“I’m not. This offer is worth your time, though. Will you give me five minutes?”
Titus sighed and tilted his head back, assessing the clouds overhead. “Looks like rain, late in the afternoon. It won’t be cold enough to freeze, so pass that along to your troops and any of the patrols.”
“You’re like a weather wizard,” Raff said.
“Buttering me up won’t get me to do you any favors.”
“Didn’t your mother teach you to take a compliment gracefully?” He meant it as a joke, but Titus’s face darkened, brows pulling together.
“No. I never met the woman. And you’re burning through my patience.”
I am not on my game today.
“Well, let’s get out of the wind, at least. Will you hear me out or not?”
After mumbling a few choice complaints, Titus said, “I wanted to take a last look from the walls before I left anyway. Let’s go.”
The great cat led the way and Raff followed, hoping he could sell this idea. Atop the ramparts, he glimpsed the end of winter. The snow that trapped them in the cabin had melted off, leaving patches of dirty ice and brown ground that would be green again in a month’s time. Hard to picture now, but warmer days were coming.
“Before, you mentioned that there’s a loose network of nomads who hunt and stay off the grid, no alliances to pack or pride.”
“What about it?” Titus sounded belligerent, and when Raff glanced over at him, that impression was reinforced by the big cat’s scowl.
“I’d like to hire you. To keep watch, like you did when Daruvar fell. Your intel could be critical in planning defensive measures and keeping tabs on enemy movements.”
Titus made a dubious noise in the back of his throat. “You want an independent spy network, wolf? That’s damned presumptuous.”
“You said it yourself. While you may not want to live in Ash Valley, if the place falls, if Ruark Gilbraith allies with Tycho Vega, you won’t like what happens next. I’m not asking you to do anything more than you’re already doing.”
“Except for the part where we tell you what we know,” Titus said.
“Okay, one extra step. Teach me about the trail signs you leave for each other.” Raff ignored the other man’s surprised look.
Yeah, I know how you communicate out there, and it’s a low-fi failsafe, no chance the info gets hacked.
“That’s really all you want? A copy of our code and for us to keep on as we were?” The great cat cocked his head, as if to say, tell me another one.
But Raff nodded. “Any edge we can get, we’ll use. I can leave caches of goods and supplies in payment for looping me in. I won’t ask your people to risk themselves, to fight or otherwise get involved. Do we have a deal?”
Titus hesitated. “I wish I could ask the others, but I can’t exactly call them. We only meet up once a year. The rest of the time…”
“It’s signs on trees, I got that. Even if you’re not the leader, per se, you need to make the call, because you’re here, and I could use the help.”
A long sigh slid out of the taller man, and he stared off at the horizon as if he saw a much grimmer picture than rolling hills and winter trees. “Fine. I’ll stop by the library and write down our signs and the zones where we leave word. Beyond that, it’s up to you to find anything of value in the forest.”
“Thanks,” Raff said.
Before Titus could answer, someone came running out of the tower, a small female that he identified as Sky, before he saw her tear-stained face. Her scent was familiar, reminded him of home, and Titus was already backing toward the doorway. Evidently, he wanted no part of a crying woman.
“I’ll keep up my end of the deal,” he muttered, “but this is my cue to leave.”
Whatever Raff might have said back, he lost track when Sky threw herself into his arms, sobbing like her heart would break.
It was going to be one of those days.
25.
Thalia spent most of the day avoiding Raff.
At least, she was, right up until she realized she had no idea where he was or what he was doing. She also had some inkling that she wasn’t setting a good example or being mature about their quarrel. It was too embarrassing to ask anyone where the wolf lord had gotten to, but Daruvar had limited ground to cover.
As the shadows lengthened, she prowled the fortress silently. She might have predicted that he’d be socializing somewhere, but she found him in the library, sitting quietly on a sofa with a sheaf of papers in his hand, books piled up around him. He hates reading. Remorse flickered through her. Is this because I said he was ignorant? Jabbing at someone’s weak point, particularly when they’d trusted you with it, well, regret flowed into the hollow spaces and she resolved to make it right.
Taking a silent step forward, she paused just outside the door, belatedly realizing that he wasn’t alone. The little wolf, Sky, was curled against his side, head resting on his chest, and Raff had his arm around her. That—it shouldn’t bother her, really shouldn’t—because the contract didn’t stipulate fidelity. Theirs was a political alliance, and she had no claims on his heart or his body, so there was absolutely no reason why her insides should feel like they were on fire.
None at all.
Thalia didn’t even breathe, calling on all her Noxblade training to slip away unseen. Best not to interrupt such an intimate moment. He probably didn’t care about their argument anyway. Sex was easy for him, and he was good at making people care. Too good, truly—she blinked away what must be dust in her eyes.
I am not crying.
Thalia found a quiet corner and dropped into a crouch, wrapping her arms about her knees. Her hair veiled her face, so hopefully nobody would recognize her while she
