Read Online Daughter of the Moon (The Moon People, Book Two) by Claudia King - Free Book Online

while he listened. He did not often speak unless he had something worth saying, and when he did voice his inner thoughts people tended to hang on his every word. It was a kind of restraint that Netya had come to admire, and even try to emulate herself from time to time. She had become comfortable with silence when she was with him.
    It surprised her, then, to hear a note of irritation in Caspian's voice when he did speak.
    "Rokan and Yenna have been bickering ever since we left."
    Netya glanced over in the direction of the mated couple. They were speaking in hushed voices, keeping mostly to themselves. "You think so? I know they are upset about leaving their son, but they do not bother anyone else with their troubles."
    "No, only themselves. And it will carry on all winter. She thinks she could have persuaded their son to stay, and he is too timid to admit that she is right. They dance around one another like wasps because he has not the confidence to put her worries to rest."
    "I will not pretend to understand a man's pride," Netya said.
    "It seems no one does," Caspian sighed. "Wait here, this will only take a moment." He stood up and approached Rokan and Yenna, towering over them with his hands on his hips until they noticed him and broke off their conversation.
    "He agrees with you," Caspian said, the deep, powerful note in his voice turning several heads as it carried throughout the chamber. "You could have persuaded Rolan to stay if you tried, but you did not, and perhaps that is for the best."
    Rokan glared up at the other male, his cheeks colouring with indignity at being addressed so in the presence of his mate. "What do you know of another man's son?"
    "I know that he was old enough to make the decision for himself. Be happy with his choice. You could have kept him if you tried, but only by hobbling him to his parents like a child. Is that the future you would have wanted for him?"
    Yenna looked to her mate and tugged at his arm. "Is he right? Is this how you felt?"
    Rokan ground his teeth, trying to meet Caspian's gaze. It only took a moment before he faltered, bowing his head in submission to the other male. "Yes," he muttered to Yenna. "I could not... It was difficult to say so clearly."
    "Put it to rest," Caspian said. "And do not be afraid to speak openly with your woman. She looks to you for answers, even if they are not the ones she may wish to hear."
    Rokan bobbed his head silently. Had he been in the shape of his wolf, Netya suspected his tail would have been firmly tucked between his legs at that moment, ears flattened in obedience.
    Caspian nodded, then left the pair of them alone as he returned to Netya's side and settled down again.
    "Were you not worried he might be angry?" she whispered.
    "Of course, but what else was I to do?" Caspian raised his palms in exasperation, before folding them behind his head. "No other man was about to step forward, and I doubt Adel would have understood what troubled him."
    "What if he disagreed? He could have challenged you."
    "Some challenges are settled before they even begin. It needed to be said." Caspian's brow wrinkled, and he rubbed his eyes, as if trying to dispel some unseen discomfort. "Let's not speak of it any more. I would rather not worry over the disagreements of others."
    "Unless you are forced to?"
    Caspian snorted, putting his arm around her shoulders and tugging her in close. The agitated mutterings of Rokan and his mate did not reach Netya's ears again that evening, and she gradually drifted off to sleep as the hubbub dulled into a quiet background murmur. The crackle and pop of the fire lulled her into the embrace of the spirit world, and she dreamed she was dancing beneath the surface of the pool along with the other fish, gliding around in circles as the current tugged her to and fro, the ice creaking quietly overhead.
     
    It was not the dull rumble of noise that startled her. Much like the others, she awoke gently to the sound, imagining it to be