My brother’s eyes bulged almost comically and he seemed at a loss for words, his mouth gaping open, making his cheekbones seem even more hollowed.
“When he took me from the village, he said he always knew I would be his queen,” I told him. “That was my purpose and what he wanted from me. And I’m not going to lie, I rebelled against it for a long time, struggled with it as I adjusted to my new life. But eventually, I realized that my feelings for him grew every day. He’s honorable and kind, but hard when he needs to be. He’s a better male than I could have ever thought. He’s protected me andstrengthenedme and cared for me. Now, I’m proud to be at his side. I’m proud to be queen of this horde.”
Kivan processed my words with a grim expression. He swallowed. “This is hard for me to take in, Luna.”
“It will take time,” I said. “Just like it did for me. What matters is that you’re here now. I asked my husband if I could see you again and here you are. You’re here because of him.”
“When the horde riders came to our village yesterday,” Kivan said, “I wasn’t sure what to expect. They had brought food—meat,actual meat—with them last time, which had surprised us all. We weren’t sure if they had come to collect some form of payment. Instead, they’d asked for me. They told me I could see you if I went with them.”
I smiled, pushing back a long strand of hair that covered his eyes. He needed a hair trim, which was something I’d always done for him.
“TheVorakkarsent that food to the village,” I told him.
“Why?” he asked, suspicious.
“Because I had refused to eat when I first arrived,” I told him, a little embarrassed about that fact now. How far would I have really gotten, not eating? “I felt guilty about having food, when I knew you were hungry.”
His expression softened. “Luna…”
“So he made me a deal. If I ate, he would make sure the village ate too.”
Kivan blinked and then looked down.
“He said he offered you a place here,” I whispered, tilting his chin up so he could look at me. “Please tell me you’ll accept.”
Kivan’s nostrils flared.
“You’ll be safe. You’ll always have food in your belly. You won’t have to live in fear anymore.”
“And what about the rest of the village?” Kivan asked.
I sobered. But then I asked, “After I left, did they treat you well? Did Polin?”
“That doesn’t matter,” he murmured. “It was my fault.”
My lips pressed together. “You were an outcast, weren’t you?”
He didn’t reply, but his shoulders sagged.
“Kivan,” I whispered, biting my lip. He must have been scared. He’d lost me and then he’d lost the respect of the village, what remained of it at least. They’d turned their backs on him.
“Would you go back with me?” he asked, his tone serious.
My brow furrowed. “Why would you want to go back, after how they treated you?”
His mouth opened and closed. Finally, he said, “Because it’s home. Once you are back, everything will be normal again. You’ll see. So, will you?”
I looked at him, my chest tightening. Because Arokan had asked me this once. He’d asked if I would choose my brother and the village over the horde, over him. And I’d told him that he couldn’t ask me that, that it wasn’t fair.
But right then, I had my answer.
“No,” I whispered.
He sucked in a breath.
I looked at the notch in his throat, my heart heavy, before meeting the familiar color of his eyes. It was strange looking into them, after so long. I was so used to the dark eyes of the Dakkari that human eyes now seemed…alien.
“My home is here now,” I said. “Kivan, I—before I came here, I never realized how much I struggled. For us…for you.”
