Mercia leaned forward in her saddle and looked the other way. “Lady Emmanthe, what’s Elvish for fuck you?”
Emmanthe tipped her head back and laughed. “Oh, I like you, girl. You’ve got fire.”
“Don’t tell her,” Aryn pleaded with a groan. “She’ll only use it against you.”
Emmanthe beamed at him. “I know better than to come between an elf and his lady, believe me.”
“You do not,” Mercia replied with a cute little snort. “I heard a rumor that’s exactly what you did. Is it true that you were Ruith’s mother’s lover?”
Aryn stiffened and looked at Ruith, waiting for him to be offended or upset. Ruith hadn’t brought up his family at all since they left. Instead, the Crow sighed, shook his head, and rode on ahead.
“Coward,” Aryn murmured and scowled at the back of Ruith’s head.
Emmanthe snickered. “Humans never cease to amaze me. You seem to find it so scandalous that two women might be lovers. Let me tell you, girl, as a lady who has had both male and female lovers, there are many merits to sharing a woman with your man, least of all being that we females are much more adept at pleasure than our male counterparts.”
“Really?” Mercia’s brows shot up. “Universally?”
“Have you never had the pleasure?” Emmanthe asked, and then Mercia shook her head. “Well, perhaps you should see for yourself.”
“Mercia does not need another lover,” Aryn said firmly in Elvish and gave Emmanthe a hard glare.
Emmanthe chuckled. “Only a man would ever say that, and only a fool would ever believe it. Why have one when you could have many?”
“Don’t take it personally.” Mercia gave him a light shove. “It’s only girl talk.”
He frowned at her. “Do I even want to know what else you talk about when I’m not listening? You want to rate any of my recent performances? Perhaps critique my technique?”
“I don’t think we have time for all that would entail,” she said with another snort.
Emmanthe laughed and both burst into a fit of giggles over some joke he didn’t find funny.
This was a mistake, Aryn groaned inwardly and winced.I’m going to regret putting these two together. I just know it.He urged his horse ahead, giving the women space, and joining Ruith, Isheda, and Faelyn at the front of the column.
“Northfire,” Isheda said. He was quizzing Faelyn on the clans again.
“Allied with Clan Redrock,” Faelyn answered. “Their banner is a blue flame on a red field. Clan leader is…” He wrinkled his nose in concentration. “Ainar Northfire?”
Isheda bobbed his head. “And their rivals are?”
Faelyn frowned and looked up at Isheda. “The Runecleavers?”
Ruith grunted and shook his head. “No one makes enemies of the Runecleavers and lives long enough to make a habit of it.”
“I thought they’d be rivals because they’re both mages.” Faelyn sighed and looked longingly back at the wagon where Will rode.
Will was hanging his head out the side of the wagon, holding a bone out for Brick, who kept jumping to get it, only to have Will pull it away at the last second. The three of them had been inseparable. Now that Will was finally speaking, Aryn hadn’t wanted to separate the boys. He feared it would undo all of Will’s progress if he had to be away from Faelyn and Brick for any length of time, and Brick would go wherever Faelyn went.
“They work in different sectors,” Isheda explained. “While some Northfire mages are battle-capable, they’re known primarily for their skills with enchantments, wards, and moreutilitarianmagic.”
Ruith leaned toward Faelyn. “He means they aren’t very good at fighting.”
Faelyn laughed.
Isheda shrugged. “I was trying to be diplomatic.”
“I wouldn’t count out the Northfire clan so eagerly,” Aryn pointed out. “A lot of Shikami items were enchanted by Northfire’s enchanters. Just because they’re less adept at swinging a sword doesn’t make them any less dangerous. And we will have to win them all.”
“I’m far more concerned about the clans in the middle of the pack,” Ruith added with a sigh. “The Runecleavers will vote as they always do—for whomever benefits them. They’re perfectly happy to occupy the second seat. Being Primarch would be a step down the way they see it. But the others—Wolfheart, Redrock, and Longclaw… This is their opportunity to rise from obscurity, and they will kill to see it happen.”