When she pulled back from the embrace, I saw her guilt, her sorrow at my words, as if they deepened her own shame. That hadn’t been my intention. I scrambled for her hand, squeezing when I felt a small portion of my strength surge within me.
I said, “I’m just so happy you’re here. I’ve missed you so much.”
It seemed to soothe some of her sudden tension. She squeezed my hand back. “And you’re a queen now, Mina. The queen of a horde.”
The words came out whispered and soft. We stared at one another, as I sensed Hukri lingering at the entrance, giving us privacy.
“So much has changed,” Tess whispered again, though this time the words came out ragged. “Hasn’t it?”
I think she meantustoo.
I think she meantwe’dchanged. And she’d be right.
The girl she’d known before…I couldn’t remember who she was. As for Tess…gone was the headstrong, optimistic, and courageous girl I’d known nearly all my life. She was a quiet, solemn creature now. And scarred, though they were unseen scars. She knew that she’d hurt me too, which only added to her pain.
We had both changed. Nothing would ever be the same between us. Then again, since our village burned, nothing had truly been the same, had it?
I recognized that and Tess did too.
And I wondered what that meant for our future.
“Soon,” I promised her softly, placing my other hand on top of her own.
Soon, we would have a long conversation. We would see where it would lead. And that was the only thing we could ask for.
“Right,” she whispered, wiping at her cheeks. “I’m sorry, I know you just woke up. I’ve just been thinking all these things for much too long and I…”
“It’s all right, I understand,” I told her, giving her a small smile before I started crying again. “Will you help me up? I need to stand.”
“I don’t think that’s wise,Missiki,” Hukri finally cut in, worrying her lip. “You just woke. And you’ve been sleeping for over a week now.”
A week?
That long?
That was when I remembered. My breath hitched. “Your mate. Is he—”
“Lysi,” she said, coming to the side of the bed. “Kakkira vor,Morakkari.Kakkira vor. You brought him back to me.”
“No, thedarukkarsdid. TheVorakkardid and…”
“We know what you did,Missiki,” Hukri said. “The whole horde knows that you saved thedarukkarsunder the Dead Mountain, that you pushed back the fog from the horde. And you have their gratitude. You have their loyalty. As you deserve.”
Hearing that made my throat tighten. I didn’t know what to say.
Instead, I focused on pushing up from the bed. I slid my legs out from beneath the furs. For being bedridden for nearly a week, I felt oddly…good.
Energized. Light. I didn’t feel any soreness or pain. When I touched my face, my fingers didn’t come away with blood. My skin was smooth, my limbs were unbruised.
I pressed a hand to my waist as Tess helped me sit up. And though she had protested, it was Hukri that helped me stand from the bed.
And just when I stood, when I straightened to my full height, I heard the entrance flap whip back, hitting the hide with a violent crack.
And then…
There he was.
When his red eyes found mine, thevolikiseemed to fade away. Everything seemed to quiet, even the crackling of the fire basin, and the cheers of celebration I heard outside. For me?
