Lion Head Mesa the darkest side of me

He paced—there was nothing to be noted in his search of the room. The entirety of it made no sense, and his gaze drifted to Eivor, who now lounged upon the bed of skins—sampling the goods provided by Akashingo—as if the travelers were to be made pliable by their generosity. She tried to coax him to eat—his stomach lurched at the thought of it—already barely holding back from emptying its contents.

The sound of noise—Eivor joked—her eyes finding his—and he knew they were back to the antics of being watched. His own laugh echoed—hollow in his ears, but perhaps not to those who did not know him as well.

Turning, there was Senmut—his tone less welcoming than any other time before, and this time, a barbed directive to his companions. Even as the priest made to sit with them—Akavir’s teeth flashed in a crocodile’s grin—wondering just how quickly he could grasp the man’s throat and tear it out before the guards descended on them.

Instead, he inclined his head slightly to the comment, eyes grazing over to the ivory she-wolf. “Rising Sun Valley is home to many strong warriors.” A pause, allowing Eivor to state her name after the flourishing statement of titles from their host.

Akavir remained standing—had he arms, they would have been crossed as his eyes practically scoured the Erpa-ha. It was a pity they hadn’t stopped in Muat-riya it seemed—he had assumed the Pharaoh would have been kept at a safer location.

But Senmut strayed to the topic of Silvertongue—and Akavir was not lost to the intent gaze the man stole upon him. He had revealed once to the priest he knew of a woman who had escaped—had they found her? Was this the story he was being weaved, now?

“Belen,” he murmured—as if tasting her name for the first time. In truth, it was. For Belen was supposed to be no more—Silvertongue had aptly named herself.

They blamed the cartel. Was this truth, or convenience? Another flash of his teeth—the darkness lingering in his gaze harder to hide with each passing moment. “The cartel is why we are here. The Valley is offering resources to help…. Eradicate them.”