She was going to let Yaaf find the answer in Rohilah's head if it was important to him to find out. It didn't matter for their purpose one way or another.
"Was it hard to let Tersan go?" she asked instead.
"It didn't matter if it was hard. They were going to take him whether I wanted them to or not. So, I prepared myself for it. I knew he wouldn't be mine for long. When they came for him, I was ready, and I could be strong for him. I told him that I was proud of him and that he was going to do great things in Mortdh's name."
She looked at Sullha with a sympathetic expression. "My advice to you is to start early with Tomek. Start preparing yourself now. Don't let yourself love him so much that the loss breaks you, because the loss is coming, and it doesn't care how prepared you are. The only thing you can do is to shore up your walls so it won't destroy you."
Sullha's chest tightened, and she struggled to keep her expression neutral.
"That sounds like good advice," she said. "I just don't know if I can make myself love him less."
Rohilah looked toward the sandbox.
"It's getting late. Bianca needs a snack and a bath." She rose to her feet. "Thank you for inviting us here and offering me a teaching position. I can start with the little ones as soon as Bianca turns three."
"That's great." Sullha smiled at her.
Rohilah looked at her daughter, who was now lying on her stomach in the sand with her chin propped on her hands, just watching Tomek complete the structure they'd been working on because she seemed too tired to keep helping.
"This is good for her," Rohilah said. "Maybe I'll bring her again tomorrow."
"I can't promise Tomek will agree to this again, but if you come a little earlier, there are plenty of younger kids playing in the sandbox, and Bianca will have many friends to choose from."
"He's a sweet boy, your Tomek."
"He is."
"She's going to grow up thinking that all males are like that, and they are not."
Sullha didn't have a response to that, because Rohilah was right, and they both knew it.
"It will be a hard day when she finds out what men are really like," Rohilah said quietly. "When she's thirteen and sent to do her duty to Mortdh. I almost don't want her to have this positive experience with a boy. I think it might be kinder to start her on the truth earlier."
"My best friend growing up was a boy," Sullha said. "He was kind and funny, and yet I didn't have any illusions about what to expect in the breeding building. We find out soon enough what our lives are about."
Rohilah looked at her with surprise in her eyes. "So, you are glad you had a friend who was a boy?"
"I am. Children deserve to have a few years to be kids. I was grateful for the years I had with my best friend. I think it helped me build up resilience. I had a reservoir of good memories to pull on when my world turned cruel."
Rohilah nodded. "That's unexpected wisdom from someone as young as you. Thank you for the insight."
As she walked across the playground toward her daughter, Sullha watched her go, and a quiet certainty settled in her gut.
Regardless of what Yaaf had seen in Rohilah's mind, Sullha was done with vetting the woman. She was good to go. She would do anything in her power to provide a better future for her daughter.
Sullha glanced at Yaaf.
He was also watching Rohilah cross the playground, but his expression revealed nothing. He stood so motionless that Sullha wasn't sure whether he was still inside Rohilah's mind or reviewing what he had already found.
"Bianca, sweetheart. Time to go." Rohilah reached for her daughter.
"No."
"Yes. Snack, bath, and bed."
"No bath."
"Yes, bath. Up you go."
