“They do. Until they don’t,” Chele’s said flatly. “Everyone is free until the tribe needs you. And if you’re brave enough to deny the order, you’d better be ready to deal with the backlash.”
Evidently, Oh’nil was ready.
“Don’t cry, Melmie,” Oh’na said in a gentle voice, showing an uncharacteristic level of compassion. “You will mate to a better warrior. With normal hair. Oh’nil’s is too bright.”
Melmie gave her a watery smile. “I don’t care about his hair, Oh’na. I just want my own home.”
Addie made an executive decision. “You know what? While you’re waiting on that worthy warrior with normal hair, why don’t you stay with us?”
Chele made a choking sound which Addie ignored.
The transformation in Melmie’s facial expression was instant and heartwarming. The girl opened up like a flower in front of her eyes. “Do you mean it? I can?”
“I don’t see why not.” She shot a warning glance in Chele’s direction.
“Oh, Addie, I am so grateful! Chele, I am so grateful.”
Chele didn’t answer but neither did she express opposition. Addie had her, she knew. While Chele was indisposed, Addie got to make the rules. For Chele’s sake, Addie hoped their role reversal was only temporary, but this small achievement felt right.
Oh’na went with Melmie to help bring over her scarce possessions to Chele’s tent. There was Illied to ask permission, of course, but from what Addie had learned about the woman in recent weeks, she didn’t think Illied would oppose one bit.
“Unwise!” Chele hissed when the girls left. “We have herbs in the house.”
“I know, Chele. I have a feeling Melmie will be an asset to us, not a deterrent.”
“She’s sharp, I admit. Maybe, with time. But no one can ever know about the queen’s medicine.”
Addie rounded on the old woman. “About that. Feeding Qalae preventative herbs will come to a bad end for all of us. Chele, this is exactly the excuse Chemmusaayl is looking for to get rid of you and me! We have to stop.”
Chele hiked her poncho tighter around her shoulders and raised an eyebrow. “So are you telling me a woman can have no control over becoming a mother? You’re starting to sound like Chemmusaayl.”
“Don’t play games with words!” Addie was outraged. Sneaky Chele, using all kinds of ammunition to force her into an agreement. “I didn’t say that.”
“You know Qalae can’t refuse the chief his mating rights.”
This biology, to think of it, boggled the mind. Even human women had had some control over getting pregnant, way before modern contraceptives became available, by refusing sex. Here, abstinence was not an option if the male was already tapped. She only had to picture Zoark who was all but slowly withering from the inside.
“I know she can’t,” Addie acknowledged quietly. “But Qalae has a problem that cannot be resolved by herbs. If she is discovered,wewill suffer the wrath of her mate and that of the High Counselor. You and I.”
“She, too. She doesn't want discovery.”
“You’re proving my point.” Addie paused and tried again. “Chele, let me say no to her. Even though I know you feel vindicated by feeding her that wicked powder.”
“The chief should never have traded my own daughter for Qalae.” It was the first time Chele admitted bitterness over the old history. “Left me without a daughter and Oh’na without a pawi. It is the problem that he created. Let him suffer, childless, shamed by the tribe for his weak virile power. A childless chief is a weak chief.”
“Are you saying he can lose the chief’s place if he doesn't procreate?” If true, the consequences of what they were doing were bigger than Addie first thought.
Chele snuggled deeper into her rags. “Everything is possible. I don’t know if it ever happened. But neither do I know of any chief who didn’t have children.”
Melmie and Oh’na returned with Melmie’s things, cutting the argument short. While helping rearrange Oh’na’s pallet to make space for Melmie, Addie tried to put her unease aside for the moment to savor Melmie’s unexpected release from the mating bonds.
“Was Illied angry at you for leaving?” she asked the girl.
“Angry? No, Addie, she was glad. Now she can start growing a family with Klarm. She’s very happy.”
Addie raised her brows without a comment.
The only saving grace to Illied’s abandonment of her own daughter was the fact that Melmie didn’t appear to pine after her. Her clever eyes shone with relief.
