It isn’t enough.
A large, shadowing person makes his way through the crowd, pushing another short red head.
“Arlet!” I practically squeak. She throws her arms around me.
How can a heart hold this much joy when tomorrow is not guaranteed?
She pulls back and gives me an inquisitive, serious look. I know what she means. She wants to know about Mikal. I swallow hard and shake my head.
Her eyes grow wide, and her face slackens.
“But he’s alive?”
I nod.
“Por los dioses, Este. Lo lamento mucho,?1”she says against my cheek as she hugs me tighter.
Things between her and me had been so strange before I’d left. She and I used to be the closest of friends, and now… a divide between us lingers.
Perhaps, in my mission to prove myself as a queen, I can also repair the relationship between us.
“What have you been doing while I’ve been gone?” I ask, glancing up at Vann as he tries very hard not to look down at us.
I remember the tension between them.
“Weaving. Weaving a lot, which now I see will be very useful. There’s an excess of furs that will need to be sewn and stitched for all the newcomers.” She eyes all the women with disbelief. “Gods, there are so many. How did you do it?”
I let out a breath.
“I didn’t. Not really. There was a slave who attended to me. I would tell her about Enduvida, and she would tell the women. Rholker had just sent more than usual to the breeding pens because…” I trail off—because he wants his army to slaughter Enduvida so he can bring in more slaves. He won’t stop until he’s hacked away every valuable mineral and metal from our mountain home.
My heart starts to pound once again, but Arlet doesn’t seem to notice.
“All thirty come from the breeding pens?” she asks, breathless.
I nod. “There are four who are pregnant.”
Her eyebrows raise again, and she looks at the Enduares.
“We can trust the Enduares. I know it… but the women will need extra care.”
I look to the side, studying one of the humans as they walk past.
“Not all of them. Some are quite eager to run right away from Zlosa and into the arms of an adoring Enduar, but I don’t know if they all intend to stay once they are healed. The elves have already promised to take some back to the Sisterhood’s Enclave.”
Arlet nods, not at all appearing confused. “Yes, I overhead Vann and some of the others talking about where King Teo was heading.”
The mention of Vann has me glancing up once again.
“Have you found a mate while I was gone?” It has been her greatest desire since we arrived here.
She smiles, somewhat sadly. “I have found someone, but we are not mated.”
I look up at Vann once more, more suspicious than ever, except when her arms go wide, it’s not him who steps in.
It’s Joso.
I blink.
