“A few moon cycles ago,” Drovo shrugged then set the cradle down next to the bed.
“He didn’t mention it to you?” the dryad shifter asked.
“No,” I shook my head as I knelt down next to the beautifully crafted cradle that would soon hold my little baby.
“It must have slipped his mind,” he shrugged.
“I can’t wait for him to see it.”
“It shouldn’t be much longer,” Drovo replied. “They went out looking for Gil. Axon spotted him and ran back to the village to tell Tarak.”
“That’s where they all went?”
“Yep,” Drovo nodded. “Tarak asked me to stay behind in case anything happened here. If all goes well, they’ll convince Gil to bring Anusha back.”
The mention of my friend’s name made a knot form in my throat. It’d been months since she’d been taken. No one had anyidea where she was or how she was doing. We all felt so helpless. There was something about Gil that made him nearly impossible to track.
“I hope they’re successful,” I replied in a somber tone.
“We’ll get her back,” Drovo gave me a comforting smile.
I looked down at the cradle again and marveled at the details. “This is really beautiful, Drovo. You did an amazing job.”
His ears turned a dark blue as he blushed. “I pride myself on making furniture that will last. Your baby will be safe in there.”
“Thank you again,” I replied as I patted my round belly. It wouldn’t be too much longer until we made use of the new cradle.
“I better get back to Kayla and Kavo,” Drovo bowed his head with a smile and left.
I stared at the beautiful cradle for a long while admiring the wood etching of the vines and animals Drovo had placed there. I had been lost in thought imagining my future with Zander when I heard a commotion outside my door.
I rushed outside to find Orsu carrying Zander over his shoulder toward the house.
“What happened?” I asked as Orsu laid Zander down onto the furs.
“We were attacked by two solete birds. Gil, Jax, and Zander helped drive them away, but Zander got injured.”
My mate laid on the bed unconscious and pale. Blood seeped from his leg and shoulder at an alarming rate.
“We have to stop the bleeding.” I grabbed some clean rags from one of the storage baskets and started wrapping Zander’s wounds.
“Someone get Sozu!” Orsu shouted.
A moment later Neelu was at my side inspecting Zander’s wounds. “These will need to be sewed shut. Vianna, get me my medical supplies.”
I hadn’t even noticed his sister had entered the room. Her face had gone pale and she looked terrified at the sight of her brother so badly injured.
“Go!” Neelu shouted, and the young sirret woman turned and ran out the door.
“She shouldn’t see her brother like this,” the older woman whispered.
“Do you think he’ll live?” I asked, unable to keep the fear out of my voice.
“Yes,” Neelu answered in a firm tone. “We will stop the bleeding and your mate will recover.” Her firm tone left no room for argument.
“Where’s Sozu?” I asked looking over my shoulder and out the window.
“No one knows,” Neelu replied. “He and Favalor went out hunting and haven’t returned.”
