Chapter Seventy-Two
Never had I known a group of people to work so tirelessly and yet with so much anticipation and joy.
Preparations began that very day, with the majority of women choosing to make Themiscyra their home.
Journeys were made back and forth, bringing materials for building.
Summer had arrived, with its clear skies and long days, dry and perfect for traveling and sleeping under the stars.
But we needed to have shelters for when the rains came.
And as much as I wished to stay and oversee the work, it was soon time for me to leave in search of the men.
Twenty women came with me and the boys, including Althea and Trapezitai, whose young son had left with Hirtus all those moons ago.
The rest were from Oreia, mothers wishing to say final farewells to their sons and meet the men with whom we had entrusted the lives of our own.
One other young woman from Oreia came too, Safak.
She had no children but could fire an arrow and ride a horse after less than a day’s training on each.
At times, she reminded me so intently of Aina that I would spin around on Erebus, expecting to see my young friend behind me.
We traveled south, where I had never been. The rate at which the landscape changed around us was unlike anything I had experienced before. Summer had taken the place of spring in Themiscyra, but here the grass was brittle and beige, and it crunched under the horses’ hooves.
We had been traveling for six days when the bickering began in earnest. Excitement and anxiety had kept the mood subdued, but soon squabbles were starting before the sun had even risen and stopped only when all had fallen asleep.
After two days of incessant griping, I was considering making up a reason to ride ahead when we found the group deep in a valley.
“Is that them?” Althea asked as we slowed.
“It is,” I said.
“How are you so sure?”
I had no answer except that I felt it deep within my heart. I knew that the specks of people we saw in the distance, lost in the yellow earth, were those I was seeking. I squeezed Erebus with my thighs and galloped toward them. Althea was the only one who followed.
I did not recognize any faces of the young men at first, but I knew they recognized me. No one moved as I drew Erebus to a stop and turned to Althea.
“Take Erebus. I will go on foot from here.”
She looked at me with concern. “It is better if we go together. For protection.”
“I do not need protection. I have these.” I tapped my quiver while my bow remained securely fixed to my back. “Besides, they will not hurt me.”
I had found those I had been seeking. What I needed to know next was whether a specific one was still with them.
It had been two years since I had last seen these men, and understandably, their faces had changed.
Pairs of eyes, dark brown, gray, and green, all fixed on me as I stood tall and walked through the crowd.
There was only one I desired to speak with, and I found him without direction at the center of them all, his dark skin glistening with sweat.
“This was unexpected.” He gestured with an emotionless tilt of his head to the horses on the hillside, laden with boys.
“I had assumed you could not shock me anymore, Otrera. It appears I was wrong.” Then the corners of his mouth tilted upward, and his face broke into a wide smile.
Still beaming at me, he stretched out his arms, and had it not been for the spectators, I would have run into that embrace.
Instead, I strode at a stately pace, and when I reached him, I wrapped my arms around his waist and breathed in his scent.
When we broke apart, his smile gleamed with the same ferocity as all those moons ago.
“Hirtus,” I said, his name a breath of relief in the heat. “Ruling suits you.” I nodded to the boys, who were still watching us with trepidation, and flashed them smiles that none reciprocated.
“I could say the same of you.”
I was surprised to find a great many adults had joined Hirtus. Huge men, with muscles taut around their arms and stomachs, their bare chests sparkling with sweat or covered with tattoos.
I scanned the faces, searching for the familiar, when one young man caught my eye. Seeing him was enough to raise my spirit and crush my soul almost simultaneously.
Upon catching my gaze, he walked toward me.
“Ereas?” Speaking his name caused a lump to swell in my throat. “How have you been?”
“Otrera, it is good to see you. We have been strong, gods be blessed. We have been learning the ways of the land. I am grateful. I think I am more suited to this life than to tending sheep. Wildness runs in my family, it would seem.”
The throb in my heart deepened. How had I forgotten that he would be present? That I would be responsible for telling him of his sister’s death? How could I do such a thing when I could not even bring myself to say her name?
“I am glad you are here,” Ereas continued. “Hirtus has much to tell you. Did you see my mother on your journey?”
“Your mother?”
“She passed this way not half a moon ago.”
I looked at Hirtus, who nodded.
“She had not told me she would be traveling this way,” I said truthfully.
Ereas nodded, and a silence formed in the air. There were words that needed to follow. Words I needed him to say first.
“She told me of Aina,” Ereas said finally.
The lump that had forced its way into my throat now threatened tears too, but I fought them down. “What did she tell you?” I said instead.
“She told me that Aina died a hero,” Ereas replied. “That she died saving Damaris.”
“That is true.”
“And that she insisted upon her dying breath that she be buried with Myrina.” He let out a sad chuckle. “And that you commanded the women to carry the horse all the way back from the battle so that she could pass to the underworld with my sister. So thank you. Thank you for that kindness.”
“I am sorry,” I said. It was all the reply I could manage.
The boy smiled, and I saw a plethora of questions flicker in his eyes, about the women who rode with me and the young men who had not been present in Ninniya when they lived there.
“Ereas, I am sure Otrera will make time for you later, but for now, she and I must talk,” Hirtus said. “Please, make the other boys feel welcome. I can assume they will be staying with us for a while?”
“I believe ‘indefinitely’ is the term you are looking for,” I replied.
Hirtus’s eyes bulged. “The women too?”
“Only the boys, though they are all tired after their journey. Can you ensure they have somewhere to rest? And food?” I said to Ereas.
“I will see to it, Otrera,” he said, dipping his head again. “I will see to it now.”
As he raced away, Hirtus looked me square in the eye before he spoke again.
“Now, you and I must talk.”