Bound By Honour (Book 1)

Chapter 24

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Not far from Wolfe's home he sees three riders heading out to meet him. They canter up to him and pull up sharp, the horses' hooves digging in to the frozen ground. All four men frown, Wolfe at his most trusted men and his most trusted men at the swaying Sparrow struggling to remain conscious. They turn their horses around and fall into step beside Wolfe. All three of them exchange looks, unwilling to be the one to break news that Wolfe certainly will not appreciate. Wolfe catches these cautious looks and the quick shake Ra quickly returns, his mouth pressing into a long thin line. Jag sighs deeply and entreats Leo with a pleading look.

"I believe I ordered you to scout along the wall and yet here you are a day later. I did not know the journey was so short." Wolfe speaks, tired of waiting.

Sparrow starts to slip sideways and Jag, the only one to notice as the other three appear to be caught in a staring match, expertly guides his horse beside hers and steadies her. His eyes roam her features, taking note of the head wound, the dried blood down her temple and the glazed film to her green eyes. She has gone deathly pale and seems to be murmuring under her breath. He leans close to catch the words.

"Hawk...I'm....so...cold..." A sad smile plays across Jag's lips as he slowly eases her out of her saddle and onto his. Her head lolls back onto his shoulder and as if knowing that she is within safe hands she falls instantly into a deep sleep. Jag adjusts his seat and nudges his horse a little faster. He passes Wolfe, Ra and Leo. Wolfe's eyes connect with his briefly and Jag sees the flicker of jealousy, annoyance and a lot of relief. He bows his head slightly before nudging Slate into a fluid canter.

Wolfe watches him go before turning once again to his men. "When did you decide to ignore a direct order?"

"It is not like that, Wolfe. You need us here." Ra rolls his eyes at Leo's words knowing how agitating they are without knowing the information they hold.

"And why is that?"

Ra guides his horse closer to Wolfe's. His voice is low and controlled when he answers although there are no prying eyes or eavesdropping ears around. "You sent us because you believed that the Ricells were testing our boundary. You were right to do so and several weeks ago we would have gone, scouted and come back to report. Yesterday, though, we learned of information without even needing to go so far. The Ricells are within your lands."

Wolfe whips his head towards Ra, his eyes growing wide, his hands tightening around his reins. Knight dances a little sideways, unsure of the sudden tension feeding through to him. "Where are they?"

"About half a day's ride away. We saw them with our eyes, it is the three brothers, and their parents are nowhere to be seen." All three riders push their horses into a fast canter and halt directly outside of the stables. A stable hand gets thrown all four reins as the three men stride off to the manor.

"Leo, go tell Hunter the information you know and get me a group of men to guard Starling and Sparrow's rooms. Make sure my mother is with someone at all times." Leo nods and marches off. "Tell me more. Have you any ideas of their intentions?" Ra pulls a face.

"They are not dressed as who they are. If I hadn't met the eldest I would have passed over them and continued on our journey. They were dressed as our people and their accents are very believable. They were resting at a village's tavern for the evening. I do not believe they are coming to give any threats, they are alone. Everyone else within the tavern was a regular so they haven't come with any warriors. I believe they come with a gesture of good will perhaps."

"Do you really believe that Ra? We are always on the edge of war with them; their father is the greediest man I have ever had the misfortune to meet. Could this be a trick? What do we know of the sons' skills?"