Nevada shrugs. “You didn’t miss anything. If I know Ivy, she’ll be delegating tasks right now. Your only task is to have that baby.”
Ellie sticks her tongue out at Nevada as she puts her feet up on one of the stools in front of her.
Arana walks into the room, a tray in her arms. She tuts at Nevada. “Now, now,” she says. “Remember how desperate you were for Danica to make an appearance.”
I laugh as Arana places the tray on the table before turning and taking Danica from Nevada.
“Yes,” Nevada says. “And she chose the most inconvenient time possible.”
“Babies usually do. Let me spend some time with my favorite while you have lunch.”
“Okay. She needs to go down for a nap soon.”
Arana waves her hand in an “I got this” motion and waltzes toward Nevada’s bedroom.
“Arana is like a second mom to Dani,” Nevada tells us. “I don’t know what I’d do without her.” She waves at the food. “Dig in.”
I sit down and load up some fresh bread with meat and some roasted vegetables. Nevada does the same, while Ellie sticks to water.
“I’m not all that hungry. So tell me,” Ellie says with a glint in her eye. “How come I found you in the commander’s kradi this morning?”
Nevada inhales and chokes, her eyes watering as she has a coughing fit. I sigh, taking another bite of my sandwich while I figure out just how to answer that question.
“We hate each other.”
“Yes,” Ellie nods seriously. “Most people wake up next to the people they hate.”
Nevada recovers from her choking and laughs. “Well, I did.”
I stare at her.
“Oh, you didn’t know? Rakiz and I loathed each other. I thought he was a stubborn, bossy dictator, and he thought I was a wild, irresponsible menace.” She grins. “Turns out we were both right.”
“How did I not know this?” For some reason, I thought they must’ve hit it off the first time they met. After all, they’re clearly made for each other.
Nevada shrugs. “By the time you guys arrived, we’d been mated for a while. But we were like oil and water when we first met. I kept trying to sneak out of the camp to find Ivy and the others, and he sentenced me to work in the mishua pen.”
“The mishua pen?” My mouth drops open, and she laughs.
Ellie winks at me. “Joke was on him because Nevada befriended his mishua and stole it.”
“Wow. I knew you’d stolen a mishua, but I had no idea you were working in the pen or that it was Rakiz’s mishua.”
Ellie rolls her eyes. “She enjoyed working in that pen; don’t let her tell you any different.”
I tilt my head at that, and Nevada curls her arm, showing off impressive biceps. “I got to work on these. Anyway, enough about me. I thought you hated that commander.”
“I do. And he hates me too. We just have…”
“Insane, explosive chemistry?” Nevada suggests, and Ellie sniggers.
“That’s about right.”
“I think you should go for it,” Ellie says. “Braxians are fun.” She wiggles her eyebrows, and Nevada stares at her.
“I don’t even recognize you anymore.” She turns back to me. “Look, I’m not gonna clam jam you, but I think you should be careful. Many a smart, capable woman has been derailed by these warriors. If you’re serious about getting on that ship, have your fun but keep your heart out of it.”
I snort. “Oh, don’t you worry, my heart is nowhere near it.”
Nevada gives me a long look, and then a slow smile spreads over her face. “Yeah,” she says. “That’s what I thought when I met Rakiz.”
Korzyn
There are some people in this universe who glow, drawing others to them instinctively. Few of them notice they do it—and many would deny it if one pointed it out.
Sarissa is one of these people.
I first noticed it when I would follow her to and from the marketplace and through the town near Arix’s castle, keeping an eye on her. She has an uncanny ability to make people trust her. To make them want to befriend her.
I once heard Vivian ask her why she was so successful at making contacts. She replied she was trained to win others over so she could get the information she needs.
I vowed to never tell her anything, but Sarissa didn’t attempt to befriend me. Likely because she knew I’d see through her.
It’s not that she’s cunning, sneaky, or deceptive—although she’s all these things. It’s that she also seems to genuinely care for others, in spite of herself.
Often, she’ll be walking through this camp alone, clearly deep in thought. Within moments, one of her friends will join her, inviting her to eat with them. Or a younger female will come to her, lip trembling until Sarissa throws an arm around her shoulders.
The children sit on her knees. The babies go quiet in her arms, staring up at her. Even some of the older Braxian males have been known to stop bickering when she glances their way.
I’m slowly learning this prickly female. She frowns at me from across the training arena, where she’s currently helping Nevada teach a group of the younger women to fight with a knife.
I smile at her, and she looks confused for a moment, glancing away when one of the other females calls her name.
The more I watch her, the more I understand.
Sarissa needs harmony. She needs to be needed, and she feels as if her place in the universe is in front of those weaker than herself. That’s why she promised the females they would have their revenge. Because she knew she would sacrifice herself to get them their vengeance.
But who sacrifices for Sarissa?
“If you stare any harder, that female will likely make her displeasure known,” a voice says, and I glance to my left.
Dexar leans on the fence, a smile on his face as he watches his own mate train with a crossbow.
“I’m thinking.”
Dexar raises his eyebrow. “Clearly. You know, you’re running out of time to
