Fear briefly crosses his expression. “You have foreseen the death of Elder Brother Sun?”
“I’ve seen a great black maw open behind him. Just before Elder Brother Sun is swallowed, there is a final blinding flash and a crack like the sky splitting.”
Tsani has stopped breathing. He’s standing motionless. His wide black eyes are focused unblinking on me. “ … And then?”
“And then the World Tree shudders as though it’s being uprooted by monstrous hands.”
When I do not continue, he prompts, “Then you hear a man’s voice. Isn’t that right? That’s what I heard—”
I unceremoniously hand him my tea cup. “I must return to my betrothed, Tsani. I’ve been away too long. Have a pleasant evening.”
I bow and turn to leave.
“But wait!” Tsani implores. “Give me more that I can pass through the villages. It helps to pass the time while I Trade. Did you see the human False Face in your Dream? Did he come to you? Isn’t that the voice—”
I shake my head. “No.”
As I walk away down the length of the house, Tsani says, “Hiyade! Come over here. Kittle, why do you insist upon tormenting every young Trader who travels with me? Surely you can find someone your own age to play with?”
“Yes, but why would I when the world is filled with young men? And don’t stand there glaring at me, you old fool. I could take on four like you. Hiyade, there’s a rare pendant I wish to show you. Perhaps you can advise me on its value. It’s in my chamber in the Deer Clan longhouse … .”
I shove aside the leather door curtain and step out into the sunlight. Taya stands in the same place by the central fire, talking with Chief Yellowtail and Chief Bur Oak. Other well-wishers surround them, waiting their chance to speak with the high matron’s granddaughter. I pull my cape tightly around me. Rather than warming up, the day seems colder. As Taya speaks, her breath comes out in tiny puffs.
Soon, very soon, I must leave here on a journey I do not wish to take, with a spoiled child who does not wish to go. There is so little time left, and so many critical things that must be done. I do not understand why my ancestors would tell Bahna …
Taya turns. When she sees me, her smile fades.
My shoulder muscles contract. I fear that the next half moon is going to be worse than my exile in the forest. But this is how it must be.
I march toward her.
By the time darkness draped the land, Taya was exhausted—exhausted from smiling, from listening to the conversations whispered behind her back, from looking into the eyes of people who spoke of her bright future, but their tone was one of grief. Grieving for her because she was being forced to marry a man who, they believed, deserved to be executed. And it had grown bitterly cold. The air stung Taya’s lungs when she inhaled. She moved closer to the bonfire and held her icy hands out to the flames. The exquisite antler carvings attached to her blue cape shimmered with her movements. People still roamed the plaza, but most had retreated to the warmth of the longhouses. Dutifully, Sky Messenger continued to stand at her side, as he had through almost the entire horrid affair. Tall, handsome, he’d bestowed small smiles upon each person who came forward, and all the while he’d looked like he would prefer execution to this torture.
“People are leaving,” he said. “Perhaps it would be acceptable for us to return to the Deer Clan longhouse.”
“Even if it’s not acceptable, I’m leaving. I can’t stand any more of this … this sham.”
She tramped for her longhouse. Sky Messenger didn’t follow right away; then she heard him running to catch up with her. Just before she ducked into the warmth of the house, he gripped her elbow and pulled her aside. “Speak with me for a moment, will you?”
Taya stared up into his dark intense eyes, where reflected firelight glimmered. “No. I don’t wish to.”
“Just for a moment.”
“I said, no. Now leave me—”
He forcibly dragged her around behind the longhouse. Taya shook off his hand and stalked away down the narrow aisle between the house and the palisade, where, not so long ago, she’d first heard the possibility of their marriage mentioned. A few paces later, she stumbled upon two people grunting in the leaves, and Taya recognized the young Trader, Hiyade. He lay half on and half off a woman whose huge creamy breasts were exposed to the moonlight.
“What’s happening? Why did you stop?” the woman said, and struggled to sit up, to see around the Trader’s wide shoulders.
“Forgive us for intruding,” Sky Messenger said. He gripped Taya’s arm and pulled her backward, saying, “Let’s continue our talk beneath the porch.”