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“Why does she care so much about those weak few?”
“Because she sees something bigger than we are capable of seeing. She’s said from the beginning that her people are strong in different ways, and I’ve come around to that.”
“Amber sees differently.”
I sneer. “Amber is stupid.”
“But she aligns well with our people.”
I grunt my distaste.
“What will you do if our people disallow Elena’s from joining our village?”
This worry has kept me up a handful of nights, though I try not to let it show. The thought of being separated from the small Penticari woman makes my heart ache fiercely.
I cannot allow that to happen.
It would be a crime to defect from my people, even if we were exiled. It would surely lead to my death, yet I think it’s what I must do. Especially if my Elena is with child, which is, at the moment, a possibility.
“That cannot happen,” I say curtly.
Ramsey says nothing, but I know what he is thinking. He is worried for me, just as I’d be worried for him.
When we arrive at the village, we meet at the center. My men erupt in excited chatter as they discuss the implications of taking on the women. I know it is no little thing to ask of them, but they would be stupid not to see what they could mean for our tribe.
I blow the chieftain horn to get their attention.
“Today we vote on whether to allow the women from the shore to join our tribe. Over the time we have spent with them, they’ve grown tremendously in skill. I have faith that they will survive, so much so that I’ve left them to fend for themselves while we vote on the matter. They are different from us, yet still strong, in different ways.”
“Is there truth to the rumors of their fertility?”
I answer with, “They are capable of birthing many, an equal number of boy and girl children.”
“Impossible!” an angry voice calls. I decide not to address the counter, as there is no way I can prove otherwise. Only time can.
“We will vote with casting stones. The white stone indicates an acceptance of the women; black indicates we leave them on the shore. Because many of you believed I have aligned myself too strongly with one side, Ramsey will oversee the vote.”
Eddard and Ulof drag the collector we use to cast our stones to the center of my men.
Murmurs rise from the crowd. So many of my people are still unsure, which is their own fault if they didn’t take the opportunity to acquaint themselves with the smaller females.
“Before the vote, I am allowing time for the men left behind in the village to question those that spent time on the shore. All votes must be cast by midday.”
I walk to the collector, toss my white stone inside, and go back to my hut to await the results, hoping that tomorrow I am not hunted.
23
ELENA
It’s only been a day without the Tempest men, but I can tell that many of the women miss them. Nori, who’d been scouting inland with Dogan, has stuck to the shore. Meg, who delights in fussing and slinging insults at the stoic sentinels, is uncharacteristically quiet.
And I’m a mess of anxious feelings.
Now that they’re gone, however, I can give a long overdue apology.
“Do you have a moment?” I ask Asha, who’s busy inspecting several bunches of wool she’s been managing.
She looks up at me and gives a soft smile. “Sure. What do you need?”
