Theon
Theon won’t speak to anyone unless he barks orders at them. He fumes inside as outwardly he works and trains non-stop. His large muscles now strain against his shirts with even more bulk.
Riding patrol most of the time only reminds him of how Catalina left while he tried to hurry home to her.
Many times, he thought to visit the female Commons again, but each time he stops himself. Not wanting a repeat of what happened last time, he remains topside. He will not beg for her company no matter how badly he craves it. Never again will he leave himself vulnerable to any female. The way he hurts inside, Catalina might as well have cut out his heart with a dull, jagged knife.
Theon and Odias have just finished patrolling the boundaries when the topside Commons comes into view. What was once a wonderful memory, to finish a task of protecting his people and then be welcomed home, now tastes bitter on his tongue.
They ride into the stables, dismount, and secure their gamels. Odias hasn’t spoken to him the entire trip. Except now.
“Theon…”
“Do not start.”
Odias clasps Theon’s shoulder with his strong grip. “Yes, I will. You cannot go on like this. Go to the female Commons. See Catalina and say your peace.”
“I did visit the Commons…”
“When?” he asks in surprise. Theon hadn’t told anyone of the embarrassing ordeal.
Facing his friend, Theon crosses his arms and leans his muscular body against the wall. “Two moon cycles after she left.”
“What did she say?”
“She wouldn’t see me.”
“She told you to leave? That doesn’t sound right.” Odias mirrors Theon’s posture.
“No. She wouldn’t talk to me. Two other females stood outside her door, blocking the entrance. They told me she didn’t want to see me.”
“Something sounds suspicious.”
“I know,” Theon sighs. “The more I think about that encounter, the more I wonder if something isn’t wrong.”
“Why didn’t you go back?”
Theon scoffs. “Truthfully? Ego. It’s very humiliating trying to see a female who doesn’t want to see me.”
“You are of the Ruling Clan—demand to see her. They can’t deny you.”
“I will think about it.”
“All I am asking is for you to go back one more time and demand to speak with her. Find out what happened. On the inside, I know it is driving you mad.”
Theon stands with his mouth in a grim line as Odias walks away. He has thought about visiting the Commons a thousand times since that last visit, but each time he talks himself out of it, takes another patrol to help ease the pain of his memories.
With his supplies put away, he takes a much-needed bath and mulls over everything Odias has said. He does need closure, he knows that. He can visit the Commons, talk to Catalina, and find out why she left without telling him goodbye. He will be nonchalant about the entire meeting. Aloof.
Dressed in the standard clothing of the Southern Clan, Theon heads for the cave entrance. He heads through the open door and takes the rock steps two at a time. Concentrating on what he will say to Catalina, he isn’t paying much attention until a familiar voice drifts from around the corner and catches him off guard. Still undetected, he plasters himself against the wall, wanting to hear.
“It is not working!” Tarra hisses, low. “He is more withdrawn now and will not speak to me any longer.”
“Just give it some time. He will come around,” a low, masculine voice replies.
Theon’s heart leaps in his chest but not in fear or excitement. It is from betrayal.
“How much more time? I thought once we got rid of the human, everything would go back to normal.” Theon imagines Tarra stomping her foot in a temper tantrum for not getting her way.
“I do not know how much longer,” the male hisses. Theon staggers under the weight of knowing his own brother is plotting against him.
“Let go of my arm! You are hurting me.”
“Just keep your mouth shut and he will never know.”
“You just keep your part of the bargain!”
In a deadly voice, Jeat’s words come out cold and calculating. “Are you threatening the leader of the Southern Clan?”
“What? No. Of course not.” Tarra’s voice is shaky, and she sounds a little afraid.
“Be careful, Tarra.” With that, Theon hears footsteps march off and grow faint with each step.
He swallows hard as a pool of dread coils inside his gut. His breathing rapid, his heart pounds when he thinks of the delicate female with the sharp tongue. What have they done to his Catalina? Is she still alive? Anger at them and at himself boils over inside as the ramifications of his actions sink in. He hasn’t looked for her, and she’s been gone for how long? He grabs the sides of his head with both hands, clutching handfuls of hair in his fists. What must she think? But he already knows. She thinks he has left her there. Bending over, panting for air, he cries out in a hushed whisper. “Oh goddess, what have I done?”
Standing, Theon runs a frustrated hand through his long hair before racing up the steps. He steps are brisk as he heads toward Odias, who is standing on the edge of the training field with Shena by his side.
To get his friend’s attention, Theon shoves his shoulder before clutching his upper arm. “I need to speak with you. Now.”
Odias can see that Theon is visibly upset; he abruptly turns and falls in line behind him. “Is everything all right?”
When they are out of Shena’s earshot, and Theon is sure no one can hear them, he replays the words he has just heard. Odias stands, wide-eyed and gaping, when Theon finishes.
“I cannot believe that. Even Shena has said that Catalina now lives in the female Commons.”
“That is what I heard.” Theon folds his arms across his massive chest.
“Why would Shena lie to us? Why would she tell me that?” Theon aches for his friend. He knows the feeling of betrayal firsthand. Although it isn’t Catalina who betrayed him, he betrayed her by not searching out the truth, searching for her. Some protector he has turned out to be.
“I do not know, and I am not sure we should ask Shena about this. What if she alerts Tarra?”
With his arms folded, Odias nods before whispering, “We may need to talk to her eventually.”
“Agreed.”
“Why is your brother involved with your affairs?”
Theon has wondered the same thing, but nothing readily comes to mind. The two of them have always remained distant but peaceful. Jeat rules the Southern Clan from below while Theon rules the topside. But this is the first time in Theon’s life that he has found happiness, true happiness, and Jeat has ripped it away. Theon’s chest heaves before a calm descends upon him. He will find Catalina, and then he will face his brother.
“I do not know, but I will find out.” But how does he know who to trust? Theon has no idea where to start his search. No patrol has reported any sign of the enemy passing over the boundary into Southern Clan territory. Looking to his friend, Theon states firmly, “I changed my mind. Fetch Shena.”
Shena is all smiles as she walks beside Odias, but when her eyes land on Theon’s hard eyes and set jaw, the smile quickly drops from her face. Good.
Under his heavy, calculating stare, she fidgets, twisting her hands together in a nervous gesture. She glances at Odias, her eyes imploring him to help, but Odias stands grim-faced with his arms crossed. There will be no help from him this day.
“Shena,” Theon’s voice is low but authoritative, “it has come to my attention that Catalina is not in the female Commons, not now, and not before.” Her eyes dart frantically all around, checking her surroundings and who may be listening. Interesting. “You informed me she had moved down there.”
“I…I thought…”
“Choose your words wisely,” Theon warns.
She almost crumbles before his eyes. With remorse etched on her delicate face, her eyes are troubled. She glances around one last time, leans in, and whispers, “Tarra threatened anyone who might tell you the truth.”
“How can one female threaten so many? What could she do?”
Nervously, she scans the area again before starting. “I cannot say. Please…” She swallows hard. “She said if any of us dare tell you the truth, the same fate would befall us.”
“And what would that fate be?”
Shena’s chest heaves, her lower lip quivers, and in a faint whisper, she utters the words that totally destroy Theon on the inside. “To be dumped inside the Northern Clan territory.”
He closes his eyes in shame and exhales slowly. After that night she refused to speak with him, he has refused to go down below to talk with her. He has been worrying about his ego while she is being held hostage at the hands of the brutal tyrant, Hasan, who leads the Northern Clan with an iron fist, uncaring about his own people. As he thinks about the torture Catalina may be enduring, his heart breaks before determination takes hold. He pushes away Shena’s voice, which is now a distant plea for Odias to forgive her. His only thoughts are of Hasan and how he will kill the leader of the Northern Clan.
Turning on his heels, he briskly walks away. “Where are you going?” Odias calls out.
Theon looks over his shoulder and tosses out, “Over the boundary.”
Theon throws supplies in his pannier, knowing he’s forgetting something, but he doesn’t care. Time is of the essence. Odias meets him at the stable with Kaid and two other males.
Buckling the final strap on Coleia’s back, he sees the others grab their own supplies. “What are you doing?”
Odias smiles, but it holds sadness as he mounts his gamel. The other males do the same. “We are helping you get your female back.”
With a quick nod, Theon mounts Coliea, and they ride away, heading toward the Northern Clan territory.