Page 79 of Winter's Echo
His head tilted. “Do you feel like one?”
I gaped at him. “What in the shades iswrongwith you?”
“Wrong withme?Come back to bed. That’s what he said.”
I scrunched my face and shook my head, trying to understand the man in front of me.
“You are…” I looked away, taking a step back. “You areinsane. I slept on thefloor, in my own cloak. He was nowhere near me.” I held his glare. “I am not a whore, and I sure as hell wouldn’t sleep with a man aspayment, and I certainly wouldn’t do it foryou.”
Nicco stepped closer. “Thatmankeeps women asfavorsto give his men.”
I swallowed hard. “Iknow. Itoldyou that before we even got caught?—”
“Caught?”
I blinked. “You think you negotiated it? We got caught, move on.”
“Why are you two fighting again?” Baxley asked as he approached us. “Amarya, you are well?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“You are not harmed?”
“Harmed? By who? The idiot in front of me who thinks I’m a whore, or the man behind me, who treated me withrespect.”
“Respect?” Nicco scoffed. “The same man who holds women hostage as sex slaves?”
I threw my hands up. “I’m done talking to you. Baxley, walk with me. Make him go away.”
“What is the problem here?” Captain Marson asked as he joined us.
I turned to rant that his mercenary was a thickheaded fool when I saw the cloud of snow that roseupwards.
“Amarya?”
“Quiet.” I looked at the sky and the men around me. Larana was off to the side, eyes alert, watching us.
I looked at Nicco. “What did you do?”
He turned to look behind us. “They’re following us?” He didn’t sound surprised.
“Why are they following us?” one of the soldiers asked as the others joined us.
“Nicco, what did youdo?” I demanded.
“It wasn’t Nicco,” Baxley said from beside me. “It was me.”
My mouth hung open. I heard Nicco chuckle and looked at the advancing cloud.
“I let her go,” Baxley said with no apology.
I wanted to scream. Instead, when I spoke, my voice was as flat as I felt.
“You might have just killed us all.”
Chapter 18
“Your faith in us is underwhelming,”Baxley murmured as he drew his sword.
