second chance. Obviously, he’s not willing, even if I am his mother. I was scared of his father. I thought he would understand that.”
Fuck this.
“You weren’t a mother at all from what I’ve heard,” Mave countered, her temper snapping as the vicious need to protect her family took hold. That caused two of the males to growl. “Mothers don’t abandon their children.”
“What would you know about it?” Asari snapped, fury coming to her tear-filled eyes. Mave knew a dominant female when she saw one, the fury something she identified with.
“My one and only memory of my birth mother is her dying for me,” Mave explained, stepping closer. She and Asari were of a similar height. Asari was dominant enough to hold her gaze for a minute, but Mave could see the struggle. For Mave, staring someone down was like breathing, a natural instinct that never failed. “And my second mother has sacrificed herself to protect those around her, putting herself in enemy hands. She survived and continues to fill a prominent position in this village. I know plenty about mothers.”
Asari dropped her eyes at the end. Mave lifted her chin, further raising herself up.
“He’s my son,” she said pitifully.
“If you stay against my urging, visit your nephew, Kenav. He’s here, and I’m certain he would appreciate your visit. Don’t come anywhere near my brother again.”
Mave turned on her heel and walked away, this time nodding to anyone who looked her way. She left Seanev to clean up the mess she’d probably left in her wake, heading for Alchan’s home. She couldn’t find Rain, but she could do something else and eventually get a hold of him.
She went into their home without knocking, heading for the kitchen. Mave didn’t get to cook often, but she could throw something together when she needed to feed herself. Now, she made some sandwiches for Rain and Lilliana’s dinner when they arrived. It kept her busy. She even ate at Alchan’s table while waiting for them.
When they walked in, they were laughing softly. Mave resisted the urge to react to Lilliana’s presence. Rain frowned as he saw her.
“Mave? What’s wrong?”
“Eat dinner,” she ordered, pointing to the food she put out for them. “Then I recommend Lilliana get some rest, and you go see Alchan.”
“Where is he?” Rain asked, sitting down. “He’s in the cave, isn’t he?”
“He’ll explain everything. Eat dinner, then enjoy a free night with him without possible interruptions. You might get all day tomorrow. Luykas is going to handle the final preparations for Seanev’s campaign with the rest of the leadership. He’s probably already working on it.”
Standing, she walked out, heading for her own home. When she got there, she waved off her males when they showed their concern about her absence most of the evening.
“We’re winning the war, so of course, there would be a lot of personal dramas unfolding around the village,” she said, sighing. “Apparently, no one has anything better to do.”
13
Mave
Mave watched Seanev and his campaign leave. It took an entire day for the thousand warriors to finish packing up their supplies and things to go on the trails. She watched, wishing she could go, but not feeling particularly worried. With a thousand warriors, her brother would be fine. It was the largest force the rebellion had been able to put together and counted for a third of their warriors.
“Where are they going?” Mave asked her other brother, leaning toward Alchan. He had come out of his cave at dawn, acting like the previous day never happened.
“Scouts brought in reports of a few more Elvasi mountain camps that I want to see pushed out. Shadra is playing smart. For the nine the spring campaigns cleared out, there are five others that were missed. It’s no one’s fault. She’s flooding the mountains, trying to find her foothold. She has infinitely more soldiers and supplies.”
“What happens when she gets her foothold?” Mave crossed her arms, turning to him. “Alchan?”
“We do what we can to make it unsustainable. This was easier during the War. We had more warriors and more supplies. We’re running on skeleton forces to get Seanev out with so many warriors because I can’t pull Andinna from Kerit, and Leria needs the remains of her force for training purposes.”
“How many Andinna do we have now?” Their population among the rebellion had boomed with the slaves escaping en masse and everyone coming back from Olost. From what Mave knew, those in Olost had been a lot higher in number than