Keraunani (Tuyo Book 4) by Rachel Neumeier

Author:Rachel Neumeier [Neumeier, Rachel]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2022-01-23T05:00:00+00:00

10 --

“I’m still file leader,” Esau told Ates, in a tone that didn’t brook argument. “Which I know is kind of unexpected what with one thing and another, but here we are. Anyway, she did it on my account. It’s my job to see to it.”

Ates wasn’t particularly impressed by either argument. Not a whole lot impressed Ates, who was a year or two older than Esau and had not exactly led a blameless and boring life before joining the company. Ates had surely seen plenty of fools prove their foolishness in his life and that might’ve worn off his patience for stupidity. He and Esau had been going back and forth as file leader for a good while, depending on which of them had bent whatever reg a little too far most recently. So far, Esau had the record for shortest run as file leader—four and a half days—but recently, he’d been working on picking up the record for the longest either of them had held the position, going on toward two years. He’d expected to lose the place this morning, but as he’d said, here they were.

Ates eyed Esau, his expression making it clear he thought Esau’s comment was close to the stupidest thing he’d ever heard in his life. He said, “Or you could just let it lie. If Lord Gaur’d been offended, you’d know it.”

That part was true enough. Esau was almost tempted to agree and forget the whole business. Not so much because he was thinking about the penalty for breaking the chain of command—Lord Gaur obviously hadn’t been real offended there and likely wouldn’t uphold the charge. But because he did not, not, not want to get that close to his lord, even though he knew real clear what was expected of a man in his position.

Lord Gaur was one of the good ones, yes. He filled up his talons with good commanders all the way up and down the chain; not a single man at the top of a talon who Esau’d be embarrassed to serve under, far less scared to serve under. Plus, it was a fine thing to have the king’s scepter-holder right at the top when some lesser lord got obstreperous or a town’s civil authorities kicked up rough. Even better to have a man with a gods-hated lot of something when things in the field got tight or went suddenly sideways. Wasn’t another lord in the whole width of the world who Esau’d rather have over this company. Any time his own talon was on the road, he was always glad enough if Lord Gaur took his place at the top and kept his hand on the reins.

All that was true.

But he did not like to get anywhere near his lord, he did not like to come to his notice, and he very particularly did not want to have the full force of Lord Gaur’s attention pointed right at him, with no distractions anywhere about.

None of that changed the situation one bit.

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