AARYN
When they finally left the cave together, neither of them talked much. Aaryn inhaled the pretty scents of the morning—dew on the grass in the meadow, the tracks of small animals that had passed in the night, earth being slowly warmed by the new sun…
His heartbeat was a drum in his head, beating the rhythm of fear for his mother. Rhodha had asked him to wait until breakfast, but he wasn't sure he could. He'd told Elreth he'd go with her to discuss the final decisions around bringing in Hholdyn and making a plan to discipline the disformed, but he knew the moment the breakfast hour began, he would be gone.
She walked calmly alongside him, her scent tense, but not angry or fearful. She felt the weight of responsibility keenly. Every time her eyes fell on him she smelled of compassion and concern. And every time she looked away, she smelled like dread.
She was not looking forward to where this day would take them.
