Chapter 63: Chapter Four

ADA

“Let us go to bed,” Cayden said in my ear. I had been sitting between his legs on the ground with our baby asleep on my chest.

We were near the fire with most of our friends still awake, and I had been watching Gosta and Caxton compete for Sable’s attention.

One showed off his sword-skill while the other spoke of his ~great~ stamina. Every so often, she would look over at me and roll her eyes, but she seemed to enjoy their childish behavior.

Cayden, as usual, had stayed silent for most of the night.

“Are you not well?” I asked him; he just pushed me forward, giving himself some space. He rose and walked toward the tent, leaving me and the baby by the fire.

I wondered if he was upset with my words earlier. Had I overstepped my boundaries in the family by speaking out? Embarrassed by his abrupt absence, I decided to follow.

I had to first check on Sable—I felt responsible for her well-being here.

“Sable, will you be sleeping in our tent or with Kyra?”

“I will give you your privacy. If Kyra will have me, then I shall rest tonight with her… Now if you’ll excuse me, I must relieve myself.”

I looked around to find Kyra, but she and Padriac were conveniently missing from the area. I had not even noticed them slip away.

I looked back at Caxton and Gosta, who seemed to be playing some sort of hand-game between the two of them.

As it looked like Caxton had lost, Gosta turned to me and said, “Don’t worry, Ada. No matter what, Sable will have a place to sleep. I am sure of it.”

As I walked back to our tent, I noticed two men standing together. It would not have normally drawn my attention since many people usually wandered about, but they were speaking in very hushed tones.

I moved a little closer to hear the conversation, but all I could make out were the words, “…only speak to him…you must leave tonight.”

The baby began to fuss, causing the two men to stop talking. One of them quickly disappeared into the night, and the other headed toward me. As he neared, I realized it was Weylin.

My heart began beating fast. The last time we were alone together he had attacked me. Out of instinct, I brought the baby closer to my chest, backing away from where I stood.

“I wondered when we would meet again,” he said in a chilly voice. I looked around for any other person, but there wasn’t a soul in sight.

Our tent was still a good two-minute walk from where we stood—Cayden would not hear me if I screamed. Weylin was quickly closing the gap between us.

“Is this my cousin’s son? He is so small and…fragile.”

“That is far enough,” I said, glaring.

A dark smile spread over his thin lips. “Are you afraid of me, Ada?”

“I said, that is far enough. Do not come any closer.”

“It would be a shame for you to go missing again, just when you have been returned.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No, just an observation,” he replied with a shrug. “Isn’t it funny that King Toren found you that day at the farm? I’m sure there would be another great reward for your return to Oranmore.”

“Especially when there is so much riding on you.”

He was only a few feet from me, towering over me. With one blow to my face, Weylin could surely knock me out. He picked up his hand and began to play with a strand of my hair.

“It really is a shame we were interrupted during our last time alone…”

“If you do not take your hand off of her, I will put this sword through your throat,” Egil said with his weapon drawn. Egil pushed me behind him. Weylin only began to laugh at him.

“You would not dare.”

Egil pressed his weapon closer. “Do you really wish to find out?”

“I was only wishing Ada’s son my best.”

“I would advise you to stop speaking now.”

Weylin put his arms up in the air as if surrendering to the two of us. He slowly turned and walked in the opposite direction. Egil put his sword down and then ushered me to my tent.

“Thank you,” I said, my heart rate returning to normal. “I didn’t know what to do when I saw him…”

“I ran into Cayden on his way back, and he asked me to make sure you got back okay. I think he just assumes, and rightfully so, that trouble follows you.”

I frowned. “Apparently. The source always seems to be Weylin.” I paused for a moment, wondering how much truth my joke really carried. “Did you happen to see who he was speaking with in the shadows?”

“I tried my best, but I had to choose between following the man and making sure you were safe.”

“Well, I’m glad you chose the latter. I feel like such a burden on you all sometimes.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, patting my shoulder. “I will see what I can find out. For now, I would avoid bringing this up to Cayden. He is already in a foul mood.”

“Avoid bringing up what?” Cayden scared the both of us. We were almost to the tent when he came up from behind.

His face still wore a solemn look. Egil looked at me for a second, and then spoke for the two of us.

“It’s nothing.”

“If it was nothing, you wouldn’t be advising my wife to keep anything from me.”

“We ran into Weylin on our walk back.”

“Are you okay?” Cayden asked me, looking down at our son. Even the mention of his cousin’s name made Cayden visibly upset.

“Yes,” I said simply, wanting to avoid upsetting him further.

“All right, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. It’s time to go to bed.” Cayden patted his friend on the shoulder and raised the flap for me to enter the tent.

I nervously turned around to see if he was still upset or would ask me more about the encounter. Instead, he took our son and began rocking him carefully from side to side.

As strong as he was, I loved to see this gentle side of him. He did not look up at me, so I went about getting myself ready for bed.

The longer we stayed silent in the tent, the more I desired him to say something, anything. I faced him to take my clothes off, and this successfully broke the silence between us.

He could not help but look.

“Goodness, woman, you do not even look like you should have a child of two months.”

I smiled at him, but his charm was not going to distract me from finding out what was wrong. I slipped into one of the clean outfits Kyra had brought for me.

“Oh, so you ~can~ speak?” Cayden rolled his eyes, turning away from me, and went back to tending to the baby.

I finished getting ready for bed, deciding the only way he would speak is if I stood in front of him until he said something. So, that was what I did.

It only took a few seconds for it to be a nuisance to him.

“You will stay behind here at the camp tomorrow,” Cayden finally said. As he probably anticipated, I became immediately frustrated. He gestured to the baby to remind me he was sleeping.

“I will do as I please. I will attend the negotiations tomorrow.”

“Ada, you will stay here.”

“Why? Why can I not go as well? Because I am a woman?”