Murin sneered at her. “What if we don’t want them here, meddling in how we do things?”
K’lrsa sighed. After today she was never, ever going to let herself be put in a position to lead others ever again. “If you refuse to at least allow members of the other tribes to join you or to allow your members who want to join the other tribes to do so…” She made a point of meeting the gaze of the boldest women amongst the newcomers. “Then at the next tribal gathering the tribes will have to decide whether to allow you to continue to be members. Because that’s not our way. All are allowed to freely move between tribes if they so choose.”
“What’s to guarantee you won’t do that to us no matter what we do?”
“I can’t guarantee that, Murin. I don’t speak for the tribes. What I can tell you is that locking your women away behind barriers like you’ve done is likely not going to go over well with the other tribes. Especially if those women don’t want to be locked away. You are welcome to make a new start here, but I’d suggest you find a way to put aside some of the beliefs and practices you brought with you from the Daliphana.”
Murin turned away, ignoring her, but some of the new women moved closer to one another, talking softly amongst themselves.
“I’ll also add what I’ve been trying to tell Luden for days now. You cannot stay here and expect to feed this many. You will starve.”
“We could if we had the necklace,” one of the new women said.
K’lrsa winced. “The way Luden used the necklace to hunt would’ve destroyed us all in time. You need to find a way to live in balance with this land. You can come join the other tribes and learn that way or you can find a way on your own. But I can’t allow that type of short-sighted slaughter to continue.”
K’lrsa wished there were a way to make them understand what she was telling them, but all she saw from the newcomers was sullen resentment. When their children started to die of starvation she had no doubt they’d blame her for it, but what she was doing was right.
Not just for these people, but for all of the tribes.
“What are you going to do?” N’la asked, interrupting her black thoughts.
“Find the man who sent these women and children here and kill him. For good this time.” She glanced to the newcomers. “Once he’s gone you can return home if you want to.”
A few nodded, but others shook their head.
K’lrsa shrugged. “Anyway. That’s what I have to say. Do as you will. But I, and the necklace, aren’t going to be here either way.” She met Vedhe’s eyes. “It’s time we ended this threat for good.”
Chapter 21
F’lia thrashed around in her sleep, tears running down her cheeks as she whispered L’ral’s name over and over again. K’lrsa knelt by her side and gently squeezed her hand, wishing she could take all of her friend’s pain away.
It hurt to hear her calling for L’ral—the man who’d led K’lrsa’s father to his death—but it wasn’t a surprise. Even though F’lia hadn’t spoken of him since she’d come back from the Black Horse Tribe—L’ral’s betrayal had hung between them like a rotten fruit, ready to burst at the slightest touch—it was clear she still loved him.
She was too kind-hearted to believe he could’ve betrayed K’lrsa’s father without a good reason. And to K’lrsa there was no reason good enough for what he’d done even though he’d begged her forgiveness and sworn he hadn’t meant for her father to die. (Something she hadn’t told F’lia, because then she would have had to tell her that he was waiting for her in the Hidden City.)
K’lrsa winced as F’lia cried out for L’ral once more. She should’ve told her about him before this, but she hadn’t wanted to doom her friend to living a half-life with a man who was already dead. And what about the baby? He would’ve been raised alone in a city surrounded by dead people.
But now…
There was nothing to lose. The baby was gone and F’lia was so devastated she might never recover. She’d already tried to give herself to the sands once before when L’ral and K’lrsa disappeared. This time, there’d be no one to stop her…
L’ral’s love might be the only thing that could save her. Which meant that if K’lrsa wanted F’lia to survive, she needed to take her to the Hidden City. Now.
Before she went after Aran.
It was a risk.
What if F’lia chose to join L’ral in death?
But it was the best chance she had. The only chance. And if F’lia did make that choice? At least she’d be making it to be with the one she loved. She wouldn’t be alone.
Vedhe ducked into the tent. “How is she?”
“Devastated.” K’lrsa wiped at the fresh tears on F’lia’s cheeks before turning to Vedhe. “I’m going to take her to the Hidden City. To L’ral.”
Vedhe pursed her lips. “What about Aran? I thought you were finally ready to kill him.”
“I am. But I need to make sure F’lia is safe first.”
“You aren’t just going to hide there until it’s over?”
“No.” She stood so she’d feel less like a child being scolded by her mother. “I…I didn’t tell you this yet.” She lowered her voice as she glanced back at F’lia. “Father Sun said he’d bring back Badru if I agreed to kill Aran. He’s also holding my father’s soul hostage against my vow to destroy the Toreem Daliphate. Which means my father is still in the Hidden City, too. I’d like to talk to him—and my mother—and maybe Herin if she’s still there, before we go after Aran.”
Vedhe frowned. “I thought Badru was dead. How is Father Sun bringing him back to you?”
She bit her lip, staring down at F’lia, finally letting the guilt of the bargain she’d made settle onto her shoulders. “Not really. According to Father Sun, because he’s a death walker, he’ll only actually die when he leaves the city. But Father Sun was able to free him without it killing him.”
“How?”
She swallowed. “He traded a life for a life.”
“Whose?”
“He said the baby was going to die anyway. That he was just taking a life spark that was already going to be lost and giving it a purpose.”
“And you believed him? That the child was already going to die.”
K’lrsa flinched. “Yes.”
Vedhe pulled the viewing tube from its pocket and studied her. “Hm. Well, if nothing else, you believe what you just said.”
“What does that mean?” K’lrsa stomach clenched.
“It means the gods have lied to you before to get what they want. Why should they tell you the truth now?”
K’lrsa stumbled backward a step. Could what Vedhe was implying be true? Had Father Sun taken the life of the child in order to bring back Badru?
No. It couldn’t be. F’lia had been feeling ill for days before he made his offer.
He’d been telling her the truth. He had to be.
But then, why had he needed her permission to act? Why not just do it?
Because he wanted her to agree to kill Aran?
Or because he’d lied and the child wasn’t going to die, not without her agreement.
K’lrsa clutched at her stomach, feeling ill. “He didn’t even tell me who was going to die when he made his offer. If I’d known…If I’d thought…I never would’ve…”
Vedhe touched her arm. “That’s what matters. That you would have never willingly sacrificed the life of F’lia’s child for Badru.”
“Is it?”
Vedhe shrugged. “It has to be.”
As K’lrsa stared at Vedhe in horror, F’lia stirred, slowly opening her eyes. “K’lrsa? The baby. Where is he? Is he okay?”
K’lrsa knelt by her friend’s side, tears pouring down her cheeks. “I’m sorry, Fi. He didn’t make it.”
F’lia wailed and started tearing at her hair and clawing at her cheeks. K’lrsa grabbed her wrists, struggling to keep her from hurting herself, but she was inconsolable.
Vedhe poured a thick gray liquid into a cup and knelt
down next to them. “Here. Drink this.” She forced the liquid down F’lia’s throat, not letting her duck away until it was all gone.
F’lia continued to struggle against K’lrsa’s hold until the medicine finally took effect and she drifted back to sleep.
K’lrsa stared at her friend, running a finger along one of the shallow cuts in her cheek from where she’d raked her face when she heard the babe was dead.
What had she done?
It was no excuse that she hadn’t known who was going to die. She should’ve known. She should’ve…
Vedhe wiped the cup clean and stood. “That should hold her for a while. If we’re going to the Hidden City, we should leave as soon as possible.”
“You’re coming with me?”
“Of course. Come on. We have lots to plan before we go.”
K’lrsa followed Vedhe out of the tent, letting the logistics of finding the horses, packing up their tents, keeping F’lia drugged until they could reach the Hidden City, finding Badru, finding M’lara, and defeating Aran distract her.
But her mind kept circling back to whether Father Sun had lied to her. Had she given him permission to kill an innocent child—her best friend’s child—just so she could have Badru back?
She hoped not.
She loved him. But he wasn’t worth that.
Chapter 22
Fallion and Kriger returned on their own while Vedhe and K’lrsa were discussing what they could or couldn’t take with them. They’d already ruled out using the necklace to return to the Hidden City. It had damaged them too much the first time and they were even farther away this time. Plus, that let them pack a tent and the small amount of provisions they still had.
Most of the Riders were already packed up and ready to leave. The newcomers had moved, too. They’d set their tents up right at the entrance to the barren lands, which was good, but they’d kept the walled enclosure for the women and children.
Ah well. She’d done what she could and now she had to focus on bigger issues. As they turned their attention to finding out where M’lara had been taken, a woman approached them, looking cautiously to each side, her hands clenched in determination.
She had the same dark skin as Sayel and for a moment K’lrsa couldn’t breathe past the ache of loss that squeezed her heart. He’d been a good man. She owed it to him and all the others like him to end this. To give them a better world to live in than this one.
The woman reached her just as a man appeared in the distance, coming from the new camp, his expression dark with anger. K’lrsa recognized him as one of the more troublesome newcomers, but she didn’t remember his name. The woman saw him, too, and bowed her head, turning back towards him.
“Wait. Can I help you?” K’lrsa moved to stand between her and the man.
The woman forced herself to meet K’lrsa’s eyes, her entire body shaking with fear.
K’lrsa hid the flash of anger that burned through her veins as she remembered all those days she’d spent in the Toreem Daliphate being told she had no right to raise her head or make eye contact with strangers just because she was a woman.
How hard must it be for a woman like this to approach her, to set aside an entire lifetime of rules and conditioning and reach out to a woman who dressed and acted so differently.
K’lrsa pulled the woman into the shadow of a nearby tent. “What is it?”
The woman swallowed. She had to be only twenty, maybe twenty-two, summers old. “You said we could go with the Riders if we want? Join the other tribes?”
“Yes. Of course. If you want to leave with the Riders and go to one of the other tribes you can.”
The woman glanced in the direction of the man who Vedhe had moved to intercept. “My husband…He doesn’t want to leave.”
“Then go without him.”
The woman stared at her wide-eyed. “But he’s my husband. I have to obey him.”
K’lrsa bit back the five or six things she wanted to stay about that. She had to remember that this woman’s experience was completely different from her own.
She took a deep breath and tried to find the right words to explain to the woman how things worked in the tribes.
“Here, a wife doesn’t obey her husband no more than a husband obeys his wife. They’re equals. Yes, they should think about each other’s needs and wants. You can’t just act without realizing that your actions impact on your spouse. But you can still make your own choices, no matter what. If he wants to stay here and you want to leave, that’s fine.”
“But he’s my husband. My place is by his side.” The woman bit her lip, fighting back tears.
“Then stay. But only if that’s what you want to do.”
The woman stared at the ground, her brow furrowed in concentration. “I don’t want to stay. But he won’t let me leave. I asked him to set me aside and he refused.”
K’lrsa puffed out her cheeks as she desperately searched for someone else to handle this problem, but no one was nearby.
She tried again. “In the tribes you’re allowed to leave your husband. Even if he doesn’t want you to. You can make that choice.”
“But he’ll beat me if I leave him.”
“No he won’t. And I’d like to see him try.” She gripped the necklace, glaring at the man where he stood with Vedhe, his face a storm of anger.
“But…”
K’lrsa rubbed the back of her neck. It was getting late and the Riders would be leaving soon and she still hadn’t found M’lara. She didn’t have time to discuss the difference in marriage practices between the Daliphana and the tribes.
“Look. It’s simple. Go with the Riders or don’t. That’s your choice. And if anyone tries to stop you, I’ll stop them. Now. What do you want? To go? Or to stay?”
The woman shook her head and wrung her hands. “I…I don’t know.”
K’lrsa grabbed her by the arm and dragged her over to where N’la was directing a group of Riders to saddle up their horses. “N’la, I need you to deal with this woman.”
“Who is she? What do you want me to do with her?”
“I don’t know. She thinks she might want to go with the Riders rather than stay here. But she’s worried her husband will beat her if she tries.”
N’la glared in the general direction of the newcomers. “Not if I have anything to say about it.”
The woman cringed away from N’la’s evident anger, and K’lrsa was certain if she let her go she’d slink back to that enclosure and never emerge again.
K’lrsa sighed. “I don’t have time for this, but I suspect there may be more women than just this one who’d like to leave if given the chance. Can you…deal with it?”
“Me? Why me?”
“Because you at least know most of the men.”
“Not in a way that will help with this!”
K’lrsa held her hands up in defeat. “Then find someone who does. I need to figure out where they’ve taken M’lara before you leave. And I really, really don’t want to be in the middle of this.”
N’la snorted. “Like I do? Fine. Leave her here. I’ll figure something out.”
K’lrsa let go of the woman and she started to back away from both of them, but N’la threw an arm around her shoulder and leaned close, talking to her quietly. Slowly, the woman relaxed and started to nod.
K’lrsa walked away, feeling a small twinge of guilt for basically forcing the woman to go through with her desire to join the Riders, but she shoved it aside. Better than staying with a man who’d beat her for wanting to leave. And hopefully she’d see that eventually.
If not…
Well. She could always go back to him.
K’lrsa didn’t have time to think about it anymore. She needed to find M’lara. Where was she?
Chapter 23
Fortunately, M’lara was an easy problem to solve.
K’lrsa stormed into the center of the newcomer camp and threatened to send every man, woman, and child back to Aran in bloody pieces
if someone didn’t tell her where her sister was.
Now.
Two men immediately pointed her north, deeper into Black Horse Tribe lands. They said M’lara wasn’t far, just a few hills away.
K’lrsa thanked them and raced off on Fallion to retrieve her. If the men were lying…
As she left what remained of the new camp, N’la and two other Riders were headed for the newcomers’ camp, the frightened woman who’d approached K’lrsa trailing behind them. She hoped they found a way to work through things without anyone getting hurt, but she didn’t care enough to stay and make sure of it.
Luckily for the two men who’d given her directions, M’lara and her guards were right where they’d said they’d be.
As soon as Fallion crested the small hill above their camp, M’lara ran past her guards, crying, arms held wide. K’lrsa slid to the ground and pulled her into a hug.
“Are you okay?” she asked, looking M’lara over for any signs of damage.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“They didn’t hurt you?”
“No. They just wouldn’t let me leave. I told them you’d find me and that you wouldn’t be happy when you did.”
K’lrsa hugged her sister again. “You’re right. I’m not. But we have bigger things to deal with than these two.”
She stopped just long enough to tell the men that Luden was dead and the Riders were leaving, and then she and M’lara rode Fallion back to the camp.
Things had become more heated since she’d left—she could hear shouting from the direction of the newcomers’ camp—but they seemed to be under control.
She resisted the temptation to intervene—they needed to work this out themselves; she wasn’t going to be there in the coming days to help, so there was no point her threatening people into doing things her way.
While she was gone, Vedhe had taken down both of the tents and packed them away. She was sitting next to F’lia, waiting.
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