Once I was done, she took it from me. We emerged from behind the mountain once I was sure the worst of the nausea had passed.
We rejoined the camp shortly after and Arokan reached out for me when I found him sitting with hispujerak, a few warriors…and my brother, much to my surprise. My horde king settled me in his lap and I smiled at him when he fed me some driedbverimeat, though I worried my stomach would rebel.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mirari leave and go seek out the healer, a middle aged, large-set, no-nonsense female I’d seen multiple times around camp. I watched them speak briefly as I bit my lip, only half-listening to Arokan speak with thepujerakas they ate.
The healer’s eyes connected with mine, even from a far distance. I inclined my head in a brief, subtle nod and she blinked, dropping her gaze in respect, before she took the cup from Mirari, said something to her, and left.
I closed my eyes briefly in relief.
I might be pregnant, I thought silently to myself, testing that possibility, feeling a warm glow that rose from the thought that both frightened and excited me.
However, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Not yet.
Not until I knew for certain.
Only then would I tell Arokan.
Chapter Thirty-One
“You’ll probably need more furs once the cold season comes,” I commented, helping Kivan with the last touches in his tent. “But theVorakkarsays that the weather is milder in the southlands, so perhaps these will suffice.”
“It’s more than we ever had in the village,” Kivan commented, staring around at the small space. “I’ve never seen so many furs in my life.”
“That’s true,” I murmured softly, looking around.
Thevolikiwas small, but it was the same size as the unmated warriors’ tents, just enough for one. Warm and cozy.
“What now?” Kivan asked after a brief moment of silence.
A loaded question. We had reached the new camp yesterday afternoon, right on schedule, and by nightfall,allof the tents had already been erected. The golden barrels that held the fire for cooking meat so it wouldn’t scorch the earth were rolled out and lit, giving the camp a warm glow. And as the sky blackened, the horde continued to work. Thepyrokienclosure was put together and I helped fill the troughs with food and water. I saw Arokan only briefly as he helped erect the training grounds.
The camp had relatively the same layout as the previous one. The back of the camp—which included our tent—butted up to a tall hill. And while it had made me nervous, next to that tall hill was a thick forest, but unlike any forest I’d ever seen. Instead of trees, it was made up of black vines that crawled up sharp, jutting rocks. The vines crisscrossed overhead, growing between the rocks that acted like trunks until the forest seemed like nothing more than a black mass of darkness and chaos.
Arokan said there was a stream inside, which would provide access to fresh water. Though I worried about Ghertun, still spooked from the earlier encounter, Arokan assured me that there would be a plethora of patrols to keep it clear.
But right then Kivan was looking at me with a wary expression. Now that we’d begun to settle into our new camp and the journey was over, Kivan was nervous about what his purpose would be.
“I’ll bring it up to theVorakkar,” I assured him. “I work with thepyrokiduring the day, but there is plenty around camp to do. We will find you a job.”
Kivan nodded. It was getting late. Already the second day being at the new camp was fading away and I still had to visit the healer. It was something I’d been putting off all day, once Mirari told me that morning that she wished to speak with me, that she had completed her tests.
I didn’t know why I was avoiding the meeting. I hadn’t experienced any more nausea since we’d been journeying and I didn’t want to hear that I’d gotten my hopes up for nothing. Ever since it became a possibility that I could be pregnant…it was all I’d thought about. Iwanteda baby, I realized. The intense longing for one surprised me, considering I had never given children much thought before.
But I did. I wanted to be pregnant. I wanted to give Arokan children, a son or a daughter.
“I have something I need to do,” I told my brother, knowing I couldn’t put off the meeting any longer. Better to get it over with and move on. “Rest. And put that salve on your thighs. It helps with thepyrokiburn. Trust me.”
Kivan looked up at me and nodded, already reaching for the pot of clear healing salve I’d brought him.
I smiled at him, reaching up to ruffle his clean hair. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Kivan.”
Once I ducked outside the tent, I looked at one of my two guards—the one that spoke the universal tongue—and asked him, “Will you take me to the healer’s tent?”
Thankfully, he didn’t ask why, but simply led me to her. In no time at all, as the sky darkened into a beautiful indigo, I stood in front of her home and the guard called out, announcing my presence and my desire to speak to her. I knew Arokan would look for me soon, so I needed to be quick. I knew the guards would report to him that I’d come there, but I would tell him my reasons if he asked. I would be honest with him.
Once the healer gave me permission to enter, I stepped inside and was immediately assaulted with the intense smell of burning herbs and the heat from the small fire she had going in her own personal barrel.
“Morakkari,” she greeted, inclining her head, standing from the low table she was seated at. I’d interrupted her evening meal, I realized.
