The inland path from Calareth narrowed as it climbed away from the shore.
The laughter had thinned.
The wind had softened.
Only boots against gravel. The subtle sound of their bodies shifting. The distant, steady hush of waves behind them.
Jasper walked ahead with the soldiers, speaking lightly, occasionally clapping someone on the back as if he had always belonged here. As if he had grown up running these very trails with these wolves.
Dax walked a few paces behind him.Watching.
Not casually.Nor amused.He was studying him.
The line of his shoulders.
The steadiness in his stride.
The way men twice his age unconsciously adjusted their pace to match his.
Leadership wasn't loud on him.It was gravity.It came naturally.
Dax swallowed taking a few steps ahead,tapping Jasper's shoulder."Walk with me," he muttered.
Jasper slowed without looking back. Fell into step beside him easily. Too easily.
