Warrior of the Wild(85)

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I FOLLOW FATHER THROUGH the streets, Soren behind me. Iric opted to stay and argue with my sister more, but really I don’t think he wanted to leave his close proximity to Aros. Fine by me.

“I’ve had a talk with the elders,” Father says. “You should know you have been reinstated as my heir and proclaimed a woman and a warrior for all the village to hear. I would have done that with you present, but I didn’t think Irrenia would permit it. This, however, is a matter that needs your immediate attention.”

Those in the village have already returned to their work for the day, despite the earlier battle with the god. A blacksmith hammers in his forge. The smell of freshly cooked valder wafts from the open door of an eatery, which will only be available for purchase at an exorbitant price. Peruxolo may have been defeated, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t already hurt our meat supply—

“Father. In the mountain where the god—Cadmael—lived, there’s food. He’s dried our meat to preserve it. It’s still there. We must send people out to retrieve it. The other villages will want to be notified so they can retrieve their goods as well.”

“It will be done,” Father says. “Will you lead a group of warriors through the wild?”

If he asked me that question before my banishment, I wouldn’t have been able to do it, but now—“Of course.”

And that’s the end of it.

Father eventually stops in the open air of the village square. The elders of Seravin survey two figures kneeling on the ground, a warrior on each side of them to prevent them from running.

One of the bent figures is my mother. The other is Torrin.

“Kachina Bendrauggo has admitted her guilt before myself and the elders,” Father says. “She freely stated that she lied about what happened at your trial and revealed the truth. She says this man, Torrin Grimsson, sabotaged your test.

“This village cannot take back the punishment that was dealt to you. What’s done is done. However, these are those who have wronged you. They have told lies before the goddess. And as the person most affected and the future leader of Seravin, I leave it to you, Rasmira, to decide their fate.”

I blink. Whatever I thought my father might say, I wasn’t expecting this.

“You want me to choose their punishment?” I ask.

“It is the least we can do for what you have done for our people.”

It is a strange thing to have the two people who caused me the most suffering bowed before me, awaiting my judgment. I could do anything to them. Have them beheaded. Issue them their own mattugrs to see how they like it.

Those are my first thoughts. I can’t help it. I suffered greatly because of what they did. But if there is anything I learned out in the wild, it is that a mattugr proves nothing. It does not turn one person from a child to an adult. It does not suddenly turn you into a great warrior or fill your head with wisdom. It is a pointless task meant to restore honor. But honor cannot be given. It is something that you find within yourself.

And I think Mother finally found hers.

Mother cannot bear to maintain eye contact with me, it would seem, for she turns her gaze downward. In a hollow voice, she says, “I begged the goddess for forgiveness every night you were gone. I prayed for your deliverance from the wild. Now that she has answered my pleadings, I will accept any fate you choose for me.”

She’s probably telling the truth, and there may be hope for our future together—but right now, I don’t trust her, and I don’t want her in my life.

But I also don’t want her dead.

“Mother told a lie,” I say, looking into the frail face of the woman who caused me so much pain for so many years. “Her conscience has started to suffer for it, and the goddess will decide what to do with her in the next life. But for this life, I ask that she be removed from me. I don’t want to see her. She is not to live in my household. If I enter the eatery, and she is there, she will leave it. If she sees me in the streets, she is to turn around and go in the opposite direction. She will take herself from my path unless I should seek her out directly.”

A sigh goes through my father, a small sign of relief. What had he been fearing? Banishment? He does care for her, then. Just not as much as he should. But that is between my parents to work out. It is no fault of mine.

“But Torrin?” I continue, and Torrin’s head snaps in my direction at the sound of his name. “Torrin didn’t just lie. He intentionally set out to have me banished, hoping that I would die out in the wild. What he did was practically murder.”

Out of curiosity, I ask him, “Do you have anything to say to me?”

“It was a joke,” Torrin says. “And not my idea. It was Havard’s. Besides, surely it was the goddess’s will since you rid us all of Peruxolo! I should be thanked, not punished.”

But I see through his lies now. It was no joke. He will say anything to save his own skin.

“He is to be banished,” I say. “And if he can survive three months in the wild, just like I did, then he is free to return. Havard will share his punishment, for he is just as responsible for what happened to me.”

“Wise decisions,” Father says. “Kachina, you are free to go, but should you disregard Rasmira’s edict, you will be banished yourself. Torrin, you will collect your things and prepare to leave Seravin. Do not seek refuge in another village, for they will be notified of your treachery.”