Page 18 of Enchanted Shadows (The Enchanted Kingdom #6)

She gave me a look over. “I doubt that you can be.”

Was she about to call me heavy again? “Zara,” I groaned.

She let out a sigh. “I can defend myself.”

“That I do not doubt, but it was in these very woods that Jorah and I were cornered and outnumbered by some loyalists of Theon’s. Had the wolves not hidden her, it could’ve been far worse than it was.”

Two beats of silence. “I didn’t know that.”

“I trust this forest and its weird happenings more than I trust most people,” I admitted while I turned to look at her.

Her face was still watching the sunset, and dammit if she wasn’t gorgeous.

I had boxed up and shut out any appreciations I had for the women.

They were all shapes and sizes, and I was a man, far from immune to their charms, but I also knew I couldn’t look at any of them as anything other than my trainee.

“And speaking of that, full disclosure, I went to see one Amos Reyes a few days ago. ”

That had her brown eyes on mine. Laser focused. “Why? Why would you do that?”

“Because you kept mentioning dealing with worse than me, and we both know I’m not exactly warm around the edges. So, I went to see what I was dealing with.”

She went still and quiet as she looked back at the sunset. But from the way she was squeezing one of her hands, I thought it was nerves. She didn’t like my digging.

“He didn’t tell me much. Offered me a beer and told me you were hiding from your family. That’s about as much as he would say. Though I did lead with trapping him with my Enchantment. Just in case.”

Her lips twitched just the briefest amount. “Amos is a good man. You do not have to worry about him.”

“Are you two in a relationship?”

She jerked her eyes back to mine. “Why?”

“I’m trying to understand it, that’s all,” I told her. “Thought maybe it was like Aletta and your family doesn’t approve of your choice. No judgements. Even if he is a little old for you.”

“I’m older than I look.” She quickly added, “You and Queen Jorah?”

“What about us? We are close in age.”

“No. Did you ever date her?”

I snorted a laugh. “Hell no. I knew from the start she and Krew were made for one another. Kept throwing them in situations together until they saw it too. I love her, just not in a romantic sort of way.”

She considered that. “Well Amos and I are a lot like that. He is not my brother, but I wish he was. If that makes sense.”

“It does.” I offered her another cookie.

Jorah was making more to bring over tomorrow anyway.

“Are you ready to tell me about your family? I’m already gearing up to take care of any loyalist outbursts because of the team.

Also keeping an eye out for the dead king’s black magic.

So if I need to do a little threatening, it wouldn’t be a hassle. Easy to add to the list.”

She went quiet and I waited, eating my own cookie. Giving her space and time to think. When she finally spoke, her voice was textured as if drug through gravel. “I just didn’t expect to love them like this.”

It took me a minute to realize she meant the team. The other women. “Me neither, if that’s any consolation.”

She snorted a laugh. “I tried to keep my distance, but Molly is a magician and snuck past all my defenses. I would do anything for those women.”

I grinned. “Molly the Magician? I have been referring to Pippa in my head as Pippa the Pepper for quite some time now.”

She stilled for a moment and burst out laughing. “It fits, but you’re still horrible.”

She saw the look I was giving her and rushed to add, “Do not even start with me about leadership.”

“You’re a natural leader. You remind me a lot of Krewan, actually.”

“Wh—what do you mean?”

“He is calculated like you are, some people think he’s cold, but he has the biggest heart.

He was the leader of our training team coming out of the first session.

Leadership doesn’t always have to be loud and in your face.

It isn’t a one-size fits all.” I moved to chuck a rock into the lake.

It skipped twice. “Don’t think I didn’t notice on the obstacle course that you could make it up the bars with arm strength.

You showed them another way on purpose.”

Her eyes flooded with tears even as she snapped, “Playing favorites doesn’t become you, General.”

“Holding back doesn’t become you, Zara.”

She sniffled and threw a rock. It skipped three times. Of course.

I stood and reached for her hand to help her up. “Come on.”

“What? ”

“I don’t like crying. You don’t have to tell me anything thing more. You’ll tell me when you’re ready. I need to get back and make sure the others haven’t hog tied Emric and gone back to Savaryn.”

“You’re dropping it?” Confusion was all over her beautiful damn face, her face drawn together by a line in her brow.

“I am. For now.” I shrugged and began walking back toward the path. “A little secret about me? I hate tears.”

“You, the Big Bad General Raikes, sheer aggression and more muscles than any one man should possess, are scared of crying?”

“Pretty much sums it up, yeah.”

She laughed. “Okay, General.” She looked to the cookie container which was now empty. “Oh. We ate them all.”

“Jorah knows I’m prone to snaccidents, that’s why she only sent this many with me. The rest she will deliver.”

She hit me with a grin. “Okay then. I suppose we should head back.”

My footsteps fell in next to hers. “Do I need to check on you every single night to make sure you don’t walk out here?”

“No. I’ll bring Molly and Wren next time.”

Our feet padding on the path were the only sounds heard as even the birds called it a day. “Speaking not as your general currently, how is Wren doing?”

“She was wrecked and guilty that first day, but training is proving to her how strong she is. I think she knows she deserves someone better than that man. She’s been practicing with her Enchantment non-stop. Building it up.”

“Good.”

“Speaking as not a member of the team currently, you are a good brother to her. She defends you all the time. I know she loves you.”

“I love her. She’s my sister. Annoying as hell on occasion and tends to make terrible decisions, but I wouldn’t leave her in it alone, you know?”

“I wish I had that,” she said quietly. “I wish more than anything I’d had that.”

“Do you know how hard it is for me to not demand right now a list of who has hurt you?”

“Why do you even care?” she snapped a little more harshly. “Aletta had family drama too.”

“Because you don’t even see all that you are capable of. You’re too busy running from your past.”

“I’m good at running,” she said a few beats later when we arrived back at the barracks.

“Well, when you are tired of it, I’m here.”

“Goodnight, General.”

“Goodnight.”

Damn. I thought I was close to getting somewhere with Zara tonight.

I couldn’t help her if I didn’t know what was going on.

Add that I also knew the loyalists were up to something, but I couldn’t stop it until they provoked us.

I was trying to stay ahead of it all and prepare, but it was hard to prepare for an enemy you couldn’t see.

Likewise, I couldn’t find even a glimpse of the dead king’s magic after it was seen the one time.

I was losing my touch. Stress tension was building up in my neck and between my shoulder blades. I didn’t know what the last few weeks of this would bring, but at least today there were cookies.