“They’re discussing him, you know. Deciding what you’re doing. Will you play with your orc like a mouse with his cheese? Will they let our spoiled Blackheart princess have her way?”
“It doesn’t matter what they’re discussing. Because you’re not invited.”
I hear his deep chuckle. “Still as fiery as ever. I see.”
“And yet it doesn’t concern you. Denruk. My father turned you down already, didn’t he? More than once,” I sneer.
His eyes turn icy. “You’ll regret that, Negan. I’m on my way to being a powerful hunter. You’ll regret not having me.”
I sigh, ready to let him have his way. “You’re probably right. In any case, it’s time for you to find a new female to set your eyes on. May I dare suggest someone who’s willing?”
His nostrils flare. “Careful, Blackheart princess. You’re not so different than me, are you? Is your male willing?”
I’m about to scoff when he goes on.
“Everyone thought you were frigid. Does he pretend to like you to get a shot at the bridge between the Blackhearts and West Mountains?”
Chapter Five
Varguk:
“AND WHAT DO YOU think of our bridge now that you’ve met her?” Bakog asks.
Tok hands him a dampened cloth so he can wipe more dried blood away.
“She’s pure. And good, deep inside where it counts. Outwardly, she’s the most beautiful goddess who ever existed.”
“Hmm,” Tok says. “You should have seen her as a teen. Mouthy and knobby-kneed, aye?” He looks over at Bakog.
“Aye. But then they all were. Hisa especially.”
Tok glares at him, which makes Bakog snicker, then leans in to make his point. “Shalia went through a stage where she’d go get her ‘daddy’ every time anyone wouldn’t give her what she wanted.”
Bakog winces. “Aye. Uncle Latsil was a beast sometimes. It forced a male to run to Aunt Jo-Jo for help.”
There’s silence while we all ponder the meaning of that statement.
“Let’s not ever say that again,” Tok grunts.
I feel my lip twitch.
Bakog clears his throat. “Aye, well, we were young. Anyway, we wanted to tell you a story about Negan. ‘Twas a few years ago, rightbefore winter hit.”
“If it would have been a few turns later, Oshin would have died,” Tok cuts in, and his voice sounds dangerous.
“Not all the males who come from that clan are honorable,” Bakog continues. “Three of them had their eyes on Negan. She has never given them the time of day. It rankled. It can’t be proven it was them, but one day Oshin ended up unconscious in a pit. Pushed from behind. Then the three idiots taunted Negan with the fact that once her father was out of the way, it was up to her mother to give her to a mate. And you can suspect what happened—she ran off to find him.”
“Not an easy feat,” Tok interjects. “Rain was heavy that season. Blackhearts have more than one pit dug to thwart invaders to their territory and while they know the general vicinity of each hole, these males had dug a fresh one.”
“Without telling anyone else in their clan?” I ask.
“They claimed they’d just finished it late into the night and planned to tell King Jacovi that day. No one expected Oshin to head out that early, despite knowing the male frequently headed that way on his own,” Bakog says.
“How did Negan get him out?”
“Our girl is clever. She made a ladder and climbed down into the pit, strapped him onto a board made from a side barn door and used both horses to work in tandem to gently pull him out. Not an easy feat, I assure you. Oshin’s steed was already spooked. Knowing it wasn’t safe in her village, she strapped him across the two massive beasts and they trotted side by side all the way to our village.”
A lone female? By herself, with an injured father, traveling that distance?
