Her lips pressed and twisted together as she looked over them all. After a few seconds, she replied, “Gilea.”
Rayne pointed at her and repeated, “Gilea?”
She nodded, still watching them cautiously.
“Eno, untie her,” Caelan instructed.
Eno’s heart lurched in his chest and he turned to face his king. “Are you sure?”
“I am. I don’t think she’s a threat to us. She’ll never learn to trust us if we keep her tied.”
“Besides, there are four of us. I think we can handle her,” Drayce scoffed.
Eno snorted. “You didn’t see her fight.” But he climbed to his feet all the same. He agreed with Caelan that he didn’t think she meant to harm them, but it didn’t change the fact that he planned to keep a close watch on her.
Gilea shuffled a few steps away from Eno while Rayne said something in a soothing tone to her that he didn’t catch. He hoped it was reassurances that she had nothing to fear from them or that Eno wasn’t going to her hurt her.
The wide yellow eyes on him announced that she was skeptical of whatever Rayne was saying. It took him a few tries, but he finally sidled behind her. She twisted, watching closely as she could over her shoulder as Eno worked on the knot. Her entire slender body was a tensed muscle, as if she were prepared to spring away from him if he did anything that she didn’t trust.
When her hands were free, she quickly scurried away from Eno, moving to the farthest side of the camp from where everyone was gathered at the fire. She stood right next to the barrier, staring at it with a look of wonder on her face.
“Why do you think she knows Rosarian?” Caelan inquired. “Rather than the current New Rosanthe? Would that mean she’s not one of the New Rosanthe refugees?”
Rayne rubbed his bearded jaw, his eyes locked on Gilea. “I’m mildly surprised we can communicate at all. The fact that she doesn’t know New Rosanthe would seem to imply that she wasn’t among the refugees Ilon sent into the Ordas.” He dropped his hand into his lap and shrugged. “But we don’t know anything about the inhabitants of the Ordas. We’ve always assumed there were no survivors of the Gods War, the same we assumed no one lived in the Ordas.”
“You think she’s a descendant of one of the original tribes?” Drayce gasped.
Rayne shrugged. He plucked his glasses off his face and attempted to clean them on the least dirty part of his shirt. “No idea. I think it’s a question we can’t answer until we learn more about her, and possibly meet her people.”
“Do you think she’d take us to her village?” Caelan inquired.
Rayne placed his glasses on his face. “Not yet. But if she learned to trust us. Someone from her village could possibly direct us to Green Spring.”
“How about I start dinner?” Eno offered. It was best if he left Rayne and Caelan to their planning and brainstorming.
“You sure? I believe it’s my turn to cook,” Rayne replied.
Eno crossed to where Rayne was seated on the ground. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to his upturned lips. “I think it’s more important that you spend some time talking to our guest since you’re the only one who can do it. I can cover it tonight.”
“Thank you,” Rayne murmured, love shining in his jade eyes behind his glasses. Eno was happy to support his lover any way he could.
When Eno straightened, his eyes immediately caught on Gilea, who was standing on the other side of the camp watching them. Her head was cocked to the side and her brows were slightly gathered over her nose, as if she couldn’t quite understand what she was seeing. Maybe there weren’t too many guy-guy relationships in her village. Eno flashed her a smile and turned toward the packs holding their food supplies.
He began pulling a few things together. It wasn’t like they had a lot of options. Most of the food they had left were canned or dried items. They needed stuff that would keep or could be eaten while on the move.
A few minutes later, Rayne’s smooth voice drifted over the camp, his words Rosarian. Eno glanced over his shoulder to find that Gilea was seated next to him, her large eyes locked on his face. Rayne was smiling warmly and his shoulders were relaxed. He wondered if Rayne saw bits of his little sister in the young woman.
Eno had to protect the king, see him through this journey to save Thia.
But he also had to get his lover home safe and sound for Rayne’s sister, Zephyr. She needed her big brother.
The world needed Caelan and Rayne. But Eno didn’t know how to protect those men from gods and the New Rosanthe army.