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The Last Shemale Queen

A sequel to The Seduction of Seleste

Patinabi

Chapter 21

They left the lake wolves the following morning and cut across the coast toward the mountains, where the autumn tribe dwelt in their caves. Yanaba remembered sitting on the old advisor's lap when she was small and listening to his tales of the autumn tribe. As Yanaba played with Zaldon's big white fingers and as little Yatokya sucked on Zaldon's white mane, the advisor painted a picture of the tribe and its many peculiarities.

The autumn wolves, it was said, were as stupid as slugs and ugly to boot - though Zaldon doubted the former and resented the latter. They were all gray, with matted fur, and lived in no houses but caves in the mountains, routinely raping their females as they saw fit. It was for this reason that the moon wolves found it so easy to enslave them. They sat in their caves defenseless as pups, refusing to erect proper walls or use proper weapons: they hurled large rocks at intruders . . . and sometimes their shit.

Walking along beside Sa, Yanaba glanced every now and then out at the sea, and she dreaded the moment when they would face the autumn tribe. It wasn't so much that she was afraid of them: they were defenseless creatures and, no doubt, easy to kill. No, Yanaba was more afraid of having to kill the autumn wolves than anything else. She had not forgotten the arrow wolf whose throat she had slit. It was not a pleasant feeling, dragging a knife against someone's throat, hearing them sputter as the life poured out of them . . . having that hot life slap ones face.

"You are troubled, my princess?" Sa said quietly, though it was more an observation than a question.

Yanaba looked up, hoping no one was listening to them. Keme walked up ahead with Aayan and Iko. The vixen talked with him in low voices about the Old Paths, the Secret Valley, and what to expect there. Aayan was, no doubt, participating in the conversation, if not through Iko's translations.

Yanaba and Sa were walking behind the three, and behind them, Maka and Pati brought up the rear. Yanaba glanced back and caught Pati staring at her. Since the night she had allowed him to touch her, his stares of longing had only intensified. Maka, meanwhile, looked angry and grim, and Yanaba knew it was because he was firmly against crossing the Old Paths. After his near death experience in the White Forest, he was weary of all magic and seemed to look upon Aayan and Iko with a constant expression of intense dislike.

Yanaba looked away again, staring instead at the green sea which rolled away to the horizon on her right. The sand here was yellow, and the shallows were lined with many craggy rocks. As she and the others followed the coastline, they had come upon lake wolves up on the rocks, casting nets in the shallows, wicker baskets on their backs. Slaves. They were sullen and grim and did not lift their faces to even look as the traveling companions passed them.

They had encountered the slaves days ago, however. Now the coastline was smooth, devoid of rocks, and the shallows sparkled in the sunlight.

Yanaba glanced at Sa again. He was waiting for an answer. Much like Maka, his handsome face was grim, and it seemed like it had been years since last she'd seen his smirking smile - the real smile that he showed when he was genuinely happy. She knew it was because of Yatokya. She missed her brother as well. Any time he was away from her on one of his journeys with their father, there was always a terrible ache. Sometimes the ache even manifested physically in her side . . . as if some part of her had been taken. She glanced at Sa and knew he felt the same way. They had spent the last few days growing closer in Yatokya's absence. Before she knew it, she was finding it quite easy, telling her most intimate thoughts to Sa.

"What happened to you out in the lake country," Sa said in a low voice, "is happening again?"

Yanaba looked down, her mass of curls tumbling. "No. No, don't worry, Sa. I still feel the cold but . . . it's not as bad as before. Maybe Yato is getting better? If he were dead, I would definitely feel it."

Sa nodded darkly. After a pause, he placed a comforting paw on her shoulder and rubbed. She smiled at him.

"Careful," Yanaba teased. "You will send Pati into a jealous rage."

Sa laughed flatly. "Pati and Maka know I'm a cocksucker. Maka takes it however he can get it. And Pati . . ."

Yanaba waited, peering at him. Sa was actually a few inches shorter than her, and she had to look slightly down to meet his gaze.

Sa's blue eye gleamed, and reflecting the light gave it a green tinge, so that it almost matched the color of the sea beside them. The hazel eye darkened in the sunlight. "Pati prefers females. But . . . he would do anything you told him to." He looked at Yanaba and lifted his brows. "Anything."

Yanaba laughed sadly. "Poor bastard. Why on earth would he do that?"

"To please you. To make you happy. I have known Maka and Pati a long time. They trained under me when they were boys. Maka was my student . . . in many ways. I looked after them when their parents died. I even took them into my home before they came of age. They were assigned to the royal guard because they had studied under me." He laughed softly. "I still remember the first time Pati laid eyes on you. He was fifteen and you . . . you were thirteen. He was all heaving chest and tongue out."

Yanaba swallowed hard to hear such a thing. Pati was someone she had barely even noticed around her father's grand hut. But she did remember him being there, on occasion guarding her mother as she sat on her throne. Sometimes he would also guard the front curtain or else guard Honiahaka and Yatokya during their travels. Yes, she remembered his face. But she had never really paid attention to him. Or any of the royal protectors.

"Patinabi has loved you for years, Yanaba."

"Patinabi?" she repeated in amusement.

Sa smiled. "His full name."

They fell silent, and Yanaba glanced back again at Pati. Seeing her looking at him, he smiled - then tripped over a rock. Maka grunted irritably and caught him, and he looked at his brother sheepishly.

Yanaba smiled and turned away again. In the distance, she could see the coast winding away to the right, and forest, a forest of trees with orange and pink leaves. Behind the trees, the red mountains loomed, almost dour against the bright sky. The autumn lands.

"Chief Keme will want to make camp soon," Sa said, as if he disapproved.

"You wish to keep going," Yanaba observed. She smiled at him fondly. "Sa, I want to help my brother as much as you do, but we won't get to Yatokya any faster if we exhaust ourselves. We must take time to rest."

Sa nodded, though Yanaba could tell by his glower that he still did not approve of stopping to make camp when they did not have to.

"Are you sure you don't love my brother?" Yanaba said in amusement.

Sa glanced at her almost sheepishly, but he recovered quickly enough from his surprise to crease his face into the smooth impassiveness of a warrior. "I am simply devoted to him, your highness. I feel for him the same admiration and respect that you feel for Pati. It is nothing more. I have also made a vow, a warrior's vow, to protect the sovereign of the sun and protect them well. I have . . . failed to protect Yatokya. I should never have let him go looking for you alone. He insisted that we split up . . ."

"The fool," Yanaba said and nodded. "But, Sa . . ." She frowned sympathetically and rubbed his muscly arm. "It is not your fault. Yato is responsible for his own messes."

Sa nodded and swallowed hard, and she knew he was still blaming himself. He smiled at her sadly and said, "Careful, your highness. We will send Pati into a jealous rage."

Yanaba giggled, and as the sound echoed out over the water, she realized Sa had meant for her to. She smiled at him: what would she do without Sa to comfort her? Without Yatokya there . . . she felt at a loss.

Just as Sa had predicted, Keme announced that they were making camp once they reached the edge of the autumn lands. Beneath the canopy of orange and pink, they built a fire and had supper, cooking the fish the lake village "chief" Hinto had generously plied them with before their departure.

Yanaba slept that night on her bedroll with Sa and Pati's bedrolls either side of her. She was not surprised to awake in the morning with Pati's arm tight around her. He was smiling in his sleep, and he looked so content that she hadn't the heart to smack his paw off when it suddenly groped her as he dreamt.

When they finally reached the mountains, the hostile autumn wolves ran out to meet them, hurling rocks and screaming war cries. They seemed to be under the impression Yanaba and her companions had come to take their females. . . . which would not have been far off the mark had they been moon wolf merchants bent on capturing more slaves.

Keme lifted his spear, and as the others were following suit, Yanaba drew her sword from her back. She was surprised to see Iko had not drawn her own sword. She stood calmly beside Aayan, who had stepped forward and raised his paw.

The autumn wolves were pelting their way fast, streaming down from the mountains like a swarm of bees, their cries loud against the bright blue day. Paw still outstretched, Aayan's ears went back in concentration. And then . . . everything froze.

Yanaba lowered her sword a fraction, and beside her, she heard Maka gasp. The world was in a complete standstill, and Yanaba and her companions were the only ones unaffected. Orange leaves had paused mid-fall, birds froze mid-flight, and the autumn wolves were frozen in the act of running, leaping, and screaming. The rocks they had hurled were hovering in the air . . . as well some brown feces that had frozen in shapeless blobs.

Yanaba exchanged astonished glances with Sa.

"Well," said Keme with a weak laugh and lowered his spear, "isn't that dandy?"

Beside him, Iko smiled. "It will last an hour, he says."

Keme nodded. "Come on, everyone. To the Old Path thing."

They went up the mountain trail as quickly as they could, passing between the staring bodies of the autumn wolves. They passed many caves as they made their way, in the mouths of which groups of males were frozen in the act of gang raping females. Yanaba's face hardened to see the looks of pain and terror on the youngest females' faces. Some of them, however, were held suspended between pairs of males and appeared to be frozen with looks of deepest ecstasy as they were fucked in the ass and pussy, as their tits were massaged and suckled. Apparently, the wild orgies were too intense for these males to have stopped long enough to defend their females.

Seeing the frozen sex acts had made everyone uncomfortable. Yanaba thought that even Aayan avoided looking at them.

As night was falling, they finally entered a cave at the top of the trail. As they stepped into the gloom, Aayan lifted his paw and conjured a white orb of light. The orb soared away to the ceiling, slowly revealing a massive pair of doors.

Yanaba gasped. So this was the gate Iko had spoken of . . . or a gate, rather. According to the vixen, many such gates existed throughout the world. It was clear the autumn wolves were terrified of what might lay beyond: nearby stood many skulls on pikes, as if to warn others away.

"They believe the gates are cursed," Iko said when she noticed the others staring at the skulls.

"Maybe they are right," Maka said grimly from the back of the group.

Keme turned to face him. "We are going in there, Maka," he said. "If you did not wish to brave these sorts of dangers, you never should have agreed to guard Yanaba and her brother."

"I agreed to escort them to the winter village, your highness," Maka protested. "Not to go traipsing around from danger to danger!" He was getting excited, and beside him, Pati placed a paw on his shoulder. He jerked his shoulder free.

Yanaba thought Keme looked very calm, if not sympathetic. "Then you should have stayed behind in the winter village," he returned evenly. "You should have made your feelings known the moment I announced I was going after Tala. But you are a skilled warrior, Maka, and we are not alone." He gestured at Aayan and Iko, who stood quietly beside him. "I am fully convinced there is nothing behind these doors you can not survive."

Maka swallowed hard. Yanaba could see that he had relented but was determined to be angry. Finally, he bowed his head and muttered, "Yes, your highness. I will trust your judgment."

Keme nodded. "Thank you." He looked at the others. "Shall we? I will need you all to step back."

"Push, don't pull," Iko advised as she moved away.

Keme laughed. "Got it."

Yanaba retreated with the others some distance away. She was surprised by how far back they had to go, but once Keme heaved on the door, she understood: dust rose in thick clouds to blind them. Yanaba staggered as she coughed, unable to see as the dust brought tears to her eyes. She tripped over something and fell backward with a scream.

"I've got you, my princess!" Pati shouted and caught her in his strong arms.

Yanaba coughed again and could feel the press of his hard muscles on her back, the brush of his soft cock. He helped her to stand and took her arm, guiding her back as more dust came.

Yanaba could hear the others coughing, even Aayan. She could also hear Keme's grunts of effort echoing up the cave, the screeching and groaning as the doors were opened, the flapping of the bats that swept above them squeaking.

When the dust had cleared, the gates yawned before them like an open mouth. Keme stood in the center of that darkness, and his black fur would have rendered him invisible if he hadn't been wearing a traveling pack and carrying a spear. The others went to him, and Aayan's orb of light sped down to guide the way.

As they entered the Old Paths, Aayan's light slowly made shapes apparent in the pitch darkness. Yanaba quickly realized they were walking up a paved street, a street lined with tall, rectangular houses that were reinforced with stone. She could see giant mushrooms, withered and dead, and she knew the magical mushrooms had once lit this underground place, much the way the mushrooms in the mountain kingdom did.

Their feet as they went along seemed painfully loud in the silence. Every now and then, one of them coughed up more dust, but otherwise, they traveled through the dead kingdom in silence and awe, staring this way and that at the statues, the dry fountains, the pavilions and bridges over dried up streams. Yanaba could only imagine that this place had once been an underground paradise. But now it was dead, black, dusty. Spiders scuttled every time they stepped - spiders the size of Yanaba's fist. White spider sacks clung to everything, and the buildings were collapsing, mere skeletons of the glorious structures they had been.

They traveled for hours with Aayan's orb of light leading the way. When stomachs began to rumble, Keme decided they should stop. He asked Iko where it might be safe to do so: all the buildings looked as if they would collapse at the touch.

"There is a mirror nearby," Iko replied. "I can feel it. Just a little longer, master wolf, and we shall stop to rest at the mirror. Tomorrow, will we pass through it."

"And this will jump us ahead several miles," Keme said. "Several, right? Let's be clear."

Iko smiled. "Yes. Several."

After another hour, they came to a magnificent palace. Yanaba halted to stare at it, agape, and Pati walked into her.

"It is . . . beautiful," Sa whispered.

Indeed it was. The palace was white, it towers capped in gleaming blue stone as they reached to the high ceiling. The white stairs reached down toward them in a ripple, spreading from a columned gallery that was overgrown with dead mushrooms and withered vines.

In the hush of the forgotten kingdom, the group followed Aayan's light up the stairs and into the palace. The orb lit up the magnificent entrance hall, where candelabra had once lit the ceiling and walls. A great mirror took up one wall like a glistening window. The mirror reflected them as they entered in the white pool of Aayan's light. Iko went to it, and it began to glow.

"Good," the vixen said, "we can still use it. We will encounter many more mirrors as we make our way. Some will have been shattered. But many should still be in tact."

"Great," Keme said, sounding as if it wasn't great at all. Yanaba thought he looked very unhappy as he dropped off his traveling pack.

"What's the matter with Chief Keme?" Yanaba whispered to Sa. "It finally seems as if we are close to finding Tala. But the closer we get . . . the more miserable he becomes."

Sa nodded. "And he would be. You would not know this, your highness, but I served in the summer village before I served your father. I was given to him by Chief Keme. I was given as a gift."

Yanaba raised her eyebrows. Before their encounter with the crow tribe, she had never heard of a male being given to anyone. . . . and as a_gift_?

"So I know of his wife, Chieftess Seleste, who is trapped in the world of the foxes," Sa whispered as the others set about making camp. He glanced at Yanaba as he shrugged off his traveling back. "Chief Keme failed to set her free and blames himself and is loath to see her . . . He doesn't wish to see her, knowing he can not set her free. Knowing she can not come home . . ."

"Oh," said Yanaba softly and dropped off her own traveling pack. "That is sad."

"Yes," agreed Sa.

"I knew Tala's mother had to go away," the princess of the sun continued in a low voice, "but no one ever said why. It was all hushed up. Even Tala did not know." Poor Tala. She remembered when they were very small, holding Tala and stroking her mane as she wept for her mother. She hoped Tala was with her mother now, that she was happy and safe. She smiled: Tala was probably bickering with Yatokya at that very moment.

"Of course she wouldn't know," Sa said, breaking through her thoughts. "Look what happened once she found out."

"Ha. I see your point."

After supper, everyone rolled out their bedrolls and settled in. Aayan and Iko did not have bedrolls and were content to lie together on Aayan's spread cloak. Before long, gentle breathing filled the great entrance hall.

But Yanaba could not sleep. She lay on her side, her cheek on her folded arm, and was glad to see that Sa was unable to sleep as well. He lay beside her, blinking thoughtfully at the ceiling. His bow and quiver were nearby, lying across his traveling back. On his other side, Maka slept quietly on his bedroll. Yanaba knew that sleeping on her other side was Pati. He and Sa always slept either side of her now.

"What is it, your highness?" Sa whispered when he felt Yanaba's stare.

"You said you were given as a gift!"

Sa smiled at her. "Yes. I was a young boy, seventeen - very pretty, so they told me."

Yanaba blushed furiously as she realized. "You . . ." She cleared her throat.

"Yes," Sa said, watching her in amusement, "I was the secret pet of his highness, Chief Keme."

"But . . . why!" Yanaba's eyes fluttered wide. Keme should have known the dangers better than anyone!

Sa smiled at her astonishment. "He didn't approach me, Yanaba. I . . . came to him. One night as he was sleeping . . . I sucked him."

Yanaba stared in amazement. That had to have taken a lot of gall! What if Keme had gotten angry? What if he kicked Sa out on his tail? Had him stoned?

"After, I kept coming to him. I was a well kept secret. Chieftess Iniwa was the only one who knew. Even the chief's family did not know about my . . . services. To everyone else, I was simply his personal bodyguard. If the summer wolves ever found out, after all . . ."

"There would have been a stoning." Yanaba scowled. When were the summer wolves going to pull their heads out of their asses? She looked at Sa. "But I don't understand. Why would he give you to my father? And as a gift!"

"The older I became, the more dangerous the situation. Chief Keme took me in when my parents died. He allowed me to live in the grand hut as a royal protector, and I trained there under the males who served him. When it came time for my mating season, I refused to take a female. And when I refused, we both knew that it would only be a matter of time before the village council realized the truth. So at seventeen, I was sent away to the sun village, where I would be safe. I have served your father since. And I have been happy."

Yanaba's brows went up. "But you never . . . with my father?"

Sa laughed softly. "Oh, no, your highness. Never. It hurt very much to leave Chief Keme. . ."

In the soft glowing of the fire, Yanaba studied Sa's face. She suddenly understood why Sa had volunteered to protect Keme. It must have been wonderful for him, to be near the chief who had cared for him and protected him after so many years. If she thought about it, Sa had always pointedly avoided escorting her father to the summer village in the past. Now she knew why.

"So . . . you love Tala's father?" Yanaba whispered sympathetically. "Is that why you do not love Yato?"

Sa shook his head and frowned. "I love no one, your highness," he said with a sad smile. "Like you, I have never known love. I carry true affection for his highness Chief Keme. And I am devoted to protecting him and Prince Yatokya. That is all I feel, however." He looked away again.

Yanaba bit her lip. For many years, she had thought that she loved Rayen. Now that she knew it was a lie, she understood that she had never known true love. The thought made her heart heavy.

"You will know love, your highness," Sa said, as if he'd read her thoughts. He was watching her sympathetically.

Thinking of Rayen, Yanaba looked at him through a sudden veil of tears. "Will I?"

Sa smiled. "Yes. Now go to sleep, your grace. You need your rest."

But Yanaba didn't sleep. She couldn't stop thinking of Tala. Yatokya loved Tala. And what if she loved him too? What if Yanaba asked Tala to make love to her . . . and she said no? It filled Yanaba with sadness, that sudden reality. After all . . . she had never once considered the fact that Tala . . . might say no.

When Yanaba was certain Sa was sleeping soundly, she looked to her left. Pati was sleeping on his back, one big arm behind his head, his mouth slightly open. Yanaba could feel the need burning between her legs. She reached over and rubbed his arm until his lashes fluttered open.

"Mmm . . ." Pati looked at Yanaba sleepily. "What is it, my princess?" He sat up on one elbow, frowning and concerned. "What do you need of me?" he whispered dutifully. His ears pricked forward when she pulled off her sleeping furs and spread her thighs.

"Lick my pussy."

Pati's mouth fell open. It might have been funny if she wasn't throbbing and desperately aroused. "Your . . . your highness . . ." he stammered.

Yanaba frowned. "Get your face down there!"

This time, Pati did not hesitate to obey. He scrambled up, nearly sending his sleeping furs flying. Yanaba watched breathlessly as he leaned down between her splayed legs. Hovering over her, he looked her deeply in the eyes as he planted careful kisses on her thighs.

Yanaba's flat belly was trembling. She lay back again and closed her eyes, pretending it was Tala who was pleasing her . . . Bah. It would be so much easier if Pati had tits! She kept thinking of Tala's mouth on her pussy, Tala's tits brushing her as she kissed her thighs that night that suddenly seemed so long ago. Tala had such small, perky tits . . . with hard pink nipples . . . so supple, so suckable.

Yanaba felt Pati's large careful fingers peel her swollen pussy lips apart. She sighed when his fingers glided with a soft squelch in her moist sex, and he whispered, "Oh my princess . . . so wet and it smells so good . . ." Then the first lick came.

Yanaba arched her back and tried not to cry out. He had gone right for the hot button, right for her clit. He licked it slowly and lightly, teasing with his tongue. Then his tongue plunged inside and he tasted her pussy lips, kissing and sucking them. Her lashes fluttered.

"Oh . . . Oh, Tala . . ." she whispered. She was startled when Pati suddenly stopped. When she looked up, he was regarding her darkly, his face between her thighs.

"Keep going," Yanaba commanded softly. "Lick my pussy!"

Pati lowered his face again, but this time, his eyes were frosty. She was shocked when he suddenly ate her out with a ferocity she had never anticipated. He ravished her pussy with his lips and tongue, licking and sucking with such aggression, she was panting shrilly and loudly before she could stop herself. His big paws reached up and massaged her tits as he ate her, his grunts and growls sending vibrations against her hot sex. Her pussy was throbbing and gushing. When before he had been gentle, now his tongue was violent, coaxing her pleasure from her with a command that was frightening and amazing all at once.

Yanaba twisted on her bedroll, pushing her paws back through her mane, thrusting her big breasts toward the high ceiling as Pati thumbed their nipples. Finally, she arched her back and cried out, "Oh . . . oh, Pati_nabi_!" in a weak, breathless, impassioned whisper.

Pati abruptly stopped and licked his lips. "I will do anything my princess tells me," he said into the silence. "But when I am with you . . . I am with you." With that, he went back to his bedroll and turned his back.

Yanaba lay there breathless, staring at the ceiling, unsatisfied and pussy on fire. She touched her sex and squeezed her thighs shut as her breasts rode to catch her breath. It still felt as if his paws were on her body! She looked over at Pati and wanted to apologize. How much did it hurt, her attempt to use him to imagine sex with Tala? Using him to get an heir was one thing, but pretending he was someone else . . . that seemed to be where he drew the line.

After hesitating, she reached over and rubbed his tight, muscular back. He had been lying very stiff, but with her touch, he relaxed and went to sleep.

So did she.

When Yanaba awoke again, the others were gearing up and preparing to set out. She sat up on her bedroll, her curls in her eyes, and realized with a sinking heart that she had slept through breakfast: Maka was gathering and tucking away bowls, while Pati put out the fire. Keme rolled up his bedroll, and Sa was beside Yanaba, doing the same. Aayan and Iko were standing at the mirror together, studying it with their backs to the others.

Yanaba slowly pulled herself up and started packing up with the others. She noticed Pati seemed very happy. He kept giving Yanaba soft smiles. It was distracting. And avoiding his eye, she was really starting to regret letting him lick her pussy.

"Are you alright, your highness?" Sa asked.

Yanaba glanced at him as she pulled on her traveling pack with shaking paws. "Yes, I'm fine. Why do you ask?"

Sa smiled. "Your scabbard is on backwards, your highness."

Yanaba glanced down at her breasts. "Oh."

"Here . . . let me . . ."

Yanaba stood still as Sa righted her scabbard. He started working on the buckles, and she could see the wise glittering in his eyes. He knew. He knew something must have happened the night before . . . not that it was easy to know what time of day it was. In fact, Yanaba glanced around and had to wonder if it wasn't night on the surface.

With everyone ready to go, Iko led the way through the mirror. They watched as she disappeared through it - as if she had simply stepped through a door. The surface of the glass rippled like water, reflecting their astonished faces. Aayan followed her, then Keme. Maka hesitated grimly, then followed Keme through. Pati went at once after his brother.

Yanaba and Sa were alone.

"After you, your highness," Sa said with a slight bow.

"Hold on to my tail. I don't want you to get left behind."

"Alright, your highness."

Yanaba took a breath and stepped through the mirror. It was like stepping through cold water. When she was out again, the sudden light was painful. She shielded her face and gasped: they were standing in a tunnel made of glass, thousands of feet beneath the sea. Fish swam by the glass walls in small schools, followed by lumbering whales with open mouths. Yanaba heard Sa gasp behind her.

"It's . . . it's amazing," Maka said weakly. "Truly amazing!" He went to the glass and pressed his paw on it, staring at the distant dolphins that swam loops through the water.

"It is one of many such tunnels," Iko told them. "The Lepuna were quite fond of constructing them with their . . . somewhat primitive magic."

"You will tell stories of this to your grandchildren," Sa whispered to Yanaba. He smirked. "The grandchildren you shall have with Patinabi."

Yanaba made a face and elbowed him playfully.

"We are near the sun village," Iko said, "very near, I shouldn't be surprised."

Yanaba's brows pressed together. Home. They were near her home! She hugged herself sadly, suddenly missing her mother and her siblings. Her three little sisters would be training and running about and driving their mother crazy. Her oldest sister - Atian - would be old enough to reject suitors.

"I know," Sa said beside Yanaba, "I miss home too." The others had started down the tunnel. He gave her chin a playful nudge with his finger and said, "Let's go."