“What is it doing inmyhut?”
“Dogan told me to work here.”
Dogan? The one lucky enough to get one of the few suitable Penticari?
I exit my hut, gesturing frantically to the longhouse where I see several other Penticari watching us.
“Leave and take your weaves with you!”
“I can’t move my weaves.”
“Why not?”
“The threads are delicate.”
“I do not care how fine the threads are—this is my hut that I built with my own hands.” I lift my fist. “You can build one for yourself if you want one so badly.”
“My work is too big to move, and there’s no place for it in there,” Asha argues. “It will tangle?—”
“That matters not to me.”
Grixis approaches, looking relieved. “Did you find the girl?”
I turn away from Asha, struggling to tame my fury. “She is in the longhouse with the others.”
“Then let us talk.”
“Not until this one leaves my home.” I point emphatically at Asha.
“That can wait, as there are urgent matters to discuss.”
I glance askance at Asha, who seems to somehow make herself smaller under my heated gaze.
“Fine, but if she is not out by sundown, she will not like what I do with her precious weaves.”
I follow Grixis into the forest, followed by Eddard, Fenrick, Dogan, and Haelden.
When we are out of earshot, Grixis turns to me, keeping his voice low when he speaks.
“It has been many moons since you have left. What took you so long to return?”
Instead of telling them about my disastrous courtship, I say, “I was letting Amber continue on, hoping that a few days spent in the wilds of Melgrim would humble her, but the wilds were far less wild than I remember.”
“What do you mean?” Grixis asks.
“Veriskans are in our territory.”
Baring his teeth, Grixis growls, “What?”
“At first, I saw signs. Areas where predators should be had none, and resources only used by man were depleted.”
My tribe mates look ashen.
Grixis turns in a small circle, his hands toiling. “This is most concerning, for now would be a poor time to go to battle.”
“Too late for that.” Dogan chuckles. “He already brought Amber back, and judging by her reaction to the village, she is no less feral than she was before.”
“Now is not the time for jests,” Grixis snaps, then turns his attention back to me. “Tell me more.”
