Frayed Ties (Ties, Book 1) | ✓

Chapter 23

Caleis had stayed back as well, and she still had the blanket they'd cut a hole in draped over her, so Simon helped Danya up onto her back while Yore mounted Atticus.

Just before they left, Simon pulled Danya's head down and pressed their lips together. "Be careful, okay?"

"He will be fine," Atticus assured him. "He will be with us the whole time. Perfectly safe. Save your worry for yourself."

"I live by the first rule of dealing with vampires," Simon said.

"Nothing ever goes to plan," Yore said. "I know. I'm not going to let you down this time."

"That's not how I see what happened last time," Simon said.

"Then you're too generous," Yore said. "Okay, Atticus. Let's go."

And then Danya found out just how fast a centaur could really move and it was all he could do just to keep hold of Caleis' neck.

They were moving too quickly for Danya to take in much of the view, but he noticed when they cut onto a track through the woods heading in the opposite direction from the mage's settlement. Several minutes later they cut away from it again, through sparsely treed woods. Danya was sure they would hit something or lose their footing at the speed they were going, but the difficult terrain hardly seemed to hinder the centaurs at all.

The village blended into the woods so well that Danya didn't even notice it until they were nearly beside the first of the neatly built log buildings.

The first person who spotted them shouted Yore's name, and before Danya could process what was happening they were surrounded. Danya received a few curious glances, but it was Yore they all wanted to see.

A woman came out of one of the log buildings and the growing crowd parted as she rushed over. By the time Yore was off Atticus' back, into her arms, she was crying. Danya was so busy watching them that he didn't notice the approach of another woman until she was there, wrapping her arms around both the first woman and Yore.

They were both large women — broad shouldered, muscular, and almost as tall as Yore. Everyone gathered around them was huge. Even the children watching curiously from the sidelines were so big that it was difficult to judge their ages. Some who looked like they hadn't yet hit puberty were taller and bulkier than Danya.

"You're so skinny," the first woman murmured as she patted Yore down. "Are you hurt? What happened?"

Yore stroked a reassuring hand over her short, chestnut hair. "I'm okay, mum. I'm fine."

"Slone has been looking for you," the second woman, who had black, wavy hair that resembled Yore's, said. "Did he find you?"

"Not exactly. Mum, this is Danya." Yore held an arm out in Danya's direction. "He's one of the escaped mages who have set up camp just beyond Atticus' territory. He's also a friend of Slone's."

Danya tried to climb down from Caleis' back and gratefully accepted the help of hands that reached out for him.

"He didn't know what Slone was, but he knew he was different and kept it a secret," Yore continued. "When he found me, in wolf form, he trusted me and set me free without hesitation."

"Where were you?" the chestnut haired woman asked.

Yore tilted his head to the side so that she could see his neck. "Lainton."

She covered her mouth with her hand. She looked like she was about to start crying again.

"I'm Zunda, leader of the Casmea Border wolves, and this is my wife, Emity," the black haired woman told Danya. "We owe you a great debt, Danya."