Vedhe held it out to her.
Finally, F'lia took it and turned to look at J'vin with it. She flinched at whatever she saw there. "He's never been cruel to me," she whispered as she handed it back to Vedhe. "But I can see now that it was always there, lurking."
"Come with us, then." K'lrsa jerked her across the boundary as J'vin started back towards them.
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
Vedhe blocked his path. "Go pack."
"No." He tried to shove past her, but Vedhe hit him in the throat with the heel of her hand. Not enough to kill, just enough to make him choke and stumble backward.
"Go pack. If she wants to come with you, she will."
F'lia started to walk back towards him, but K'lrsa held her back. "Remember what you saw."
"But he's never been like that with me."
"It's only a matter of time. Think about your child."
F'lia hesitated.
J'vin cussed at Vedhe calling her names that no one in the tribes would ever use.
F'lia turned away. "Okay. I'll stay."
"Good. M'lara, take her to D'lan. Tell him what happened here."
She looked back at J'vin as M'lara and F'lia left. "Let her go."
He glared at her, jaw clenched, and K'lrsa knew she'd made an enemy for life. But she didn't care. She wasn't going to let her best friend be with a man like that.
They waited until M'lara and F'lia were safely away and then K'lrsa nodded to Vedhe. "Come on. Let's go."
Vedhe feinted at J'vin and he flinched back before they continued on their way, both smiling.
Chapter 97
Only two tents remained of the Daliph's camp. Eight men sat outside, drinking from bowls that smelled deliciously salty and meaty and warm.
"You didn't leave," K'lrsa said as the men turned to look at her.
A man with a red sash stood. "No point. If we go back, we're dead. And so are our families."
"If you stay, you're dead."
He shrugged. "I'd rather die here than return to my Daliph and have him kill me for disobeying his orders."
She glanced at the others. "You feel the same?"
They each nodded.
The man with the red sash spoke again, "We're the officers. We gave the rest of the men the choice to leave. Although some seem to have joined you instead."
"They did."
The man wiped at his nose. "So now what?"
"You could join us, too. If you want."
He shook his head. "I'd rather die than live like a desert savage the rest of my life."
"And you won't leave?"
"Nope."
She looked to the others. "And the rest of you? Anyone who wants to leave now, can. Anyone who'll swear an oath to the tribes can stay."
None moved to join her.
"You understand that you're probably going to die when I do this?" Her voice shook and she had to bite her lip to keep control of herself.
The men all stood and lined up before her, hands clasped behind their backs, expressions stoic.
She closed her eyes, seeking inside for the strength she'd need.
It didn't seem like much. Eight lives. Better than hundreds.
But it was still eight men who might have wives and children, a mother and a father. Friends they'd never see again.
She looked at them, wondering what the point was. The death of eight men wouldn't stop Aran.
But she had to be strong. At least the soldiers who'd left the day before would know and maybe think twice before they came against the tribes again.
She should've let Vedhe choose the orb of fire.
Or should've chosen the staff.
Should've raised a mountain range so high no one could pass it. Flooded the barren lands with so much water no one could cross it.
But she hadn't.
And now here she was. Staring at eight men who had no choice but to follow the orders they'd been given.
She touched the necklace. "I'll send you through one at a time. I hope you live. I don't wish you ill. I just don't want you here."
The leader shook his head. "Better to kill us. What Aran will do to us if we live is worse than you can imagine."
"Do you all feel this way?"
They nodded, each in turn.
She swallowed the bile that burned the back of her throat. "Very well." She grasped the pendant and with a thrust of will sent all eight men to Toreem at once.
If they didn't care about living, why should she?
But she did.
She turned away, disgusted, hoping that was the last of it, but knowing it wasn't.
Chapter 98
That night they had a great feast. Freed from the gathering grounds, each tribe had sent out a hunting party to find what they could. Some only found a handful of hares or a smattering of birds, but two of the tribes were able to find baru herds and brought back enough baru for everyone to at least have a bite.
It wasn't much, but it was food and it was companionship and it was safety after weeks of fear.
Having been denied their usual socializing, the tribes made up for it with a vengeance, laughing and dancing late into the night.
K'lrsa sat apart, Vedhe by her side. M'lara had run off to join the other children chasing one another and laughing.
"I don't feel part of it now. I'm not sure I ever will again."
Vedhe nodded. "It's why I don't want to go back home. Not yet, at least."
It was so weird to think they'd formed a new tribe. Twenty-five men from the Daliphana, what remained of the Black Horse Tribe, F'lia, M'lara, Vedhe, and her.
And a surprising number of young female Riders or Riders in training drawn by the prospect of mates they hadn't grown up with along with a few of their more determined male suitors who weren't willing to admit defeat to the newcomers so easily.
In the morning they would set out to patrol the border, making sure that all of the Daliph's men had truly returned to the Daliphana.
If they found anyone, she could send them back with the pendant.
She flinched at the thought of using it again, but if she had to, she would.
The gods had yet to come for Vedhe's viewing glass. K'lrsa suspected they weren't near as powerful as she'd always thought they were. Oh, sure, they could open a gateway between the land of the living and the dead, but at the same time they seemed powerless to intervene in the actions of ordinary men and women.
"Will you go back to him?" Vedhe asked.
"I don't know. Maybe. When we're sure the Daliph's men are gone and he isn't going to send more. And when I'm sure M'lara will be okay."
"You should kill Aran. Now. Before he has time to gather more strength."
"No. I think he'll leave us alone now."
"He won't."
K'lrsa sighed. "Well, as long as I'm here, the tribes will be safe." She fingered the pendant at her neck. No matter what he threw at them, she could handle it.
Vedhe shook her head. She stood and left.
K'lrsa stayed where she was, watching the others laugh and dance and celebrate.
She felt hollow.
She'd lost so much. Her parents, the man she could've loved.
But life went on.
And she still had M'lara and F'lia and Vedhe. And even D'lan.
She didn't know what the future would bring, but she was prepared to face it. And maybe, someday, she'd find a way to move forward, to love again and live a full life.
For now, it was enough to just be back home with the tribes and to know they were safe.
It had to be.
For the thrilling end to the trilogy, read Rider’s Resolve.
Glossary Of Terms
Amalanee: An extremely rare type of horse known by the teardrop mark in the center of its forehead.
Daliph: Leader of a Daliphate. Usually a hereditary position. The current Daliph can designate any of his sons or grandsons as his successor using any criteria he chooses.
Daliphate: One of seven ter
ritories ruled by a Daliph. (plural: Daliphana) Male-dominated society that engages in slavery and is heavily reliant on trade.
Death walkers: A secret religious sect that can heal someone's wounds or bring someone back from the dead if done within a short time after their death. Must trade one life for another when they bring someone back to life.
Dorana: One of a Daliph's chosen consorts. Considered the highest honor a woman can receive. The more dorana a Daliph has, the more powerful he is. A dorana can be released from her service. She is given a golden ear cuff for each year she serves.
Grel: Type of desert vulture with gray, greasy wings and red, beady eyes. Move slowly and are known to start eating before their prey is fully dead.
Meza: Worn by the dorana as a symbol of the Daliph's power over her actions. Fastens to the thumb and index finger of each hand so that they form a circle.
Poradom: Guardian of the Daliph's dorana. A position of high regard in the Daliphana. Responsible for the training and care of the dorana. Trained warrior. (plural: poradoma)
Tiral: A long garment worn by the dorana to attend formal court appearances. Crocheted from gold in a fillet pattern. Has long sleeves that fasten to the middle finger of each hand with a fabric loop.
Index Of Primary Characters
Aran: Current and former Daliph of the Toreem Daliphate. Badru's grandfather. A death walker capable of coming back from the dead. Kidnapped Herin. Cut out Garzel's tongue.
Badru: Former Daliph of the Toreem Daliphate. The man K'lrsa saw in her Moon Dreams as she traveled to Toreem. Rider of the Amalanee horse, Midnight.
D'lan: K'lrsa's brother. Rider for the White Horse Tribe. Now a member of the Council.
F'lia: K'lrsa's best friend. Member of the White Horse Tribe. Had intended to wed L'ral before his death.
Garzel: Husband of Herin. Formerly of the tribes. Has been in the Toreem Daliphate serving as Herin's poradom. Has no tongue.
Herin: Grandmother of Badru, wife of Garzel, former captive of Aran's. Honored position in Toreem. Referred to there as Omala. Formerly of the tribes. Missing the top join on each finger as a result of each attempt she made to kill Aran.
K'lrsa: Member of the White Horse Tribe. Sister to D'lan and M'lara. Daughter of V'na and B'nin. Rider of the Amalanee horse, Fallion.
Lodie: Herin's sister. Formerly of the tribes. Went to Toreem to save Herin but was made a slave. Poisoned herself to kill Aran, but was brought back by death walker magic. Fled to the White Horse Tribe with the assistance of K'lrsa.
Vedhe: Previously unnamed. Pale-haired and –skinned slave girl brought from the North by a slave caravan. Fled to the White Horse Tribe with the assistance of K'lrsa. Rider of the Amalanee horse, Kriger.
V'na: K'lrsa's mother. Former Rider of the White Horse Tribe. Now a member of the Council.
Summary Of Rider's Revenge (Book 1)
K'lrsa loves her life as a Rider for the White Horse Tribe. She spends her days riding her Amalanee horse Fallion and her nights avoiding her mother's attempts to settle her down. But there's unrest in the tribes. Trade has brought change and her father is concerned by the way the other tribes have succumbed to the temptations brought from the outside.
When her father finds out that one of the tribes, the Black Horse Tribe, is also helping bring slaves across the desert, he campaigns amongst the tribes to have them expelled.
But before that can happen, the White Horse Tribe is raided by men from the neighboring Toreem Daliphate. Her father rides out to confront them along with his other Riders, but leaves K'lrsa behind.
When her father doesn't return, K'lrsa goes looking for him and finds him dying in the desert, staked to the sand with his eyes gouged out and belly slit open. She swears to avenge him by going to the Toreem Daliphate and killing the Daliph.
Her father doesn't want her to go.
She promises him she won't to appease him, but then secretly vows to do so.
Her father begs her to kill him and put him out of his misery. She does even though it devastates her to do so.
That night she dreams of Father Sun who shows her a trading caravan that will lead her to the Toreem Daliphate.
She lets the caravan capture her, almost killing herself and Fallion in the process.
The healer traveling with the caravan, Lodie, is a slave and former member of the tribes who recognizes that K'lrsa's wounds are self-inflicted. Instead of turning K'lrsa in to the caravan master, Lodie counsels K'lrsa against going to the Daliphate.
One of the slaves in the caravan is a pale-blond woman who they were going to present as a Northern Princess but has been ruined by exposure to the sun. The caravan master, Harley gives K'lrsa the choice to take the woman's place and be sold as a "Desert Princess" or to just be one of the rest of the slaves made to walk across the desert and sold at the earliest opportunity.
K'lrsa chooses to take the woman's place.
After watching how the woman is abused as a result, K'lrsa feels guilty and helps the woman and Lodie escape. In order to do so, K'lrsa makes Lodie a sister of her blood and gives Lodie her moon stone. They steal a horse belonging to G'van of the Black Horse Tribe and flee.
When G'van discovers his horse missing, he attacks K'lrsa. She fights back.
Harley breaks up the fight, but when G'van then threatens Harley, Harley kills him.
Most of the slaves are sold off in Crossroads, but Harley takes K'lrsa and a handful of slaves deeper into the Daliphate.
The Toreem Daliphate is completely foreign to K'lrsa who is used to a nomadic life where all are equal. She struggles to adapt to its different ways.
She befriends one of her captors, Barkley, and eventually confesses to him that her plan is to go to Toreem and kill the Daliph. Barkley arranges for a friend of his in the city to write to Harley offering to purchase K'lrsa if Harley will bring her to Toreem.
On the plains outside of Toreem, their small party—now just Harley, Barkley, Reginald, and K'lrsa—run into a man on a black Amalanee horse, Badru. He's the same man K'lrsa has been dreaming about the entire journey.
He's accompanied by an old woman, Herin, who knowns Harley and tells him to leave. She's also Lodie's sister. As they're turning away, K'lrsa calls on their blood connection and demands that Herin help her.
Herin has the party arrested and orders the soldiers to kill anyone who speaks.
They're taken to the dungeons of Toreem where all the others are killed except K'lrsa.
She wakes up in a luxurious room in the palace to find that she's been chosen as a dorana—an honored concubine—to the Daliph of the Toreem Daliphate. Herin is furious, K'lrsa confused. But it's the best chance K'lrsa has to avenge her father.
K'lrsa finds training to be a dorana incredibly hard. She's not allowed to look at anyone, not supposed to speak. They dress her in ornate costumes that keep her from moving freely. Her fingers are bound with the meza so that she can't even feed herself. And, even if she could, she's not supposed to.
Everything she needs is done by her poradoma—Sayel, Tarum, and Morel. Sayel is her head poradom and very fond of her although exasperated by her inability to be a proper dorana. Tarum hates her and takes liberties when he dresses or feeds her. Herin is there to supervise with her constant companion, Garzel.
Weeks later, Badru finally comes to see K'lrsa. She's still been dreaming of him every night and is so grateful to see a friendly face that she confesses to him her plan to kill the Daliph.
He tells her she can't do that and leaves. She waits in her room, certain he'll betray her, but instead Herin and Sayel come the next day and tell her it's time to present her to the Daliph.
She's dressed in even more ornate clothing than normal, including the tiral—a full-length coat crocheted of gold that binds her movements to the point she knows she won't be able to attack the Daliph.
Finally, she's brought to the Daliph's throne room. Just outside they run into Badru who is also the Daliph. He's furious she's there and demands th
at Herin take her back to her rooms. K'lrsa is devastated to realize that the man she loves and the man she wants to kill are the same.
She refuses to continue training as a dorana and is punished by being left alone, unattended with no food or clothing, her fingers still bound by the meza.
Eventually, she continues her training and is once more brought to see Badru. This time she enters the throne room, still conflicted about whether to kill Badru or not, but before she can reach him, she overhears a man insult her and turns to confront him, something a dorana is not supposed to do.
Badru sees what happens and declares that an insult to his dorana is an insult to him and has the two men responsible whipped even though they are both senior advisors of his.
After, Herin tries to convince K'lrsa to escape, but K'lrsa refuses, not trusting her.
Badru comes to her rooms and she attacks him, but fails to kill him. He swears to her it wasn't his men who killed her father but she still doubts him.
She asks Badru to free her because she can't possibly be with him if she isn't free to choose to be with him.
The next day he takes her out riding and frees her from slavery and gives her Fallion back. He also declares that any slave owner who chooses to can free their slaves and that any freed slaves can have their property back. His court is in an uproar over the decision.
A courtier insults K'lrsa while on their ride and Badru banishes him even though the man is the son of an important advisor.
When they return, Badru has to leave to attend to an urgent matter and K'lrsa is left alone in the stables where she overhears the arrival of K'var of the Black Horse Tribe who demands more weapons and soldiers to destroy the tribes that oppose him.
She confronts Badru about K'var's demands and he says he'll have no choice but to back the Black Horse Tribe unless K'lrsa can find his people another way across the desert.
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