Honored Vow

and—”
    “No.”
    “What?” Yuri was confused about why he had cut me off, and so
    was I.
    Chuluun again met my eyes in the rearview mirror. “Jin, I mean no
    disrespect to your beset, Crane Adams, but unless I was misinformed by
    the priest as to the severity of your beset’s scourging at the hands of the
    disbanded tribe of Anuket, then he was gelded, was he not?”
    “He was,” I said flatly, turning to look at Crane’s profile as he stared
    straight ahead, jaw clenched, not moving, barely breathing.
    “Then he cannot fight in the sepat and may never step foot into
    another tribal arena. I understand that this is not the case, but by law, he is
    no longer fit and may not enter the fighting pit. He is not allowed to
    defend your tribe, as he is considered unclean and not even, as was done in
    ancient times after a challenge, fit for sacrifice.”
    I heard Crane catch his breath.
    “Take off your glove,” I told him, closing my eyes as I took off my
    seatbelt and leaned sideways into his lap.
    “Jin,” he whispered.

    152

    Mary Calmes

    “Take off your glove,” I repeated, ordering him, the first time having
    been a request that he had not obeyed.
    If Crane’s hands were uncovered and I was anywhere near him, he
    had to touch me. It was far too ingrained in him not to.
    “Jin.” His voice cracked.
    I turned my head, baring the side of my neck, and put my arms
    around his hips, nestling in against him. “Crane, do you know who you
    are?”
    After long minutes of waiting, I felt his fingers thread through my
    hair.
    “Tell them who you are.”
    He stroked my hair from scalp to end, over and over, and then I felt
    the tips of his fingers slide down the side of my neck.
    “Crane,” I whispered, turning my head, laying my head in his lap so
    he could press his palm to the base of my throat, feel my pulse beating
    there. “Tell the man who you are.”
    It took a while, but I was not surprised that no one spoke. Finally, he
    cleared his throat. “You have a reah with you maahes, but she apparently
    has no beset or you would know,” he began hoarsely. “Being chosen as
    beset of a reah is the only station that changes only at the discretion of the
    reah,” Crane told Chuluun as well as Yuri. “Any other man—gelded—you
    would be correct, but not me. My station of companion to my reah
    supersedes all others. I can always fight in the pit as long as I hold the title
    of beset.”
    All I heard was the sound of the rushing wind outside. All the Jeeps
    we were in had the soft tops on them; otherwise we would have frozen to
    death, I was sure.
    “I mean no disrespect, Crane Adams, but I will ask my sylvan if
    your words are true.”
    “Of course.”
    “Don’t mistake me checking with him as me not believing you.”
    “No, I wouldn’t,” he told him, and I felt him fist his hand in my hair,
    tugging gently.
    “I don’t wanna.” I yawned loudly, the idea of sitting up not
    appealing at all.

    Honored Vow

    153

    “Screw you; I ain’t your fuckin’ pillow.”
    He was grumbling at me, which was a very good sign. I sat up and
    turned to look at him.
    The smile I got broke my heart. The gentle slap in my face made me
    smile before he replaced the glove on his hand.
    “Ass,” he grumbled under his breath. “You makin’ me take off my
    glove is gonna give me fuckin’ frostbite.”
    I arched an eyebrow for him.
    “Move over, you’re crowding me.”
    Settling back, I was not surprised when, after several miles, he put
    an arm around my shoulders and drew me close, leaning me against him.
    “Thank you for reminding me.”
    I wouldn’t let anyone hurt my best friend ever again. Nothing else
    would be taken in any form.
    Never.

    154

    Mary Calmes

    Chapter Twelve

    THE home of the semel of the tribe of Khertet was breathtaking in the
    morning. At night, in the dark, after an entire day of travel, I was
    exhausted. I passed out on the pile of furs in the ger that was to be ours,
    reserved for the delegation from the tribe of Mafdet for the duration of our
    stay.
    I had thought we would be inside, in the home built into the rock. I
    had misunderstood. We were guests, so we would sleep in a ger, or a yurt,
    a large, round wooden-framed hut covered in waterproof canvas that was
    extremely durable and able to stand up to the snow and wind. The gers, all
    six of them, one for each house of the challengers, had been erected along
    a small river that cut through beautiful pastureland. In the