Dragon Through Darkness by T R Kerby

Author:T R Kerby [Kerby, T R]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-30T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

Randir stared into the cavern for several minutes after Tegedir disappeared into it. He wasn't quite ready to face Aric. He couldn't trust himself to remain composed after what his Commander revealed. His famous temper tickled at his psyche. Though he'd learned years ago to control it, Aric had a way of dragging it to the surface and poking it with a stick.

Aric was a fine scout and a solid man in a fight, but a leader? Hardly. Why would Aric take the reins of Badger Company if Tegedir failed to return? Aric was Second to Valta, a strong and well-loved Captain. Aric's prickly personality and volatile behavior should have relegated him to a lower place on the list.

Was he jealous because he outranked Aric, yet Aric stood to be assigned his own Company? Jealousy was an unbecoming trait and had no place in his world. He sighed and turned around.

Aric and Trinn stared at him. Aric's lip curved and Randir crushed the urge to slap it. "What is this about?" Randir asked.

"If Tegedir doesn't return, I take over Badger." Aric sat on a rock and trimmed his fingernails with his dagger. He would force Randir to extract every filament of information the hard way.

"You sound as if you hope it happens."

"Never. And you offend me with the insinuation. I'd trade my life for his every time."

"So?"

"So what?" He sliced off another sliver of nail.

"Can we not play this game?"

Aric's dagger paused and he looked up. "Game? No part of this is a game."

"Oh for Alimarae's sake," Trinn said. "Stop it, Aric."

"This is the kind of behavior that makes it difficult for me to understand why Tegedir would chose you, of all people," Randir said.

"There's more to Aric than you know," Trinn said. "I was there when he put himself between Tegedir and fifteen swords. I saw him bleed and I saw him fall and he'd do it again."

"Now you're defending him?" His own mate. This got better and better. Randir needed space and some air that didn't have Aric breathing it.

"What's the matter?" Aric asked. "Didn't expect to have your mate and your Commander give me the nod in one afternoon, huh, Traitorson?"

Trinn rounded on him. "If you value my friendship, you will never utter that vile accusation again."

He blinked and went back to this fingernails. "Valta is pregnant."

"What?" Trinn and Randir voiced as one.

"Pregnant."

Trinn's fists plunked onto her hips and she lowered both eyebrows at Aric. "Is it yours?"

"Is it... No!... I never... It's not mine!"

"You once mentioned how much you'd like to see her without her armor."

"Well, yeah. Who wouldn't? But I haven't!"

Randir enjoyed watching Aric squirm under Trinn's scrutiny, his smug confidence shredded to ribbons, but the conversation had veered off track. "Can we get back to why you're next to command Badger?"

"Valta wants to raise her child without fear of ending on a sword point. I'm Second, not only to her, but to Tegedir, who is Captain of Badger Company if she's unable. It's a convoluted chain of command, given Tegedir is Commander of the Order as a whole.

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