Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
Kai Silver Wolf glanced up at the packed galleries inside the Hall of Thunder.
Today wasn’t just a ceremony. It was a test of loyalty—hers to her people, and theirs to her.
Hundreds of spectators overlooked the entirety of the training grounds from the levels carved into the natural mountain stone. Today wasn’t meant to be special, but the number of Yirians in attendance made it feel like a tournament was underway.
In a way, there was. After a week of rigorous training and demands, asking for no less than everyone’s best, today was the day Kai would name her five. The Stormguard Legion. Her most trusted and valuable warriors, all of whom would ride into battle at her side.
She’d considered ignoring the seer and Eternal One’s request out of spite, but Kai didn’t feel like testing the gods any more than she already had in recent days.
Kai returned her attention to the grounds, where the clash of weapons gave rhythm to her heartbeat, the roars of the oxbeasts fed life to her soul, and the commands of the warriors were a summoning call to her life’s blood.
There had never been a time when this room and these people weren’t necessary for her to live.
She often hoped her visage would one day stand alongside these centuries-old stalactites in which renowned warriors had been chiseled into the natural stone.
Like them, she would guard these grounds along the outer ring for eternity.
The stone warriors shimmered in the faint light of blue fungi, like ghosts carved into permanence.
The ground floor was a mix of packed earth and finely crushed stone.
Stone barriers divided the arena into sections, many of which were in use.
Silver Wolf younglings worked through the obstacle course—a circuit of barriers, steep inclines, and sharp turns to test the agility and endurance of both the warriors and their oxbeasts.
In the combat arenas, warriors engaged in combat either on foot or beast. The fierce females and males wore sleeveless tunics made from lightweight fabrics and flexible breeches tucked into boots.
For those sparring, padded vests protected the wearer from rib injury.
And everyone, down to the younglings, wore leather arm and leg guards and fingerless gloves with knuckle guards.
Otekah Silver Wolf approached Kai from a narrow path, her red headband soaked with sweat. Her attention was focused on one combat arena in particular, where a warrior and her mount faced another pair with unmatched ferocity.
“Do you see what I see?” her second asked.
Kai saw four potential females to be Stormguard who weren’t of First Clan, which would only stir trouble.
To hear everyone tell it, the chosen would all be Silver Wolf.
After all, First Clan’s number one responsibility was to the mountain’s protection.
Very few—very few—joined these ranks from outside clans, and only when they showed an exceptional aptitude early on.
It was this way with every clan and always had been.
“Name them,” Kai said. If she and Otekah were of the same mind, then she had her Stormguard.
“Niabi White Spirit.” Otekah gestured at the rider who always seemed to be of one mind with her oxbeast. Try as she might, Kai could never tell which controlled the battle and movement, the rider or her mount.
“The sisters—Tiponi and Pamuy Broken Axe.” The pair sparred with double-fisted axes, outnumbered two to one in the farthest arena. Even Kai’s heart raced to watch them fight. They liked to end a fight with their teeth on an opponent’s neck, stopping short of tearing their throats out.
“And Poloma Quiet Rock.” Fala’s cousin Poloma had been more likely to poison someone than heal them and was sent to train under Silver Wolf early on.
Anyone pricked by her spearhead was likely to become very sick by its poisoned tip—no one ever died.
The same might not be said in a real battle, however.
Kai noted how Otekah hadn’t named a fifth, so she completed the list. “And you, Otekah Silver Wolf.” In fair conditions, mounted and on the move, Otekah could hit a target with her arrow from a mile out.
“As if you could be rid of me so easily,” Otekah said with a deep chuckle.
Kai turned her back to the room and spoke quietly. “There are many who will not accept them. Not with so many Silver Wolf warriors to choose from.”
“Do you believe the Eternal One and her witch knew this would happen?”
“The answer matters not when I have to stand before our people—and every matriarch among them—and choose outside my clan. Again.”
Already, some questioned if Kai was trying to disrupt the long history of the clans on purpose. As if it hadn’t been the Eternal One who placed Atsadi at her and Fala’s side.
“Tell anyone who asks that I named them,” Otekah said. “These females were my choice. They’re the right choice.”
“The five of you are my choice,” Kai said, and like all the choices she made where her warriors were concerned, she was certain this was the right one. “Tomorrow, we will begin grouping the others. After that, we start training as vanguards.”
“Today, we are but strong fingers,” Otekah said. “Tomorrow, we become the fist.”
Kai squeezed her proud friend’s shoulder. “You should make the announcement.”
A feral grin spread across her second’s face—any opportunity to make a room erupt in chaos.
Kai made to turn for the gallery stairs. “I will warn my mother.”
“Don’t die,” Otekah shouted after her.
Like the galleries, the stairwell was lined with spectators. Several voiced names as she passed—all Silver Wolf.
“Dezba looks good.”
“I would choose Yazhi.”
“She’ll choose Ooljee for sure.”
Then Fala’s voice pulled down the wall Kai put between herself and the long list of names her people had preferred. “Kai, over here.”
Fala sifted around everyone, radiant in a sleeveless dress the shade of honey.
She wasn’t alone.
The smile Kai felt pulling her lips froze.
What was he doing here?
Atsadi, outfitted in a loose, pale tunic and dark leather pants, towered over everyone from behind. He wore his hair in the same high knot she’d first seen him in, the look accentuating his broad, sharp jawline.
“Have you decided?” Fala asked, her brown eyes glinting. “I can’t imagine how you will choose.”
“Your warriors are very impressive,” Atsadi said.
Of course, her warriors were impressive. She’d trained most of them. But she wouldn’t say that. She’d promised Fala she would, at the very least, find a way to be civil.
“Otekah and I are in agreement, yes,” she said to Fala. “I have to tell my mother before Otekah makes the announcement.”
Fala’s eyes widened. “Then that means…”
“She won’t be happy,” Kai said, a sigh slipping out with her words. “Beyond Otekah, none are Silver Wolf.”
“We will come with you,” Fala said, taking Atsadi’s hand. “As silent support.”
Kai didn’t hear what Fala said after that. Her wife’s delicate, careful, soft hands were one of Kai’s favorite things. To see one swallowed by those long fingers and in his meaty, calloused palm…
Kai’s gut twisted as if she’d taken a blade under the ribs. “No. I can handle my mother alone.”
Tension snapped Fala upright, and she followed Kai’s gaze to their linked hands. Her mouth tightened into a thin line as she tightened that hold and pulled Atsadi closer. “We’ll wait here, then.”
Kai hadn’t heard that cold tone since the ceremony, and her heart tripped. “Fala—”
“You should hurry.”
Atsadi released Fala’s hand and put a half step between them. “I should go and let you two—”
“You’re fine where you are,” Fala said. “Right, Kai?”
A knot tightened and twisted in her gut. Ever since this business with the ceremony started, Fala had lost all patience with Kai. As she should—Kai could, and should, do better. She would do better. She wished Fala would give her some grace until then, though. Kai had a lot to work through.
“Fala—” She led her wife away from Atsadi. “I’m trying. Please. You can’t get angry with me every time I go into shock.”
“He’s our husband.”
“I’m more than aware of that. But until we know more about him or his family—”
“How can we when you never want to spend time with him? We have to lead here—we’ve been through this before, he hasn’t. We need to do all the same things you and I did when we chose to marry. Starting with inviting his kin for supper.”
Behind Fala, Atsadi kept his attention diverted.
Fala was right, and Kai knew Atsadi’s mind already. Had known it since their brief meeting in the healing pool. He’d been as nervous for this union as she, and still, knowing that, she couldn’t crawl out of this need to remain disconnected.
“I don’t want to live with him,” Kai muttered. “Not yet.”
“He knows,” Fala said. “And he’s in no rush.” She looked very pointedly into Kai’s eyes and lowered her voice. “I’m not either.”
“You’re not?”
“No.” Fala laughed. “I’m comfortable with him; that doesn’t mean I’m ready to jump into his bed. As you said, we don’t know him.”
“That’s good to know.” Kai quirked a smile and swept her fingers across Fala’s soft cheek. “I’m not ready to share you yet.”
“But, Kai, my love.” Fala’s expression turned hopeful. “He is kind. I swear to you, he is. You’ll see.”
“Sweet wife, you can find kindness in a rock.” At Fala’s gaping mouth, Kai laughed. “But this is why I love you.”
Fala gave her a gentle kiss, then left their foreheads pressed together. “We’ll be here when you finish with your mother. And then we go for a walk. We have a mundane conversation. Maybe we sit with him tonight during the meeting of the clans.”
Unlike most meetings, this one had been unplanned, and the matter to be discussed had Kai on edge. Unrest was building, and the matriarchs agreed to hold a public gathering to discuss concerns.
“Little steps,” Fala said.
“Little steps,” Kai agreed.
A murmur rolled through the gallery like a coming storm—sharp, rising, uncontainable. Names became accusations. Questions turned to demands.