Goblins, strange goblins. How can they survive? So much carnage. We may never know the mysteries of the great beast. Those elusive goblins. They come from darkness, from shadows. From pain. Hate is all they know. Savagery is all they know.

It has been too long and I am growing old out here in the wastes. To walk takes time, to stay alive takes longer. Days, weeks, months slip by. I cannot know how long, though I’ve yet to see another lune. I feel it is close though.

These destroyed plains were once our land, our cities. In another hundred years there will be nothing left but hills, land settled and built atop what was once a powerful city.

Our world will bear the scars from The Poisoning not only in the torn ground, but in the genes of who we are. We are already changed, and will change further. What will we be a millennium from now? I cannot reverse any of this mutated mistake. But I can fix it, soften it. I can mend their minds, slowly over time and give them a destiny.

I will heal them through their children.

-Doc Vorran last known date was 20 years post poisoning mid Anolbee

TALEA:

My lungs feel heavy, not with the cold air but the tears on Wren’s cheeks, the grim expression on Trgain’s face. That image will be burned into my memories forever. We left them with grief in their hearts despite our promises we’ll see them again. They mourn for us anyway, to them we’re already lost.

It took relentless persuasion and a lot of Lesedi’s diplomacy, but Alaric agreed to let us escort him and Ilana to Gerafar. There are still three months left in lune, three months Ilana can either spend pregnant in my family home or Alaric making money in Gerafar. Lesedi was focused and determined to convince him, I don’t know why. She didn’t say. But instead of discouraging my idea she fought hard for it. All she was willing to tell me is that they’d probably be safer there, she didn’t explain why. I probably wouldn’t have understood it anyway.

Hard wind breezes against my face as we walk through the snow. I glance over my shoulder with the sky turning blush colors and the streaking clouds turning purple. I look at the snow-covered stone that leads down into the home I’ve known my entire life. With each step it disappears into the distance and I feel more and more like I’ll never see it again. Even if I do, things will never be the way they were. I finally got my wish; I’m leaving for an adventure. Something new and exciting is happening, I’m leaving for new experiences and a wide-open world. But I can’t feel anything but sadness and pain.

I pull my eyes away and resolve myself to not look back again. I will look forwards; I will move forwards. We only have tonight to meet with Wikon and get everything in order. Tomorrow Alaric and Ilana will travel by sunlight to the river where I had met with Othin on our first night out together. I’ve instructed them to stay in cover in the abandoned yar burrow until I come for them. They should be safe there, I hope. It’s a gamble, but one they decided they were willing to take. Of course, Wren and Trigan won’t even know if they’re still alive until they receive a letter. With the lune weather that could be months.

More guilt pulls at my stomach and I stuff it away to the back of my mind. I can’t think of those things now; I need to focus. My eyes look forward to the darkening silhouette of the bare leaved forest coming closer. I flinch and though it’s nothing it strikes so much terror into Lesedi she yelps.

“What is it?!” She gasps and pulls a hand to her chest.

I shake my head. “What? Oh, nothing. Sorry. I thought I saw something in the sky, like a shadow without anything casting it. We’re fine. I promise.”

Her breathing slows and her nostrils flare. “You scared the light out of me!” She smacks a gloved hand against my upper arm. “It’s just a cloud. You must be on edge as much as I am.”

I shrug and push my hands deep into the pockets of my brown trousers. Usually the legs are wide and flare out at the bottom, it makes me feel free. But Lesedi altered them and now they end in a cuff around the ankle. She says it’s better for travelling because they slip into my boots better, I say she could have asked me first. But I would have fought her and she knows it.

I become fixated on the snow in front of me, something about looking at a person makes it hard to talk. “I’m nervous. Not about the nightstalkers and stuff.”

Lesedi rolls her eyes. “Of course, child’s play. Why would you be nervous about those?”

I glare at the snow and tense my shoulders. “No, It’s just so big. It’s not fighting a nightstalker in the arena, it’s not punching people until they give up. It’s convincing people. I couldn’t even convince our family, you had to do it.”

She puts a soft arm covered in a heavy padded coat around my shoulder. “Don’t worry so much. That’s why I’m here. You can punch people with that hammer of yours, I’ll sweet talk them.”

I let out a slow breath and nod. It helps, she’s bossy and a know it all a lot of the time, but I need her. More than need her for this ridiculous task we’re trying to pull off, I need her with me. I need her to be my teammate, my friend, my sister.

Lesedi slows her pace and begins rustling around in the bag slung over her shoulders. After a minute she smiles and pulls out what looks like a belt. Looking closer I see the brown leather has been tooled with intricate detail. Along the entire length of the belt is a forest scene with openings between the trees for mountains and hills. Two figures run along the scene; their bodies are black like silhouettes. Two holsters are affixed to the beautiful piece for blades and a pouch is secured to the right side for my meteor hammer. The belt ends in a simple square buckle. With a lamenting breath Lesedi unclips a strap and pulls on the buckle, it slides from the belt revealing a hidden blade attached.

“Woah!” My eyes widen with excitement. “When did you make this?”

She snorts and purses her lips. “You’re not the only one who hasn’t been sleeping through the night.”

I hold the beautiful belt in my hands and play with the buckle knife. Without being told so one would never have guessed a blade is hiding in there. I run my fingers along the fine leather and notice the slight tinge of green and purple to the trees of the landscape. It’s as much a work of art as it is a utility accessory.

I shake my head in awe. “It’s gorgeous Les. How did you even make this?”

Lesedi shrugs with a proud smile. “For one, it’s animal leather not plant. Alaric found a kiri carcass while foraging. The skin was good on the parts nightstalkers didn’t tear apart. All he wanted was the antlers to make a ring for Ilana. So, he brought it home and it gave me the idea.”

I frown. “I don’t remember this.

She sighs. “You were off exploring. Before getting chased home by that nightstalker.”

“You planned this that long ago?” I shake my head in disbelief.

She shrugs. “It was only five months ago, but we needed the time. Our first hurdle was figuring out what to do with the body. We all know that animal leather exists, but it’s rare and valuable since you have to find a dead animal reasonably intact to do it.”

“Then how did you figure it out? Did you have a book?” I elbow her with a teasing tone as we walk.

Lesedi tilts her head. “Actually, Echo knew how to do it. She skinned the thing and knew everything about how to tan it.”

I frown and shake my head. “How under the suns does she know how to do that?”

She shrugs. “When we asked, she said it’s none of our business. You know how she is. But she tolerated Zoey’s help during the process. I think she delighted in making the poor little thing suffer while scraping the skin. It wasn’t the best of smells.”

I laugh and cross my arms feeling guilt trying to suffocate me. “Zoey helped too?”

I clip the belt around my waist with pride as Lesedi takes my scrappy old one and puts it in her bag. “We all did. Wren gathered extra supplies for Trigan’s final trip to Gerafar where he bought the tools, and yes, a book. From there I tooled the design and Zoey even helped with the painting. In a way, it’s a gift from all of us.”

My vision gets watery. “What about the knife?”

Lesedi rolls her eyes. “That was Trigan’s idea. He said his snowflake has bite and ought to be prepared. Wren didn’t approve but he made it anyway. He’s no master blacksmith, but I think he did a fair job. I-”

Before she can say anything else, I grab her by the side and pull her in for a tight hug. Her entire body seizes in panic for a moment before relaxing into it. I don’t hug often, maybe I should. I can’t think of words to say, I know what I feel but they form pictures in my mind instead of words.

My voice comes out sniffly and soft. “I-”

Lesedi pats my back. “I know.” Her face presses into my chest and her breath sounds strained. “But Tal, you’re smothering me.”

I let go and flinch. “Sorry.”

She chuckles. “You need to bend more when you hug me.”

I nod. “Right. I just, thank you. I didn’t know everybody-”

“Cared about you so much? Well we do. No matter what you may think about yourself, we love you. I had hoped showing you how much you mean to your family would-” She pauses and wipes a finger across a watery eye. “Doesn’t matter. We love you. You’d best not forget it.”

We stride beside each other through the snow, thinking thoughts neither of us want to say. Both of us trying with great difficulty to push the guilt from our family to the back of our minds. The family we left behind is weird, a bit chaotic, and the most loving a person could ask for. They were ours; we were theirs, and we left. But guilt will do us no good now, it’ll only distract us. Moving forwards with mustered courage we make our way to the border of the forest. The sky is darkening now, leaving only but shades of purple in the sky. We come to a stop only a few paces from the trees.

I look at Lesedi, who’s so scared her face has gone to stone. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

She breaths a fast huff from her nostrils. “This is the least of our worries ahead of us. I won’t let some trees frighten me.”

She clenches her gloved hands into determined fists and marches past the trees in an almost run. As if getting through the trees was the hardest part, as if getting to the other side would erase all of her fears. It doesn’t. I step into the forest with her and as the lighting dims further I’m brought back to that night I almost got her killed.

I can see in her face that she’s there in her mind but forcing herself to stay strong. “Where is Othin meeting us?”

I groan and throw my head backward with frustration and rage. “The broken boulder, it’s not far.”

I lead the way along the cold and barren looking forest. Without the luxurious foliage the branches look like dark bony fingers. The trees, the bushes, everything looks devoid of life and covered in ice. The only plants to be seen are the patches of moongrass and their faint glow.

Lesedi’s voice changes from trembling to curious. “I never brought it up. But I saw you yelling at a nightstalker the day you were hurt. Was that Othin?” I nod and pull my eyes into a hard glare. “You punched him.” I nod again. Lesedi smacks me in the arm. “Why?”

Feelings. That’s why. I know if I don’t give her reasons now, she’ll just pull it out of me. “We had a fight.”

Lesedi gestures her hands towards me to keep going. “A fight about what?”

I roll my eyes. “The thracking prenk knew I was half nightstalker. He knew from the beginning and never told me.”

I hear my sister put on her diplomatic tone. “That makes you angry?”

I turn towards her with rage boiling from me. “Of course, it makes me angry!” I turn away from her and focus on navigating the forest. “I challenged a nightstalker! If I knew I thracking was one I could have trained better!”

Lesedi pauses and collects her thoughts. “Alright, profanity aside, I see your point. What’s really making you angry here?”

My eyebrows scrunch down and my jaw tenses. “Were you not listening? He didn’t tell me.”

She shakes her head. “No, why does him not telling you make you angry?”

She’s digging, I hate it. I shrug. “I don’t know, it just does.”

Lesedi shakes her head. “You do know, find the words.”

I groan and kick a rock with the side of my boot. “Maybe I don’t have words for it. Can’t something just make me angry?”

“No. Every emotion has a cause, even if it’s irrational or unpredictable.” Her words are cold and Lesedi-like.

I sigh. I didn’t put much thought into why it made me angry. It just did. He should’ve told me, that was something profound about my own existence and he just kept it from me. If he kept that from me, how do I know if he’ll keep something else? How do I know there aren’t other shadows lurking behind those brilliant red eyes? How do I know he won’t sweep the next big thing that happens under the rug? My stomach lurches like a rock hit me in the gut, I’m not angry I’m afraid. I’m terrified. What if he’s not the Othin I know and he’s kept that from me too? What if I’m in love with a man that’s nothing more than an illusion?

After a few minutes of silence Lesedi speaks. “You figured it out, didn’t you?” I nod and begin to open my mouth and tell her. She cuts me off. “Don’t tell me, tell him.”

“But-“

She shakes her head. “Any questions you have, ask him. You need to learn to lay your feelings bare for him, like an adult. With honesty and understanding. Not-“

I hush her and shove an arm in front of her. The hairs on the back of my neck rise and I sense someone nearby. Someone rushing towards us at an incredible pace. Lesedi tries to speak but I shove her to the ground and point at her to stay put. The feeling grows stronger as the threat looms closer. I spin on my heels and bolt along the forest path, I don’t have to run far. Bending my knees and kicking off from the balls of my feet I spring into the air, twist, and come down hard on my target.

I push the body into the ground and lay a heavy fist into its face. A voice calls out from beneath me. “Talea! It is me!”

“I know!” I grunt as I punch the face below me again.

I hear Lesedi scream behind me. She didn’t stay, she followed. “Talea!”

I pause and, in that moment, I’m flipped onto my back and get pushed into the cold snow dusted forest ground. I hear Lesedi scream again. Strong gray hands hold down my arms, I push my strength into my pelvic muscles as I swing my legs around the body and use my momentum to flip again. I throw another punch, this time to the stomach.

Lesedi’s trying not to scream, and failing. “Talea!” She shrieks in panic.

I stop, look down at the face glaring back at me. I kick at the arms and stand up marching away. I pull tangled hair from my eyes and take a deep breath. “Lesedi, meet Othin.”

He sits up and waves a clawed hand at her with a smile. Her mouth drops and her eyes are so wide they might pop out of her head. She stomps a foot. “What is wrong with you?! What did I just tell you?!”

I roll my eyes and step towards her. “Blah blah blah, violence isn’t the answer. Blah blah blah, use words.”

She stomps again. “Yes! Use words! Suns Talea! My heart almost stopped!”

Othin leaps to his feet as if the blows to his abdomen and face did nothing to him. “I am sorry. I wanted-”

I interrupt him and grab Lesedi’s hand marching towards the village. “Yeah, whatever. Let’s go.”

Lesedi glares at me as she follows along, her lectures aren’t over yet.

✽✽✽

LESEDI:

I fight the constant urge to shake with terror, scream, and run away. I’ve faced down my mortality, I’ve recovered from the brink of death, and I still feel like a pitiful child. Walking through the wood with a nightstalker in tow is more than unsettling, it’s downright unnatural. But I have to shake these thoughts, I can’t shrink back in fear of one nightstalker, I’m about to journey into the plains with an entire group of them. I have to be stronger.

Talea and Othin are silent as we move along the old growth forest. I realize that she has proven herself to these people and Othin has shown them again and again he belongs here. Every member of their clan earns their right to be among their people, nothing is given for free. I know in this moment that my survival relies exclusively on the mercy and protection of Talea and Othin. A thought that makes me more than a little uneasy.

There is no way for me to prove myself to those people. I won’t last more than a minute in a fight with someone, I have only a fraction of the strength that their weakest do. This is the last place in the world I should be. But perhaps I can prove usefulness in the least. Nightstalkers are a savage people, but they won’t throw away a good resource. At least, I don’t think they will.

First things first though, repair this ridiculous rift between Talea and Othin. For the sake of this adventure and my own safety, they need to work together. My voice cuts through the icy silent air. “Talea, don’t you have something to say to Othin?”

She shakes her head in a slow deliberate motion. “Nope.” I elbow her in the side, hard. She winces. “Fine, I do.” She turns to face him. “You’re a prenk.”

Othin frowns and shakes his head. “I do not know what that word means.”

Although nightstalkes are not the most articulate of speakers, he seems to have a good handle on common tongue. Of course, he’s been conversing with Talea for months, he’s bound to improve.

I sigh. “It’s a vulgar word for a male body part.”

Othin smirks and elbows Talea with a playful budge. “A compliment?”

She glares at him. “No.”

Did she not hear anything I just said on our way here? I stretch my neck from side to side trying to loosen up. “Alright, enough is enough. You two are bondmates, which means you’re physiologically connected to each other for the rest of your lives. You need to move past this.”

Talea takes a step ahead of him and pulls a branch back that was blocking the path. I walk past her with a frown at her suspicious grin. Othin, poor trusting thing, follows suit and Talea lets go of the branch whipping him in the bare chest with it. He looks more confused than in pain.

My sister cackles to herself and skips along. What is wrong with her? She’s acting like a petulant child! My cheeks redden and I take a long deep breath to remain calm. I stop in my tracks and reach out to grab my sister by her sleeves and Othin by his belt. I yank with all my might to pull them towards me, they both stop and loom over my head. Suns, they’re enormous. I’m used to Talea towering over me by a full head, but Othin feels like a moving tree.

I try to push my intimidated girlishness down and look up at them with as much authority as I can muster. “What did you two expect from being bondmates? That it would all be kisses and giggles?”

My stubborn sister crosses her arms. “No, there’s also sparing.”

A sly grin comes over Othin’s face. “And biting.”

I rub my stressed temples. “Oh, Father Sky.” I mutter to myself. They’re so far off the map that they render moot most of what I would suggest to a person. I sigh. “Alright, here’s the thing. The bond connects you to each other on a deeper level than anyone else. It drew you together because of your compatibility. But it won’t do the work for you. You still need to be adults and talk to each other.”

They respond with silence. I roll my eyes and glare at them. “I want to hear words, now. I don’t care who.” Talea opens her mouth and I cut her off. “Constructive, helpful, words.” She closes her mouth.

Othin’s shoulders slump as he looks at me. “I do not know what to say.”

I place a hand on my hip and gesture towards Talea. “Have you tried apologizing?” He gives me a blank stare. “Saying I’m sorry.”

He frowns and shakes his head. He looks away towards Talea, and I can see thinking in his eyes. There’s more going on inside than what he says, which is a refreshing change from Talea who blurts out everything that crosses her mind. He struggles and thinks hard, building the words in his mind first like a carpenter gathering all the tools he needs first before making something. Common tongue doesn’t come easy to him, but he’s trying.

“I am sorry.” He says with short determined words. “I was afraid.”

Talea keeps her arms crossed with a glare fixed into her face. “Since when did you become such a coward?”

His eyes blaze and his face fumes. “I am no coward!” He barks into the air; it echoes among the trees.

“It seems that way to me!” Talea’s voice takes on a mocking tone. “Oh, the great warrior Othin. So strong, killer of the mighty, but now he’s afraid?”

I try to interject. “Talea this isn’t-” They ignore me and keep barking at each other.

“You stubborn woman!” Othin reaches his arms out, grabs Talea by the shoulders and shakes her. “Do you not hear me?! I was afraid I would lose you because I love you!”

Talea frowns and hollers back at him. “Well I love you too!”

I slap both of them in the sides and scream. “Then why are you yelling at each other?!”

They stop and look at me with blank eyes. I take a deep breath. “Talea, words, now. No raising your voice.”

She stomps her foot. “But-”

I point at Othin while glaring at my sister. “Words! Now!”

She frowns at me and twists her foot in the dirt. She doesn’t raise her eyes to look at him. “I’m afraid too.” She mutters.

Othin’s gaze softens. “You are?”

Talea looks up and shoves him in the chest. “Of course I am! You thracking lied to me! What if you’re lying about other stuff? What if you’re not actually you? Because I love you, but if you’re not you, then I don’t love you. And I want-” She lets out an exhausted breath as her chest deflates. “You.”

He smiles and his eyes soften. He reaches for Talea and she smacks his arms away. I roll my eyes, at least she’s talking. Othin bends down to his knees in front of her. I stifle a laugh because he’s so tall that on bended knee we’re near the same height. He bites his lower lip and places gentle hands on her hips. She flinches, but she doesn’t hit him this time.

“Talea.” His voice is even and kind. “I swear to you upon the eyes of the Moon Mother I have kept no other secrets from you. All that I am is who I am. If anything else comes to my mind, I will tell you. I promise you honesty forever.”

Talea gulps and looks around with watery eyes. She looks at me as if it pains her to be talking about this. She’s never been good with feelings. I point to Othin and she redirects her eyes to look at him. Her body wiggles a little and her fingers tap him on the shoulders. She gulps more but can’t bring herself to say anything.

I smile. “At a certain point Tal, you’re just going to have to choose to trust him.”

She looks up at me. Her mouth moves into the shape of “How?” Without her voice leaving it.

I fight the urge to step towards her and instead cross my arms. “Make the leap. That’s what trust is. You don’t actually know, but you choose to believe.”

She looks back at Othin and gulps more to suppress her watering eyes. Her body wiggles more and then she leans down and kisses him on the forehead. Her voice is so quiet it’s almost inaudible. “Ok.”

Othin pulls her tight against him and picks her up. He swings around in a circle as she giggles. They pause looking at each other and then kiss. I’ve never been a fan of romance, but it makes me smile. To be honest, none of us ever thought Talea would find someone. Even though she was never looking in the first place, I’m glad she found him. She may not realize it, but he’s what she needs. She’s always been a strong person, able to defend herself, take care of herself. But Othin is more than that.

We resume walking and I don’t realize it, being lost in thought.

He’s there for her, like a companion in war. Which aptly describes their relationship. No one can survive in this world alone; we all need someone. Friends, family, comrades, someone. Somehow, Talea has found all of that in one person. It’s more than romance and I can see that now. At first, I was frustrated she would imperil us all for a mere boy. That she’d end up in a cave somewhere because he’s the only male to ever show interest in her. But that’s not it. They’re a part of each other, allies as much as anything else.

Relief falls over me. Sure, they both have enough baggage to build another wall around Safehaven. But it works. It won’t be easy for them, not by a longshot. But, nothing worth having comes easy. In fact, I believe the harder one has to work for something, the more valuable it is. What they have is a rare gem and I know in my heart they have an equally hard road ahead of them.

I’m pulled from my thoughts when I hear Talea chuckle. “They’ll kill her for sure.”

I frown. “Excuse me?”

Othin grins and a black claw tugs at my veya. “It is too much.”

I look to Talea for answers. She wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Nightstalkers don’t need clothes. Their bodies run hot, sometimes they even melt snow while they walk. So clothing is mostly for decoration and holding weapons. To be so covered like this is the biggest sign of weakness.”

I clutch at the front of my garment. “What do you propose?”

Talea and Othin glance at each other and then at me. I hear Othin’s deep voice trying to suppress laughter. “Take it off.”

I shake my head as my thoughts reach where they’re going with this. “Oh no. No. This is staying on as well as all my other layers thank you very much.”

I look down lovingly at the beautiful article Wren made me. The sleeves are a thick dark blue fabric with paler blue flowers and swirls dancing along it. The bodice is the same dark blue, but solid, trimmed in the pale blue of the flowers. The veya stops at my hips on the sides but goes down to my shins in front and back. The inside is lined in blue wool with a wool lined high collar to insulate my neck. Knots and loops made of blue cord line the front to keep it closed. This coat is the highest example of skysinger traditional dress. People don’t wear them anymore. When I was fifteen and studying cultural history, I fell in love with the artistic representations of the people wearing the elegant garments. Wren lost sleep for two months making it to surprise me.

Talea has never understood my love of them, I tell her stories of our cultural history and how much we’ve lost and how I want to preserve what little remains to us of that society. But in reality, my reasons are simple and childish. I like to pretend. Pretend I live in a world of dignity, wisdom, and peace. I like to feel like I’m one of those people from a thousand years ago, people who walked the streets of a civilization in harmony with itself. It’s silly perhaps, but it makes me feel like I’m one of them and it gives me a fraction of that pride.

Talea sighs. “Les, we’re just trying to keep you safe. I’m afraid-”

“No.” My expression goes cold with resolve. “I remove nothing. They can deal with it.”

She gives me a silent nod and we continue forwards into the village. I hear hissing and screeching from the trees and I catch the scattered red dots of eyes everywhere. My insides are shivering from terror, but I keep my chin high. I will not allow them to change me in order to conform to their standards of strength. I choose now and forever to be me and nothing less.

✽✽✽

WIKON:

Shado stands tall and powerful, more so than any moonrunner, my fierce mate. A beautiful and dangerous creature. Her narrow eyes are beneath a tall forehead with sharp cheekbones. Her entire head of shining white hair holds braids with black beads woven into it. The beads click together when her hair sways, it sounds like drops of rain on water.

I sit admiring her from the bed and I can’t keep a smile from my face when I look at her. She lets out a breathy chuckle, her voice is throaty and smooth. “You smile at a time like this?”

My smile broadens. “If I do not smile at a time like this, then when would I have the opportunity?”

She fights it, but a grin comes to those dark gray lips all the same. “My one, you would smile to your death.”

I grab her waist and pull her into my lap. “Only if you were there with me.”

Shado drags the tip of her claw down the side of my cheek, I close my eyes to take in the moment. Her voice drops to a whisper. “To our last breath.”

I nod remembering our vows from so long ago. I remember standing beneath that great tree, she had braided blossoms into her hair. “That we will take together.” I speak back to her my half of the vow.

She pats my chest and rubs her hand in a circle. Despite her longing to stay here with me she pulls herself to her feet and me along with her. I look to the tent door. “How is she do you think?”

My one shakes her head with a grim expression. “Ki’vala is not strong. I do not know if she will survive the night.”

I nod with my smile vanishing. Ki’vala is a weakling, a pitiful thing that without my claim to her would have died long ago. She is slow of body and slower of mind. When we found her, she was almost at death and skinnier than a sack of bones. Too weak to hunt and never having been able to prove herself she had been beaten and thrown away. It happens sometimes. It was Shado’s idea to take her in, but the only way the clan would respect my protection is if she were one of my mates.

Shado never succumbed to jealousy; she took in Ki’vala as a sister. For years she was only that, but last year the clan was losing its respect for my protection. Ki’vala was attacked and almost killed, the clan was emboldened by confidence it was a charade. The only way to dispel it was to become a father, again. Even though I long ago said I would never return to this path.

Not only did the “evidence” of Ki’vala’s matehood stop the attacks, but it has solidified my footing. Leaders are expected to have many mates, at least more than one. It is a kind of prestige. My predecessor had five mated of her own. They were the most formidable too which only added to her power. There are two ways to claim a mate, either they come to you for protection and attach themselves to you for life, or you defeat them in a challenge. Though when I challenged her it was not for matehood, it was for the clan.

My mind comes back to reality when Shado lays a soft kiss on my nose. “Where did you go?”

I wrinkle my brow. “My thoughts. “

She smirks. “Careful, you will get lost in there.” She runs a calloused palm against my bicep. “I will go check on her. When is your daypeople to arrive?”

I frown. “She is not daypeople Shado, she is a halfmoon. She won a challenge; she is one of the clan.”

She pulls her hand away and waves it as if swatting the thought away. “Yes, yes. The purple eyed child. Can she do this?”

I let out a slow breath. “I do not know. But we must kill the betrayer before they kill us.”

She nods taking in my words. Her chin stays poised with confidence as she raises one eyebrow. “If they fail? We pin our lives on those who know nothing of us.”

I grunt and pinch my chin with further thoughts disturbing me. “The possibility of failure is no reason to not try.”

She pats my hand and walks away to the tent door. “If they die, my one, then we die also.”

I nod once more with nothing but solemnity left in me. “I know.”