Silent Snow: Tales from Ancient Ieda 01
Page 21
“Back here, Kitten!” I shouted as First Son helped me sit up.
The covered part of the wagon ripped away, and the boy climbed into the back. “Is Snow all right?” He hugged me.
“Yes, Kitten.” I hugged him back, before giving him a grin. “Did you hug Sparrow?”
“And he punched the Matriarch.” Sparrow grinned as she helped me out of the wagon.
“Good, Kitten.” I snuggled him, then set him back on the ground. I stretched, as First Son grabbed Sparrow and lifted him into his arms.
Ursus grabbed Cristata, and Doe popped out of the building she was in. She ran toward Howling Wolf, leaping into his arms, and I ran the opposite way to the bathhouse.
The Matriarch came in after me. “Welcome home, Snow.”
I stripped from my bloody clothes and dove into the water. I came back up, feeling better. “We could not save them all, Matriarch. The King used some of them for a Necromantic ritual. Your ally, Roland, is the new King and has already abolished slavery.”
She climbed into the pool with me and leaned against the side. “We knew that not everyone would survive, Snow. But the important thing is that we were able to get our people to freedom.”
“You are right, Matriarch. We also need to decide what we are going to do next. Are we going to let the Clans go back to how they were separated before, just with new additions, or are we going to create our own cities?”
“Have you heard of Ironheart Trees?” she asked me.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Ironheart Trees are ones that have the ability for homes to be created in them. The Moon Clan’s Grandfather was telling me about them, and how the Wood Elves used to live in them before they built villages. I was thinking that maybe we should find these Trees as stopover places between the Clan villages,” She explained.
“Maybe we should withdraw from the cities completely. We have our people, so maybe it would be worth just dealing with other Elves. Let the humans have their cold stone buildings, while we get the warmth of our wooden homes.”
“Do you not mean trees, since you have the Snow Cat?”
I shook my head. “I promised her that after we liberated our people, we would find a way to set her free. The Necromancy took care of that for us, and she passed into the underworld.”
“May she rest with the Goddess and Her Dark Consort.” She gave a small prayer.
“She has her kittens and her mate, so she will be fine.”
She flipped over, so she was facing the edge of the pool. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“You and Howling Wolf.”
“There is nothing to say about it. Did you not see Doe leap into his arms?”
“But you did not see that I turned her away when she tried to kiss me.” Howling Wolf’s voice rumbled through the bathhouse.
“On that note, I think I am clean enough for dinner.” The Matriarch smiled and got out of the pool, grabbed her clothes, then left the area.
I flipped around and stared at him. “What do you mean? You still love her.”
He sat next to me, dipping his feet and legs into the pool. “You have it wrong, Snow. I was angry at her getting sold into slavery, because she is not as strong as you are, and I knew they would use her the way you have been used. When I was talking to her son, I remembered that I loved her once, but when I saw you coming back with the ledger, the only thing I could think of was wanting to have a child with you. I am sorry that it came across wrong. I wanted to explain it to you, but you practically ran from me. Snow, I loved Doe a long time ago, but she is not the one I want to spend my life with.” He grabbed me and sat me in his lap. “I want to spend it with you. Not just as my Second, but as my partner.”
I touched some of the new scars on his back. “I am sorry for everything you went through, Howling Wolf. I was so distraught and trapped in my own jealousy, that I could not see out of it. Because of that, you spent a year as a slave, when you could have been free.” I lifted his wrist and looked at his brand. “Because I refused to talk with you, you have something I would have ever wished on anyone. Because I am an idiot, you were given Muttsblood Weed and raped.”
He held me close. “I could have stopped you and explained everything, but I did not. It is on both of us for not communicating. We are together now, so I will ask you again. Will you become official with me, stand with me in front of the Clan to pronounce our intent to be partners for life?”
“I will ask you for the last time: are you sure you want me?”
“There was never a doubt in my mind, Snow.”
“Then yes.”
He leaned his face forward, and we kissed each other softly, before it became a greater need to feel each other. I grinned and pulled away. Then I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning back with all my weight.
“Wolf? Snow?” Sparrow asked as I pulled us into the pool of water, splashing the sides of the edge. She laughed when she saw the drenched Howling Wolf. “Took you two long enough to get everything figured out.”
I splashed water at her, but she left us alone. “I accept you as my partner, for as long as I live. I wish for us to have the best lives together, taking on every challenge we face. Through peace and war, good times and bad, you are the only one I want to spend the rest of my days with,” I told him, then kissed him again.
About The Author
Sarah Thomie
About The Author Sarah Thomie My name is S. Thomie (pronounced ’Tommy’). I was born and raised in Las Vegas, then moved to North Carolina, until I somehow ended up in Oklahoma for College. I have worked retail, food service, as a map maker, in the military, as a driver, in a Magic Shop, as a government contractor, and in a factory that makes synthetic thread. Now, my goal is to write full time as a professionally published Author.
At home, I have a husband, two daughters, and two cats (a black cat, Asha, and an orange cat, Cali).