It was especially difficult that her suggestions were good ones, ones I would not have thought of on my own. They were clever and likely to work, but dismay itched under my skin. I wanted to rescue Dana, of course. But was it worth acting dishonorably? Then again, I already had been disowned by my father, according to him, so did it really matter?
Fighting twelve Caterri on my own was nearly impossible if I did it the way I was used to, spear and sword at the ready as I charged into their camp. Even with the element of surprise on my side, I didn’t think I could take out more than two or three before getting overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. They didn’t seem to be the best warriors, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t hurt me. Even the strongest fighter could be taken down by the number of fighters if they did not stop coming.
Then there was the Caterri that had been talking to Dana, feeding her food. Jealousy surged through me, the desire to storm in there and rip the Caterri to shreds threatening to override my sense of control. I couldn’t. It wasn’t what Dana wanted, even if it was what I did, and I was doing this for Dana, wasn’t I? The Caterri was likely talking to her, being kind to her, as a lure. Maybe they knew I was behind them, or knew someone would come for her, and were pretending they had let their guard down and were vulnerable to attack. I wouldn’t have put it past them.
I thought about what it would take to trap them, the travel I would need to do, the holes I would need to dig. There would be thin strips of sinew to trip them, sharp bits of sahtor wood at the base of pit traps. I didn’t think I would be able to kill the Caterri with these, not on such short notice, but if I could hurt them in any way, it would make it easier to rush into the camp eventually. I just needed to shift the odds in my favor.
And really, I had been willing to charge out of the camp at a moment’s notice when I had gotten word of Dana’s whereabouts. Was this really that different? She wasn’t N’Akron, no, and even though she was female, my father had been skeptical about saving her. But if R’Asha was right, she was a gift. Her arrival and that of her tribemates signaled a necessary change for our people, so why did I continue to hold onto the past?
A loud hiss cut through my thoughts, and I turned immediately, surprised to see N’thim walking over. The hiss was how we greeted each other sometimes, because it allowed us to scent the air with our tongue and make a noise that was audible for us, but not always for our enemies. Adrenaline ran through me, because N’thim was one of the first contacts I had tried to make for our plan, and if it went awry, it was another blow to whether or not I would be able to rebel against the Caterri at all.
“Brother,” N’thim said with an incline of his head. He remained standing, which made me get to my feet. It was always best to be on equal standing, no matter how important the other was.
“Brother.” I hissed at him in greeting, watching him carefully. His face was blank, his eyes a neutral yellow-gold. “Do you come bearing news?”
N’thim nodded, taking a step forward. His chin was raised proudly, his face blank, and I could not tell what that meant for my people. “I spoke to our chief,” N’thim said.
When his pause continued, I realized he was waiting for an acknowledgment. “Good. What did he speak?”
Something akin to amusement flashed in his eyes, something that set my scales on edge. I didn’t think that was a good sign. “Without proof, our chief does not believe your outlandish claims and we do not wish to entertain this folly any further.”
I did my best to not let my despair show in my expression. “I see.”
“There is a way, however, you could secure our tribe’s support.”
From the way N’thim was speaking, I couldn’t tell if he actually supported the idea and went against his chief, or if that was something his chief had asked him to say or do. The whole situation also emphasized how difficult it was going to be to get the tribes to work together in the first place. I truly did not have visible proof of the Caterri’s methods, just the evidence of their long subterfuge. I believed me, and some of my people did, but the other tribes did not know me. What reason would they have to believe me?
“What can we do?” I asked, keeping my voice neutral. I wasn’t certain what he was going to ask for, and I made no promises.
“We wish for a female.” N’thim’s tone was steady, as steady as his expression. “You are tracking one, and we could help in rescuing her.”
I tried to not let my anger show, no matter how much it was racing through me. I didn’t share Dana. Not with him, not with his tribe, not with my tribe. She was mine. Dana was not currency, to be tossed around at the whim of my people. Nor were Jackie or Hetta or—
It clicked, in that moment, why Dana and Hetta had been so upset over L’Anna’s tribute. Why Hetta had been so
