The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,35
been raised with. When women in her village got married and started having babies, they were tied to the hearth and the home and rarely left it.
It was one of the biggest reasons Eva had resisted any of the men her parents had thrown at her. She was too invested in keeping her freedom, what little there was of it. If she had settled for a husband, it would have curtailed her wandering outside the village borders. She would never have explored the dark interior of the forest or run with her beloved horses again.
She couldn't think of a worse fate—except maybe acting as a sacrifice for their harvest. A shiver ran down her back at the close call she'd had to losing it all.
She wondered if the warlord would expect his queen to stay behind from now on. If so, it was a pity. Shea's example was an inspiration for people like Eva, who'd had others tell her all her life what she could and couldn't do, because of her misfortune of having been born a woman.
Seeing Shea waiting expectantly, Eva finally nodded. "Shea it is."
A small figure peeked shyly out from behind Shea. A girl, no more than six, with bright blue eyes looked around with curiosity.
"Who is this?" Eva asked, crouching and smiling at the child.
"This is Mist. She wanted to see everyone off," Shea said.
"Do you want to meet my friend?" Eva asked.
Mist nodded, taking a step from Shea's side with more confidence than Eva would have assumed from her silence. So, not entirely withdrawn, but not trusting either.
"This is Caia," Eva said, standing and patting the mare's shoulder. She didn't worry about what Caia would do to the little one. It was only adults who had to be wary.
Mist's smile brightened her whole face, allowing Eva a glimpse of the blond-haired imp waiting inside.
"Do you like horses?" Eva asked.
Mist nodded.
"What do you like about them?"
Mist jerked a shoulder up but didn't speak, petting the parts of Caia she could reach.
Shea joined them. "Mist isn't much of a talker."
Eva met the Battle Queen's gaze, noting the tension in her expression as if Shea was preparing to intercede if Eva tried to berate or make fun of the girl.
Eva's smile was easy and held no judgement. "That's alright. I'm not much of one either. It's better to listen than run your mouth all the time, isn't it?"
Mist looked up, her gaze bright and wondering. Slowly, her chin dipped in a nod as she made an affirmative sound.
Shea touched the girl’s head, her gaze fond. "I'd go with you, but the little one makes that an impossibility. Stopping every hundred feet for a bathroom break would make the journey last months instead of weeks." Shea grimaced. "Next time, when my stomach isn't bigger than my head. Until then, I'm sending my cousin with you."
"Do you regret being so restricted?" Eva asked, nodding at where Shea's baby rested.
Shea frowned thoughtfully. "Once I thought I might, but truthfully it's a whole new type of adventure. I'll ride out again, but perhaps not for a short time."
Shea tilted her head to the right at a man who was readying his own horse. The mount was one Eva didn't recognize. It was stockier than the Trateri horses and its coat was thick and coarse.
"My cousin, Reece. He's a bit arrogant. Cocky for sure, and a general pest at the best of times, but he's nearly as good at pathfinding as me," Shea said without an ounce of humility.
Eva envied her the confidence. What must it be like to be so sure of yourself that you knew you were the best without ever needing proof from anyone else?
“That's very kind of you." It was the only polite response Eva could think of. She spent most of her time with horses. They didn't care if she was a bit rough around the edges, as long as she loved them.
Shea snorted, surprising Eva. "No, it's not. Don't let these Trateri get your head twisted. You're the one doing us the favor. If you come back with an alliance agreement, you will have accomplished something not even I could do."
Eva's lips parted as Shea's surprisingly intense hazel eyes met hers.
"I don't know if I can do this," Eva confessed. The expectations were huge. No one was saying anything, but Eva suspected the cost of failure might be the life she'd built among them. She wasn't sure anything was worth risking that.