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“I had to get better, Dan, and I knew I couldn’t have done it here,” Shaniya tries explaining.
“Because of him,” Dyanni looks at me sourly, proving that she’s not gonna make this easy on me.
“Where’s the chief?” I ask her, despite the fact she’s looking at me like she hates me. She’s got every right too, and I could never reciprocate it, not so long as she’s watching out for my girl.
“In his cabin,” she bites back at me.
“Come on, Tayen, and the children will be so pleased to have you home.” Dyanni drags Shaniya toward the center of the village, and I smile at her reassuringly when she looks at me helplessly over her shoulder. Then I make my way across the village toward the chief’s cabin.
He must see me coming because he opens the door before I have the chance to knock, and he joins me on his porch just like he did the day I came here to tell him I intended to marry Shaniya.
“You brought her back,” he says, looking over to where Shaniya’s being welcomed home by Tayen and her family.
“No, she came back because I needed saving,” I admit, it doesn’t matter how shameful that is for me, it proves what a strong person she is. I want him to know that and be proud of her for it.
I watch her lift baby Haken up in the air then cover his face in kisses. I’ve never seen her look so happy.
“I’m sorry I never came to you. I…”
“Save your words. Tawk’s spoken to me, he told me what you did to the men who were responsible.” The old man keeps his focus on watching his niece.
“There’s still work to be done, but I’ll get ‘em all before I rest,” I promise.
“Good,” he nods his head, then follows it up with a long, awkward silence.
“I know you blame me.” I break through it when the tension becomes unbearable.
“I don’t blame you,” he creases up his face when he looks at me. “For the first time, I actually understand you,” he admits, shocking the hell out of me.
“When my sister told my father she was pregnant, and that the father wasn’t from the village, I knew one of the outlaws was responsible,” he explains. “My first thought was that she’d been forced upon, and all I wanted to do was climb that hill onto your territory and kill anyone in leather for doing it.” His voice croaks, and his expression changes.
“I had so much hatred inside me, I’d been married to Odina for years, and we hadn’t been blessed. To think my sister would carry one of their children in her womb filled me with so much anger and hate. But I never had the courage to act on it. Because I feared you, that fear weakened me, and all that rage just festered inside me.”
“Souls don’t rape women,” I tell him, keeping my tone calm as possible.
“I learned that through my sister's heartache. She spoke of a man who loved her, she made him the necklace I gave to you, and she begged my father to support a union between them.”
“And what happened?” I ask, if Shaniya’s father is a Soul, there’s a chance I can track him down. He could be at another Charter, retired, or riding nomad.
“My father gave her his permission. That man would have given her anything. He loved her so much. And he was so desperate not to lose her.”
“So how did we get here?” The rift between us and our neighbors would have ended there, but it didn’t and Shaniya remains clueless about her father.
“Because he never came back for her,” the chief tells me. “It broke her heart, but the pain lay on my conscience, not his.”
“You're going to have to explain this clearer for me.” I shake my head, trying to understand.
“I knew I was going to become Chief one day, and I vowed I’d protect our people from the world beyond our borders. I thought I was doing the right thing. But I realize now that I was wrong.”
“What did you do?” I ask, suddenly feeling unnerved.
“I made sure what they had came to an end for the greater good. I knew they’d leave messages for each other up on the border, I learned where they hid them and I made sure the messages stopped coming.”
I stare at the man in shock.
“We all carry blame, we all have regrets.” He refuses to look at me, keeping his eyes on his niece.
“I acted wrongly and Shaniya suffered most from my resentment. I’ve been taking us all backward instead of forward, I realize that now. I’m as much to blame for this as you are. And I’d appreciate it if you'd let me explain that to her myself.”
