Metha slowly shook her head. “There won’t be any more of that. Ever.”
Darrien chuckled. “We’ll see about that. I like my women with a bit of flesh on them.”
Metha spit in his face. The thin line of spittle ran down his cheek. He wiped it off with his fingers and gazed at it in shock. He threw her to the floor, drew back his foot, and slammed it into her stomach. She gasped in shock and pain, curling protectively around her swollen belly. He kicked her again and again and again.
Ilyenna couldn’t process what she saw. She remembered the Argon babies—the ones she’d tended. The ones who might even now be dead, like Metha’s would soon be. Ilyenna threw open the door and screamed, “No!” Ducking her shoulder, she barreled into Darrien.
He barely had to shift his weight to absorb the blow. Without taking his eyes from Metha, he backhanded Ilyenna. She hit the floor hard. Blackness curled in from the outside of her vision. Shaking her head to clear it, she saw Metha, her face screwed up in agony as Darrien pounded her, his features contorted with rage.
Ilyenna threw herself over Metha, screaming as loud and long as she could, “Rone!” A kick to her already bruised ribs stole her breath. Her whole body clenched in protest. Darrien kicked her over and over, and a scream of pain tore from her throat. Ilyenna realized her folly too late. She hadn’t saved anyone. He was going to kill all three of them.
Something cracked. It sounded like lightning. The kicks finally stopped.
Ilyenna rolled off Metha and vomited. When her retching finally stopped, she managed to look up.
Rone had Darrien underneath him, his fist working the other man into a pulp. Undon must have come down while she’d been sick. He was trying, unsuccessfully, to pull Rone off. Ilyenna tried to shout, but her words came out as little more than a hoarse whisper, “No. Don’t kill him, Rone. They’ll execute you.”
The opposite door flung open. A Tyran barreled into the room, shouting for help. But others were already coming. They must have heard Ilyenna’s screams. It took four Tyrans to pull Rone off. Even then, he struggled to reach Darrien.
Ilyenna realized her hand was wet and looked down. Bright blood pooled beneath her. For a moment, she thought it was hers. But then she remembered Metha. Barely holding on to consciousness, she leaned over the woman. Ilyenna had to help her, but she couldn’t reach through her own pain to think straight. Every time she moved, she wanted to cry out.
Rone. Would they kill him for saving her and Metha? Would they kill them all?
Undon’s daughters hurried to Metha. They grabbed the woman and dragged her out of the kitchen, leaving nothing but a trail of blood as testament to what Darrien had done. Ilyenna watched them go, trying to force herself to get up and help.
A face appeared before her. It took a moment for Ilyenna to recognize Narium. “The Balance protect me, what’ve they done to you?”
Ilyenna tried to shake her head. “It’s not my blood.” But she tasted blood in her mouth and spit it onto the already stained floor.
Narium glanced up. “Get her to the women’s house,” she said. Then she was gone.
Shyle and Argon women surrounded Ilyenna and carried her between them. She tensed with every step they took, and the pain grew so intense she blacked out.
Dreams took her. Dreams of Darrien’s axe slicing fire through her stomach. Dreams of fairies and winter and dancing. Of a woman with skin as dark as the richest soil and a laugh that sounded like wind through aspens. In her hand was a tiny white blossom. “Eating this will heal even the direst injuries,” she said, her voice like a song.
“No you will not!”
Ilyenna woke with a start. A deep ache radiated from her abdomen, and she knew something was broken inside her. Her abdomen was swollen and tender. She was on the only bed in the women’s house, naked but for a blanket tucked around her. Her body had been washed. The voices were coming from outside.
“You will get back to work.” Ilyenna recognized Undon’s voice.
“I won’t! Your sorry excuse for a son nearly beat her to death. She still might die. Isn’t his child and the child’s mother enough?”
Metha was dead? Ilyenna closed her eyes, hoping Narium’s mouth didn’t land her a visit to the beating pole.
A long pause. “He lost his temper. If Ilyenna hadn’t interfered, he would’ve stopped on his own.”
“If my son hadn’t interfered, your son would have killed them both. You think you have me beaten, Undon, but you’d be wise not to forget who I am. Who Ilyenna and Rone are. If Ilyenna dies, if my son dies, you’ll have the deaths of more clan mistresses and clan chiefs on your hands—and before the Council can even decide if your reparation was just. They won’t wait for the summer feast. They’ll come now and cleanse the clan lands of Tyrans.”
Another long pause. “Fine. Today you tend her, but tomorrow you will work.”
Ilyenna heard retreating footsteps. After a lengthy pause, Narium let out a long, shaky sigh.
Wincing, Ilyenna lifted the blanket to reveal arnica leaves covering her broken flesh. From the top of her breasts to the bottom of her abdomen, she was black with bruises. Just moving the blanket hurt so much she had to lie back, her energy spent. She felt death waiting for her.
The flower. The one the summer queen had given her. Ilyenna looked for her overdress. It lay nearby, freshly laundered and mended. On top of it was the elice flower.
Ilyenna strained toward it, her battered flesh screaming in protest. Black spots danced before her vision, and tears sprang to her eyes. Her fingers brushed against the soft petals. She picked up the flower. The three petals looked as fresh as when Leto had handed it to her.
Ilyenna plucked one of the petals and laid it on her tongue. It dissolved as though made of spun sugar. Warmth blossomed in her mouth before taking her far away, high in the mountains. She lay in a meadow. The air was thick with the sweet scent of freshly cut hay and clover blossoms. The early summer sun warmed Ilyenna’s skin. The melody of bird song and scurrying animals filled the air. This was the promise of spring. Renewal. Reawakening. Rebirth. For a long time, she lay in the grass, relishing the warm sun and invigorating smells.
Then the Luathan woman was there, smiling down at her. The sun seemed to have absorbed into her skin, condensing until it shone out of her. “’Tis a fair thing, when summer comes.”
Ilyenna tentatively laid her hand over her ribs. Her pain had vanished. “I don’t know how you did it, but thank you.”
Leto inclined her head and sat beside her. “In times past, other queens have been enemies. Such a shame. We should be sisters, two ends of the same loaf. I awaken the world, you put it to rest.”
“Opposite sides of the Balance,” Ilyenna said softly. She had so many questions, but the warm sun made her too drowsy to ask them. “I would be your sister,” she managed.
The summer queen smiled broadly. “Well then, go back. Survive the summer, and all will be well.”
Ilyenna opened her eyes to stare up at the roof beams. In her hand, she felt the softness of flower petals. Daring to hope, she lifted the blanket. The black bruises had faded to a greenish yellow. Holding the blanket to her bare chest, she carefully sat up. She was stiff and sore, but it was the soreness from a hard day’s work rather than the agony of nearly being kicked to death. Her hunger raged far stronger than any pain.
Moving carefully, she grabbed her underdress—someone had mended it. She tugged it over her head and tightened the laces at her throat. Next came her felt overdress. She tied the rag around her waist to keep it from hanging open at the sides. With the movement, her body was slowly warming up and the stiffness working out. She was tying the laces of her boots when the door opened.
Sunshine streaming in behind him, Rone gaped at her. “What’re you doing up?”
Ilyenna couldn’t help but smile in delight. She’d expected Narium. “Rone? But . . . how long have I been here?”
He came in, shutting the door behind him. “This is the second day.”
A whole day since she’d last been conscious. That explained Narium’s absence.
Rone looked her up and down before moving to Narium’s makeshift bed on the floor and pulling out a knotted bit of cloth. “Mother said you might die. How’re you even out of bed?”
Noting the stiff way he moved, she waved his question away. “What did they do to you?”
“I’ll tell you all about my ordeal after you’ve eaten something.” He untied the cloth and handed it to her. Dried apple slices, cheese, and a bit of bread. “Sorry there’s not more of it.”
Ilyenna’s mouth watered at the sight of the apples. Her hands trembling from hunger, she picked out the apple slices, saving them for last. “Don’t be sorry. I know you take the food from your own share.” She took a bite of the bread.
Rone sat beside her on the bed and watched her eat most of the bread before he spoke, “They beat me with a soaked strap.”
Ilyenna’s breath snagged in her throat. Fingering an apple slice, she wondered why his punishment hadn’t been worse. She hesitated before asking, “Is that all they’re going to do?”
“For now. I think Undon’s afraid if he kills me before the Council makes their decision, they’ll come against him. Which they will.”