Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141492 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 472(@300wpm)
This felt like sheer treachery. Disloyalty. It didn’t just feel that way; it was betrayal. Her parents and grandparents had treated her as if she were special to them, and yet they would send her away with a perfect stranger, someone not even of their tribe, not of their people. Worse, they would do so after she risked her life to save them.
Even Illi’s marriage was closely monitored to ensure she was treated with kindness, acceptance and love. Her husband was Imazighen. Once Safia was married to this stranger, her family would have no say in how he treated her. If he took her away from them, they would never know if he beat her or even murdered her.
Still, with all that, she had the years of love and kindness her father and grandfather had shown to her. Could they really have betrayed her in such a terrible way? Amastan stated plainly that she was to marry outside their people. She had to get away from everyone, go somewhere to think. She couldn’t breathe properly. She had to leave. Pushing up with one hand, she managed to get to her feet. All the years of training made her look good, calm, steady. “I can’t stay here right now. I must leave.”
CHAPTER
2
As Safia rose, Izem stood as well, suddenly looming larger than life. Amastan regarded them both without changing expression.
“You cannot leave, Safia. I must consult with the ancestors tonight and will need you to stay in the cave and guard my body.”
Izem’s breath hissed out in an angry stream, but he refrained from speaking. Safia lifted her chin at her grandfather. If this was a test to see if she would stand by her family, she had no intention of failing.
“I know my duties, Grandfather,” she said. “I have every intention of protecting my family against any who attempt to harm them. I ask for one night to process the news you’ve given me. I had no idea you had arranged a marriage for me with a man who is not Imazighen, and I would no longer be able to be with my family once he claimed me. I just need a little time for myself.”
“I did not choose this man for you. I did not arrange the marriage,” Amastan said. “Nor did your father.”
Safia caught at her brother’s arm to steady herself. The crackle of the fire was overly loud in the room. Her brothers, her sister and their spouses all exchanged looks of astonishment.
Izem wrapped his arm around Safia’s shoulders. “Who other than you would dare promise my sister to a man?”
It was a fair question. Amastan was the sole, unchallenged leader of their tribe. He was well respected by every other tribe in the area. He appeared fearless, as did her father, yet both seemed resigned to her fate. That made no sense. Safia found herself more afraid than she had ever been. It took tremendous control to keep her heart rate the same. To control the air moving in and out of her lungs. Who was this mysterious man? How was it possible for him to have so much power over her grandfather and father?
Amastan waved his two grandchildren toward the carpet, clearly wanting them both to sit down. “This promise goes all the way back to the time of the war two thousand years ago. Without the intervention of the men and women known as Carpathians, an ancient race, no one would have survived the slaughter. They took the brunt of the war, and many of them were lost. There are very few left, and those losses were a huge blow to their people as a whole.”
Izem put a little pressure on Safia’s shoulder and they sank to the carpet once again. She leaned into her brother just as his wife did. On the other side of her, her father placed a hand on her arm as if to comfort her. The knots in Safia’s stomach tightened. She couldn’t quite accept comfort from her father yet. She was willing to hear the explanation, but she felt she should have been warned years earlier, not now, when they were on the brink of war. Still, she didn’t pull away or let on that she was upset with her father. She owed it to her grandfather and father to hear the explanation before she passed judgment. She could tell her brothers and sister felt the same. They were all very quiet, their attention fixed on Amastan.
“I can only tell you what has been handed down from mother to daughter and what has been confirmed when I questioned our ancestors. One of the warriors fought valiantly. He lost every one of his relatives in the battle. Apparently, and I don’t know how this works, the daughter of one of our ancestors was meant for him. It was determined that these monsters would rise again, but no one knew when. From what I understand, everyone present knew they could not defeat the enemy should that army rise again if they did not have the help of this warrior. They needed him to commit to returning.”