Chapter 312: The Second
To listen to my July Author Q & A, go to YouTube and search "Author AimeeLynn." There you'll find a voice-acted recording of "Reth" reading Chapter 2 of this book, along with my recent author Q & A about the Anima world, tribes, and history! All for FREE! Enjoy!
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LERRIN
He'd just finished soaping between his toes when the tent flap fluttered and Asta appeared still in her fighting leathers, which meant she'd just come from the training ground where he'd left her with instructions to whip the chosen fist into shape before they were called into service.
She had to have left just minutes after him. He growled. "What are you doing here?"
"We need to speak," she snap.
"Those snipers need to find their edge!"
"And they will—that's what I want to speak to you about. Give me the fist to lead against the Cat. Let me take them to the Tree City. I can ensure they will not step outside the plan."
"Absolutely not."
"Why not?" she growled.
"Because you are far too important here. If we lose you—"
"I will not engage, I will be there to manage the fist—they are trembling with the urge to hunt, Lerrin, they need a strong leader that can channel that—"
"At what point did our fist leaders lose control over their people?" he pushed himself to stand, the water trailing down his body, but Asta didn't even blink.
She leaned in, teeth bared. "At the point when the entire Tribe became under threat and has had to impatiently wait to see our enemy die!" she snarled back. "There is weeks of unsatisfied anticipation seething in their veins and you bark at them as if they are children."
"They acted like children this morning. They showed none of their control. None of the discipline we've drilled into them for years!"
"They face victory and they can taste it! If you stifle their bloodlust, you remove their courage. Let them quiver. When the moment comes, they will show their true colors."
"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," he growled, stepping out of the bath and picking up the towel to dry himself in short, frustrated swipes. "If they are not motivated to hold themselves in check when their King stands before them, how can I believe they would do it when their enemy is within reach?"
"Precisely why you should let me lead them—to ensure—"
"Which is it Asta? You want me to believe they have the control? If they do, they don't need you. If they don't, having you or me there will make no difference. They will break under the lust and get themselves killed!"
"You and I both know there is a fine line to be drawn in a wolf between eagerness and discipline. They show their desire to win—something we encourage in them. Once they are moving and that eagerness is being satisfied, they will calm and focus."
Lerrin shook his head. "I do not have your confidence. But it doesn't matter. We have to let them try. Perhaps if they fail, the others will take the caution and approach our next attempt with more caution."
Asta's hands curled to fists at her sides. "Lerrin," she said quietly, almost a growl. "Let me lead them—"
"No." Holding her eyes, he infused the word with all the authority and dominance he possessed.
Asta shivered, her body urging her to submit. Her jaw flexed and Lerrin shook his head.
He'd pulled on fresh leathers and was picking up the clean shirt, shaking it out to find the opening for the sleeve. She used the movement as an excuse to look down and let him win, but he didn't miss the light that flared in her gaze when she lingered on his chest.
He didn't smile, but pulled the shirt over one arm, then the other, shrugging it over his shoulders and beginning the buttons without taking his eyes off of her.
Let her defy him. Just let her try.
Asta swallowed, then met his eyes again. "Why not?"
"You are far too crucial. You're needed here—for the rest of the soldiers who won't be taking action and are apparently falling apart at the seams because of it. Besides, with all the tension here we can't risk losing any of our leaders and tempting some of the more… erratic wolves to try and fill their places. Why do think I haven't led a fist myself lately? We have to keep the leadership intact."
"And apparently I can't lead an assassination fist without losing my life?" she snapped.
"It is a risk I am not willing to take!" he barked back.
Asta growled, but looked away immediately. She knew she'd lost, but she wasn't happy about it.
He thought the conversation was over, that she'd submitted, and he turned away to find his dirty leathers so he could remove his belt and knife, but apparently she wasn't finished.
"Let me plan an assault. Let me engage the soldiers in a plan, preparation, whether the assassination is successful or not. Let us see victory on the horizon, Lerrin! An all-out assault. We can take them!"
"Are you mad?" Lerrin whirled back to face her. "Is this a joke?"
"Why would you—"
He stepped right up into her space, letting her feel his dominance, his strength, and his iron will. Her eyes widened, but she didn't give him space.
He snarled through his teeth. "We will take the steps that are the most likely to succeed, not those that are the most fun, Asta! What has gotten into you?"
"I tire of sitting back and watching that Cat curl up in the comfort of his cave every night while my people freeze out here!"
"You think I do not? You think it doesn't burn in my chest knowing the resources he has? The people at his disposal? You think I let the bears take the land because I wanted to?"
"No, but—"
He leaned in until their noses almost touched, his eyes fierce and teeth bared. "We are smaller numbers, with fewer resources. We are a younger population, and our people are frustrated and angry. We can win this, Asta, but it is not a simple matter of walking into the Tree City and taking it for ourselves. I wonder how you can even propose this, as if it is a simple decision to delay, rather than a strategy? What has gotten into you?"
Her eyes narrowed, but at that moment the tent flap pushed back and Suhle returned, a tray in her hand with Lerrin's meal. She got two steps in before she sensed the tension and halted, staring between them. "Should I—?"
"No," Lerrin snapped.
At the same moment Asta snarled, "Yes!"
Lerrin growled. He couldn't get any closer to her without physically touching her and he refused to be the one to begin a challenge, to weaken himself that way.
As they stared at each other and Lerrin's skin begin to prickle with the urge to shift and show his second exactly who was in charge, he smelled the edge of Suhle's fear, like a blade against his palm.
"Do you wish to make a challenge, Asta?" he said very quietly. "Or are you only sulking? I'd rather not tear out your throat, but I will do it, if that's what you need."
She snorted, but a moment later, dropped her eyes, though her jaw clenched, the muscles twitching as she ground her teeth. "I pray the Creator is behind you, Lerrin," she growled. "And that this is truly strategy, rather than fear. Or all of us will pay for your cowardice."
She turned on her heel to head for the door, but found herself face to face with Suhle, still holding his tray. Lerrin braced, ready to defend Suhle if she crumpled… but then he blinked.
She stood on the balls of her feet, eyes fierce and fixed on Asta's.
His Second paused, also clearly taken by surprise. "Move," she snapped.
"If you undermine your King, you may find many more of the people against you than you would expect," Suhle said quietly, holding Asta's gaze for a heartbeat longer, before stepping aside to let her pass.
Asta snorted, but stormed past her and out of the tent.
Suhle watched her go, then turned to look at him, the blazing fire gone from her eyes as she gave her simple smile. "I'm sorry you weren't able to relax," she said. "Sit. Eat, while it's still hot."
Lerrin's heart leapt as she walked quickly over to the little table and single chair he'd moved behind the space for the bath to make room for her cot and the space he'd given her in the tent.
"Thank you for your support," he said quietly as he followed her and took the seat while she set the plate in front of him. "That was… encouraging."
"It isn't only mine that you would have, Lerrin. You know that."
But her smile broadened when she said it.
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