Page 56 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

"I don't know. Maybe something smaller this time since there are not as many of us."

"Does Ravsoh know we are coming?"

Sullha shifted the phone to her other ear. "I'm sure he does."

She looked at Tomek, who was laughing at something on the television screen, the sound so carefree and joyful that it made her eyes sting. He was sitting cross-legged on the living-room floor, entranced by an animated movie in a language he didn't understand, but laughing anyway whenever something funny happened on screen, or the music suggested that it was a funny moment.

"What should I wear?" Zohara asked. "I have so many options now that it's confusing. I don't know what the customs are here. What's appropriate?"

"Wear whatever makes you feel good, and don't stay up all night worrying. It's going to be fine."

There was a long moment of silence, then a sigh. "I don't know what to say to him," Zohara said in a near whisper. "On the boat, I cried, and he just stood there and patted my shoulder because I made him feel awkward. What if he doesn't really want to see me because I make him uncomfortable?"

Sullha closed her eyes.

She had answered a version of this question five times already. Mirumah had asked it with stiff dignity, Baruha had asked it in a rush, Karina had not asked it at all, which somehow said the most, and Rohilah had asked whether she should bring Bianca or leave her with Saphira, who wasn't coming because she had no relatives among the soldiers.

"Of course, he wants to see you," Sullha said. "They all want to see their mothers and sisters. That's why they helped you escape. Why would they do that if they didn't want you in their lives? They are just not used to interacting with you. They need to re-learn what they knew before they were taken away and turned into hard warriors. It will take time, and we all need to be patient."

The others still didn't know about the hive mind. They might have suspected that something was odd about the way the Eight interacted with one another and the way they seemed to do things in a synchronized manner, but that was the extent of it, and she wasn't going to be the one to tell them.

It wasn't her place.

Zohara exhaled shakily. "You are so brave, Sullha. You are helping all of us."

"I'm not brave. I'm also scared, but I don't let fear rule me. I'll call you tomorrow again to tell you when to come outside. We will walk to the pavilion together."

"Thank you, Sullha. You are the best."

When the call ended, she lowered the phone and sighed. Her ear felt hot from holding the phone against it, and a headache was starting in her temples.

Was it because she wasn't used to conducting conversations that way or because of the stress?

After what she had been through over the past few weeks, this should have been nothing, an easy organizational task, but it wasn't. The emotional load was making it feel like a bigger deal than it was.

She was finally going to see Yaaf.

"Mama." Tomek lifted a pair of pleading eyes at her. "One more movie? Can I?"

"I think you've watched enough television for one day. It's time for your bath."

He looked down at himself. "I'm clean. I didn't play in the dirt." He lifted his head and cast her an accusing look. "You promised we would go to the playground, and we didn't."

"I'm sorry, sweetie. Tomorrow, after we return from visiting Yaaf and his friends, I'll take you to the playground."

His face brightened. "Two good things are happening tomorrow. I get to see Yaaf and go to the playground. Can I do both at the same time? Can Yaaf come play with me on the swings?"

"He's not in the village, sweetheart. He's in the city. We are taking a bus to see him."

He was about to ask more questions when her phone rang.

She looked down, expecting to see one of the familiar faces of the women she'd been talking with all afternoon, but it wasn't, and her heart nearly stopped because Yaaf's face filled the screen.

Someone had somehow added him to her phone, and he was looking out at her from the photograph with a smile on his face.

"Mama? Your phone is singing."

"Yes. It is. You can watch another movie." She rose to her feet and started toward her bedroom.