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Had she seen the hut before this, I wondered? I didn’t think she had. She wasn’t like Indi.

Something about her voice set me on edge. I wrapped my fingers tightly around the knob, debating whether I should say something back.

“Would you… like to come in?”

She looked away quickly.

“No. No, not so much as all that. I just wanted to talk to you.” She cast a glance at me, then let out a sharp sigh. “Do you know Runa?”

The question was so strange, my brows furrowed on impulse. Rahv took that to mean no, though she was wrong. Of course I knew Runa. Everyone did.

“She’s about your age,” she went on, “and her mother is a good friend of mine. Roan grew up with her, before he left. I thought they’d get married one day. We all did.”

My stomach started to roll, and I wasn’t sure why.

“I think she still pines for him, poor thing. And then there’s you. Stuck in a marriage you never wanted.”

She fumbled with her next lines, opening and closing her mouth several times, which only brought me more unease. This was not the mother-in-law I was used to. Rahv did not temper her words around me.

“Fenli, I’m just going to say it.” She took a deep breath. “I think it would be best for everyone if you left the clan. You could have your freedom then. And so could my son.”

My heart was pounding in my chest. It was all too much. I was still reeling from Thaas, and now this. Not a moment to get my thoughts untangled. I wished she’d stop talking, but she wasn’t finished with me yet.

“You don’t want to be here with us. You never have. There’s a settlement nearby of Caeds who have left their clans and banded together. They’re called the Godless, and I think you could be happy with them.”

I shook my head, trying to understand.

“The elders won’t null the marriage. I’ve already tried. This is the only way. The Godless would take you in. I know they would. You’d be happier away from us, and they’re good people. Caeds, just no longer with their clans.”

“The Godless?” I whispered.

She nodded.

“Will you consider it?”

I didn’t want to give her the satisfaction of my answer, so I turned away and closed the door.

But the answer was yes.

Chapter Sixteen

Roan

Iheaded out early, making my way into the forest while it was still dark. The sun would lighten the sky soon, but it would take longer for the light to reach here under the canopy. I peered into the gloom for Esska, thinking that perhaps I’d left too early when she snuck up on me, jabbing my side and barking.

I swore, dropping a handful of arrows to the ground.

“You jumped a foot,” she said, laughing.

“You scared the shit out of me.”

“Just practicing my stalking through the underbrush. Look at me, a huntress already.”

I could just make out her smile in the dim.

“Let’s see how you manage a bow.”

I had taken care of acquiring the weapons last night, and it dawned on me that I’d somehow become the person arming the two most rebellious women in Toke’s clan with blades and arrows. I lifted the bow off my back and handed it over, knowing that when all hell broke loose around my sister and my wife, I’d be right in the middle of it with them. Esska's fingers wrapped around the wood, and I heard the laugh in her voice when she commented on how good it felt in her hands. She seemed to hum with the kind of energy that reminded me of when I’d been learning,handling the bow for the first time, following the trails, readying for a kill. I smiled, knowing what she was feeling.