“But onlybikkuare allowed inside,” she added, “or else the warriors would be too much of a distraction.”
I smiled. “They try to steal food?”
“Constantly,” she said. “So do the children.”
“When will the feast happen?” I asked, taking a break from my work to look up at her. I rolled my neck, hearing it crack.
“In two days.”
And then Seerin will leave forDothik, I thought. For how long, I didn’t know.
It had been three days since he’d come to my tent. Three days since I’d sent him away and, except for the barest of glimpses around the encampment, I hadn’t seen him or spoken to him since.
The distance between us made me feel dejected. I’d been closest to Seerin. Despite my stronger feelings for him, I thought of him as a friend. I always felt he was honest with me. He intrigued me, somehow managing to assuage my curiosity about him while making me want to know so much more.
Yet in a single moment, our friendship—or whatever the hell it had been—had seemed to crumble. And I was still uncertainwhyhe’d chosen to do that. Because it had been a calculated choice.
“I always love the frost feast,” the seamstress said. “Even though it means that we have to go to our dried meats and soups for the rest of the cold season.”
My gaze refocused on her since it had begun to drift with my thoughts. “Rations?” I asked, my chest squeezing, an old feeling of panic returning.
She looked at me carefully and said, “Nik. There is still plenty of food. Our fresher meat is usually used up during the frost feast. But I assure you,lirilla,thebikkudry the most delicious smokedkinnuand throw together rich, flavorful, nutritious broths. You might not even miss the fresh meat again until the thaw comes.”
I relaxed slightly and nodded, a little embarrassed that she’d had to reassure me so much.
Hesitantly, she asked, “You were very hungry before coming here, were you not,lirilla?”
My brow furrowed and I looked back at the hide pants in my lap, at the needle still in my grip.
“Like I said before, my village was very different than here,” I said softly. Though I’d grown up in that village, it seemed like months had passed since I’d been there.
What had Seerin said? That time moved slower in the cold season? It certainly seemed that way.
Another pang went through my chest, thinking about him, but I shook it away and resumed my work.
“I am sorry,” she murmured, “that you suffered. I feel strange now, knowing that I have not given much thought tovekkirisettlements before. Now I wonder constantly. You have given me another perspective and I am grateful for it.”
Her words surprised me. In return, I said softly, “And your horde has given me another perspective as well. I am grateful too.”
We went back to our work, talking idly of the frost feast. She told me that there would be dancing and music and plenty of fermented wine.
“Perhaps you will dance with my brother,” she teased.
A startled laugh escaped me. “Your brother? Why? I don’t even know how to dance.”
“You have been spending time with him,” she noted.
“Yes,” I said. The last couple nights, I’d been in the training grounds with him, teaching him how to shoot the bow. He’d been interested in learning and I found I liked teaching my favorite hobby. “He is kind. I consider him a friend.”
I’d never thought of him otherwise, though I’d grown used to his flirting. It was harmless, but I was careful not to encourage it. Not when Seerin was still constantly in my thoughts.
“Hmm,” her lips quirked. “Do you consider me a friend?”
“Of course,” I told her. “You’ve also been very kind and patient, as I’ve bombarded you with questions.”
“If that is the case,” she said, “then you may call me by my given name of Avuli.”
My hand stilled, the needle hovering. “Avuli,” I repeated softly. I knew what it meant for her to give me her name. “Then you must call me Nelle. Although, I am sure your father already told you my name after my mix-up that day.”
