back. Unlike the other Dakkari females I’d seen while riding through the horde the night before, Lokkaru wore no adornments or beads in her hair. Her clothing consisted of a long, thick dress the color of moss and a white fur shawl draped across her shoulders.
When she peered up at us, I saw her eyes were yellow, not red like the Vorakkar’s. Her age showed more in the deep wrinkles of her face, in her slow, careful movements as she brought a goblet of steaming liquid to her lips.
Once she finished sipping it, it shook as she replaced it back on the table. Inclining her head, though she was one of the first I’d seen to hold his eyes, she greeted, “Vorakkar.”
“Terun,” Davik murmured, inclining his head in return. “We have come to seek your help.”
She blinked, long and slow, and then her gaze shifted to mine. I was tempted to press into her mind…but I was slowly realizing how intrusive it was. How easily I’d always used it, almost as a greeting towards others. Uncomfortably aware that Davik would know if I used my gift, I simply mirrored his actions, dipping my head towards her.
“What help could I be?” she asked, in the universal tongue. Her voice was scratchy, as if unused, but soft.
Davik’s hand came to my lower back, surprising me. He led me forward, had me sit across from Lokkaru at the table, and he knelt next to me, sitting back on his heels.
“You confided in me once. When you first asked to join my horde,” he started. “Do you remember what we spoke of?”
A look of confusion passed over her features. She looked around her voliki. A strong scent of incense perfumed the air. “I have always lived here.”
“Nik, terun. You joined my horde ten years ago, after the cold season. You were living in Dothik, selling fruit you stole from the Dothikkar’s gardens.”
A mischievous smile crossed Lokkaru’s features. It was so unexpected and surprising that I felt my lips twitching in response. Had she really been stealing from the Dothikkar? Ten years ago would have put her at ninety-five years old.
“You tried to sell me some hji. I knew the only place to get hji in the capital was from his gardens,” he said.
Out of the corner of my eye, I looked at Davik. His voice had gone a little quiet, soft. He liked this female, respected her. He’d discovered her stealing from the Dothikkar…and instead of turning her in, he’d taken her into his horde?
“Lysi,” she said, now grinning. Her eyes brightened. “The Dothikkar does not even like hji. He had too much of it and the guards always napped around sunset.”
Davik smiled and my breath almost left me. It wasn’t his dark, cutting smile, or his mocking one. It was genuine. And it was beautiful.
I thought about this Davik before me now. Then I thought of the Mad Horde King, with his storm of rage brewing underneath. How opposite they were.
His eyes locked with mine. His gaze dropped to my lips and I realized I was smiling at him. I ducked my head, biting my lip to hide it, as silence stretched out in the voliki.
The horde king turned back to Lokkaru. “You told me of your mother, of your lomma. And your father. Do you remember?”
A long breath escaped her. When I looked at her, I was surprised to see the tears glimmering in her gaze.
“Lysi,” she said. “Of course I remember, though not what I said.”
This will take time, I realized, my shoulders dropping slightly. There were only three weeks until the black moon and we hadn’t even begun to search for the heartstone yet.
“Nik,” she said, her eyes darting around the voliki, like she was seeing something we couldn’t. “That is not true. I remember. I remember Lomma. She told me…what was it? She told me love grows and it grows true, as long as it is nourished. Like my father.”
Davik caught my eyes again. He shook his head once, though I swore I spied relief in this expression.
“You must be hungry, cossa,” she said to me. “You look hungry.”
She held out a bowl of something dark blue and mashed. I took it from her. Then she presented me with another small plate of flat, beige-colored circles. She peeled away the top layer, scooped up the blue mash with it, and folded it neatly inside. Then she pinched the circle closed until it was neat before giving it to me.