with relief at Zo’s return, at her success in coming closer to fulfilling the blood oath—at the chance he’d have to pull her into the protective cage of his embrace and hold her for just a moment. But another emotion flared hot within him.
His clan.
What would become of them? No matter how justified the Allies were in defending themselves and gaining back what was taken, Gryphon couldn’t help but mourn the future of his people should these clans actually defeat the Ram.
The Wolves had arrived from the southern passage only yesterday, swelling the camp with fathers, sons, wives, and daughters old enough to attend the Ostara. Laden had explained that it was customary for Wolf fathers to show off their daughters at these gatherings. By day, the pretty girls dutifully looked after the family cart, and by night they danced and made merry with potential suitors.
When Gryphon voiced his concern about having women and children journeying to the camp with so much unsettled in the region, Laden had assured him that the southern passage was still safe to travel thanks to a rotating regime of Allied guards. “Besides,” he’d said, “we need to remind these men what they’re fighting for.”
Gryphon impatiently scanned the crowd of Kodiak for Zo. She must have spotted him first, because she pushed her way between a wall of Kodiak and rushed toward him.
“Gryphon!”
His heart leapt into his throat as she jumped into him, wrapping her legs around his hips and burying her head into his neck. “I missed you!” she cried.
Gryphon laughed and spun her around in a full circle, pulling her to him with probably too much force. He set her down but didn’t release her, planting a solid, delicious kiss on her forehead, his hands firm yet tender on her upper arms. “I missed you too, Zo.” She hovered there, her full lips taunting him, especially the bottom one. He longed to pull her away from all of the planned festivities and taste them properly.
A hand on his shoulder killed the thought. He looked up into the terse face of Commander Laden and released his hold on Zo, taking a sheepish step back so Zo might greet the person closest she had to a father.
That’s when he noticed the bear.