“I’m sure you are correct,” she mumbled.
“Ah, how disappointing,” Ava clucked and sighed, casting a short glance in the direction of the children.
Betani felt a small blooming warmth of hope, her breath catching, as she thought for a moment that Ava was going to leave the goods for the children. She had ceased believing in miracles of the blessed season years ago… but perhaps just this once? Betani could have both laughed at her own delusions and cried for her children as Ava set aside two of the smallest peppermint sticks and a handful of coins before wrapping the bundle back up and sticking it within the deep pocket over her overcoat. Plucking the candies up, Ava strolled over the table and set one in front of each child.
“There you go. No reason to look sad. A small treat for each of you from your warder,” Ava said with an expectant smile.
Nik scowled down at the small round candy set in front of him, but Alis gave Ava a sweet, if somewhat strained, smile.
“Thank you, Warder Ava,” Alis said quietly.
The warder beamed down at her for a moment before turning an impatient look on Nik.
“Nik, your manners,” Betani interrupted.
His face screwed up and he dropped his head, but his voice was audible as he mumbled his thanks. Ava gave him a tight smile and patted him on the head. If her hand was a bit hard, Nik didn’t make a sound of objection. Betani shifted uneasily, thinking of a way she might distract Ava’s attention from her son. As nothing was coming immediately to mind that wasn’t guaranteed to offend the warder, she was relieved the warder dropped her hand and stepped over to the kitchen entrance.
“You’re both welcome. Don’t let it spoil your dinner,” she advised before glancing over at Betani again. “I will be back in a few days, after Mother’s Night, for the allotment due. I believe I provided you with a list of rations to keep aside for me?”
She raised an eyebrow, and Betani hastily nodded again.
“Yes, you gave it to me when you collected the monthly fees at the beginning of month. I have kept it in a safe place,” she assured her.
Ava smiled and adjusted the collar on her overcoat. “Excellent. Expect me in three days’ time following Mother’s Night. I will be around with my cart. You won’t miss me,” she said cheerfully, her smile sharpening with a silent edge of warning.
The warning was entirely unneeded. Betani would do nothing to risk the safety of her children. She cast her eyes down despite the anger and resentment churning within her and nodded again. Ava’s polished boots strode and Betani turned, following the back of the warder’s heels as they paced to the door.
Slipping quietly to the side, Betani pulled open the door, a cold, biting wind bringing in a flurry of snowflakes with it, making her shiver as Ava stepped forward and tightened the scarf around her neck.
“Don’t forget to have the goods ready for me, Betani. I am a patient woman, but my kindness only extends so far. You do not want to end up in another neighborhood with a less generous warder.”
Betani bit her lip but hadn’t a chance to reply. Ava stepped out into the snow, whistling a jaunty tune as she headed toward the next door down. With a strangled sound of relief, Betani pushed the door shut again and latched it. Turning her back to it, she leaned against the solid wood and tilted her head back against it as she collected herself once more.
One deep breath and then another, she straightened and walked back with a smile of forced cheer as she swept around the table toward the cooling room and pulled out the spiced cider. Alis and Nik immediately brightened as the cold jug appeared and hurried to get their cups for Betani to fill. All thoughts of Ava disappeared with the sweetly spiced drink. Betani added the smallest dollop of whiskey to hers, appreciating the burn of the hard cider as conversation turned cheerfully to the upcoming Mother’s Night.
Despite the pressure from Ava to restrict how much they would be able to use of their supplies, Betani was determined to make the night memorable and joyful for the children. Just imagining the roast goose that would be awaiting her family drew a smile to her face as she watched her children begin to weave clumsy ornaments with bits of straw and ribbon to hang around the house.
One way or another, it would be the best Mother’s Night.
Chapter 3
Yeril stepped through the gate, his hackles raising slightly at the barrage of smells assaulting him. His ears flattened from the sensory overload and the noisy hum of human activity as he worked on adjusting to it. The stench of the human Citadel was terrible, and not for the first time he questioned the wisdom of bringing his triad so far south for the great northern lands, especially with the Withering Days on hand. They should be snug in their den, not a great many days far from home seeking trade to acquire goods that might comfort the human mate they wished to find. Word had spread even to the northern clans that the human Citadels were slowly opening to their kind and the Order of the Huntsmen was gone.
Like his triad brothers, Furis and Bero, he had been overcome with excitement, eager to finally acquire a mate. Even among the close-knit clans, there were not enough females to go around. The problem that had plagued their species persisted even there. Their triad had been hopeful, but as the revolutions passed, it seemed less and less likely that they would ever have a mate. The fact that they had each other was one of few things that staved off loneliness as they continued to add to their den in anticipation of the family that they would never have.
None of them commented how, despite the ornate woodwork filling their home and the carefully shaped walls of five rooms that extended over the central hearth room, there was an emptiness that echoed through it no matter how much they filled the rooms with decor and the most comfortable, plush hides. The chance for a mate, and filling that home with a family, had been an irresistible pull that even he could not ignore.
Still, when he had hurried his family across the tundra and northern mountains that separated their forest from the territory of the Old Wayfairer Citadel, he had not realized just how obnoxious the human hub would be. The northern clans were closer than most other Ragoru, dependent on each other for survival in their hunts for the great-horned earth-striders that provided plentiful meat and comfortable bedding from their pelts of shaggy fur. Even so, while a hunt or gathering could be loud, no clan territory smelled anywhere near as bad as a human city. A low growl escaped him as he wrinkled his muzzle, earning him a sympathetic smile from the guard as she pulled the gate shut behind them.
“Don’t worry. The Citadel is always a bit much at first, but you will get used to it soon,” she assured him.
He grunted and stepped forward, shouldering his bag of furs. He could not help feeling a wave of uncertainty as he stared out at the cluster of human buildings intersected by narrow streets. This world was entirely unfamiliar to him, and that made him uneasy. At least there was some comfort in knowing that they had something with which to barter. He would not be entirely at the mercy of the human inhabitants. His triad had something that they would want. With the dangers of the forests, he knew that few humans outside of the Order ventured that far to hunt. This gave them an advantage.
Turning to the guard, he regarded her levelly. “That is doubtful, but we do not plan to be here long. Please direct me to where we might find a merchant for the pelts we have brought.”