7

Grom followed Sync's path away from the orcs. He stopped beside a ragged bush, resting his fists on his hips. "You know that vanishing stuff never worked on me, rogue. I know where you are."

A solid curse came from the empty air, and Sync appeared beside him. "Damn you, Grom. One minute, you support my decisions, and the next, you're dragging me by my feet away from Gordost. I thought you would have been proud of me for standing up for myself but instead you sided with my mother."

"I thought it was for your own good. Bryla was right, the chieftain would have thrown you out of the clan. Do you have any idea what that would have meant?"

"But you were chieftain when we came back. Why did you not let him into the clan then?"

Grom grumbled to himself. "I was young. I hadn't been chieftain long, and I wanted to… I don't know. I believed letting a Frostwolf into the clan would… weaken us, somehow. I realize now it was a mistake. As I've gotten to know Thrall… And your children. They're just as strong as any full-blood Warsong has ever been."

Sync gaped at him in wonder. "A mistake? Why, Grom. I've never heard you use that word before."

"I hope you never have to hear it again." Grom cleared his throat. "I realize I can't make you accept Thrall as warchief. But I thought I raised you not to be afraid to try something new."

"Ha! You raised me?"

"I did. I taught you how to fight, how to swim, how to stand up for yourself. I spent more time raising you than I did my own…" Abruptly he turned away, running his hands through his hair. He shuddered slightly, and his voice came very pale through the night air. "You have always taken your own path, and I know you will do so again. You do what is right for you, and I respect that. So go if you want. Take your husband and your children and all your friends. I don't have enough energy to fight my own people."

As Grom walked away, Sync stamped her foot in the dirt. She did not want a child for a warchief. She did not like seeing them make such a fuss over an untried Frostwolf when they had disregarded her own husband. But she would be damned thrice over before she would disappoint Grom Hellscream.