Isika was plagued by worries about Auntie Teru on the far continent. She often woke at night with her heart racing and couldn"t get back to sleep. So she paced the house in the hours between night and morning when it was dark, and the only light was the lamp in the kitchen and the red rocks in the stove. She made cups of tea and eventually ended up on the swinging chair out back, watching the sky grow light.
During the day, Isika tried to be cheerful for Kital, despite her sleepless state. But she wanted their life back.
It was the Desert King"s fault. All of it. And Isika had not killed him. He had told her she would regret it, but she did not regret it. True, if she had killed him, the elders might still be here. But what would the consequences have been in her heart? Isika knew enoug
