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“What should I tell them?” Fiona asks.
“You have to meet with them,” Meg tells me.
She’s right. As much as I’d love to hide, that would look suspicious and weak. Two things I do not want to appear to these men.
My stomach is still small. They’ll never know.
“Bring me to them.”
* * *
ELENA
Spear in hand, I follow Fiona into the trees to meet with Grixis and his men.
All the anger and resentment I’ve felt over the last few months simmers just beneath my calm exterior. I’ve never been exceptionally brave, but in this moment, I feel like a lion.
I don’t get to hide behind another or allow someone else to fight my battles. Whatever it is the men want, it’s on me to negotiate the best outcome for us.
“Do you think they’ve changed their minds?” Arwin whispers.
“No, but even if they did, it doesn’t mean we should go back with them.”
Her face falls.
I, too, wonder if they’ve changed their minds. It doesn’t seem likely, as Grixis’s men are proud and set in their ways. So much more likely to break than bend.
They come into view, Grixis at the head with four men staggered behind him. Just seeing his broad, muscular frame, I nearly faint again. Something about this man makes me melt, but for as much as I crave his touch, I loathe his presence.
A few of the women have come to observe, looking healthier and braver than they had so long ago when we could barely get by.
I stop a good fifteen feet away, planting the bottom of my spear firmly on the ground.
Grixis is just as handsome as I remember him to be, though his face looks noticeably thinner. Same brawny build, though standing less proud.
“Why are you here?”
“Perhaps you should learn how to address your betters,” Ramsey snaps.
I look around, a dumbfounded expression on my face. “Betters? I see no betters here.”
A few of the gathered women chuckle while others wear shocked faces.
Grixis nods, impressed.
Fuck him.
“Now hurry and tell me why you’re here or I’m going to have to demand that you leave.”
Ramsey’s jaw drops in shock as Araelya and Fiona take two steps forward, weapons drawn.
“You need not fear us,” Grixis says, his voice gravelly. “We come asking for help.”
A tense look crosses Ramsey’s face. Clearly, he does not approve of Grixis’s choice of words.
“I don’t see how us weak womenfolk could possibly help your big, strong, masculine tribe,” I say, my voice oozing sarcasm.
“Can we speak alone?”
