The Unchosen Path Book 4

We left early the next morning to travel to the main camp. I sat in front of Cayden on the horse so he could hold on to me.

It had been difficult holding the baby with one hand and Padriac’s waist with the other yesterday. Although this seemed to work better, Cayden took advantage of his position.

His hand often caressed either my legs or arse, sometimes moving up my chest. I finally had to yell at him to stop or I was going to drop our son.

Sable rode with Caxton, since she felt most comfortable with him after Padriac. Padriac had told me in private that he did not wish to upset Kyra by riding up to the camp with an unknown woman on his horse.

Kyra would not have appreciated that sight.

We rode for a full day and once again stopped to let the horses rest at night. Cayden laid out a blanket for us to rest on, but to his disappointment, I sent Caxton over to sleep next to him.

I would not let Sable feel uncomfortable the entire night just because my husband desired me. When she felt guilty for separating us, I assured her that a part of me enjoyed watching him squirm a little bit.

The next morning, we left without even eating. Sayer told us camp was only a short ride away. He was right—after an hour of riding, we started to see smoke in the distance, signaling that we were close.

As we came over a hill, I saw hundreds of men, and a few women, camped out. It dawned on me that they were preparing for battle. Many of them stopped to stare as we passed by.

“Ada,” Kyra exclaimed, running up to us. She wore dark pants and a top with a tailored piece of armor around her chest.

Her hair was pulled back into a style similar to the one I had worn for the wedding; she looked absolutely fierce.

Cayden helped me down from the horse and she gave me the biggest hug until she saw the baby. She did not waste time taking him out of my arms.

“He is like his father.” Cayden punched her in the arm. “What else do you expect from the son of Cayden?”

“There is someone I want you to meet,” I said, almost forgetting Sable was with me. She looked scared and uneasy standing by Caxton.

“This is Sable. She has been one of my greatest companions while I was away. She helped me get through the past six months.”

Kyra gave her a huge hug as well, giving Sable quite a fright. “Any friend of Ada’s is a friend of mine. Come, we’ll get you washed up and changed into something fresh.”

We followed her through a sea of tents. As she passed Padriac, I saw her hand discreetly touch his. He looked at her and then his eyes met mine as I noticed their moment.

There was a bit of a twinkle in his eye before he turned back to Gosta.

The slaves filled a barrel of cool stream water for us to bathe in—a part of my old life I was not too happy to return to. I allowed Sable to go first as I caught up with Kyra.

She was her usual vivacious self. I was barely able to get a word in before it was my turn to bathe.

Kyra described how Cayden had carried on the entire time I was away; how closed off and lost he was without me. I could not help but laugh at her theatrics.

With help from my sister-in-law, I filled a little bucket of water so I could quickly bathe the baby. Kyra directed a girl nearby to wash his clothes, and I pulled out extra clothes I had taken for him.

When we finished dressing, Kyra brought out a special present for me. She’d had armor made for me as well, similar to hers. I picked it up to admire the work.

After a little help putting it on, I felt like a true warrior. I left my wet hair down, wanting it to dry before braiding it. Kyra led us out of the tent to where the men had just sat to eat.

Barra greeted me and had me stand next to him as he toasted his grandson. I walked back to the end of the table where Cayden was seated.

He had bathed too, and tied his wet hair into the same bun he had always worn. I went to take a seat next to Sable, but he pulled me into his lap instead.

His hands moved up my thighs, finally holding me around my waist. I tried to move to the empty seat next to him, but he would not let me go.

Sable pushed a plate of food toward me, giving me an amused look. I was starving and tried my best to eat, though it was difficult with Cayden kissing me every few moments or whispering in my ear.

Everyone around us seemed just as astonished as I was by his behavior. Barra finally stood up and asked Sayer, who was sitting next to us, to slap him in the head.

Sayer happily followed his father’s instructions.

“Cayden, go spend some time alone with your wife. You are making us all ill,” Barra called out. I looked over at Kyra, who was still holding our son.

“The baby,” I said. “We cannot just leave.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll watch him...and Sable,” Kyra said, completely repulsed by Cayden. Before I could protest, Cayden threw me over his shoulder and grabbed my plate of food to take to his tent.

The group cheered and clinked their cups together, happy to see how much his attitude had improved with my return. Sayer held up his ale and shouted after us, “To a long six months, brother.”

Cayden threw open the flap of the tent and placed me on the ground. He did not waste any time undressing me. I watched, amused, as he started untying my boots as quickly as his fingers would allow.

“I like this outfit on you very much,” Cayden said with a large smile. I loved hearing the mixture of his Gaelic and Danish accent once again. “But I think I will like what is underneath better.”

“Cayden, I am tired...hungry...and should we not at least talk about the last six months?” I said, trying to kick him off of me. I was growing annoyed with him.

Since we had been back together, he’d seemed more focused on riding me than finding out what had happened to me. He had already moved on from my boots to untying my armor.

A part of me wanted him just as badly, but another needed to talk about everything we had been through. The worries and thoughts circling in my mind were overpowering whatever desire I had to be with him.

“Ada, do you really want to know what life was like for me while you were gone? It’s hard for me to even think about. I was so angry. I distanced myself from everyone.”

“All I could think about was whether you were being raped, abused, or if you were even dead. I worried about our child.”

“Every slave woman I came across, I wondered if you were being treated the same way. I still do not believe you are here.”