Seething with fury, Kylara watched the men walk off and leave her, standing in the clearing. Her conflicting emotions made it impossible for her to retaliate suitably, but shed make them both regret their words. Shed pay Flar back for losing the lizard queen. Shed score Tbor for daring to reprimand her, the Weyrwoman of Southern, of the Telgar Bloodline, in the presence of Flar. Oh, hed regret that insult. Theyd both regret it. Shed show them.
Her arm throbbed from the clawing and she cradled it against her, the pain acerbating her other complaints. Where was some numbweed? Where was that Brekke? Where was everyone else at a time when the Weyr compound should be full of people? Was everyone avoiding her? Where was Brekke?
Feeding the lizard. Im hungry, too, Prideth said so firmly that Kylara looked around in surprise at her queen.
Your color isnt good, she said, her stream of mental vituperation deflected by the habit of concern for Prideths well-being and the instinctive awareness that she must not alienate her dragon.
Well, she didnt want to have to look at Brekkes broad commoner face. She certainly didnt want to see a lizard. Not now. Horrible creatures, no gratitude. No real sensitivity or the thing would have known it was only being shown off. Prideth jumped them to the Feeding Ground and landed so smartly that Kylara gave a gasp of pain as her arm was jarred. Tears formed in her eyes. Prideth, too?
But Prideth gave a flying jump to the back of a fat, stupid herdbeast and began to feed with a savagery that fascinated Kylara out of her self-pity. The queen finished the beast with ravenous speed. She was upon a second buck and disemboweling it so voraciously that Kylara could not escape the fact that she had indeed been neglecting Prideth. She felt herself caught up in the hunger and vicariously dissipated her anger by imagining Tbor as the second buck, Flar as the third, Lessa as the big wherry. By the time Prideths hunger was sated, Kylaras mind was clear.
She took her queen back to the weyr and spent a long time sanding and brushing her hide until it lost all trace of dullness. Finally Prideth curled in a contented drowse on the sun-warmed rock and Kylaras guilt was absolved.
Forgive me, Prideth. I didnt mean to neglect you. But theyve slighted me so often. And a blow at me is a slam at your prestige, too. Soon they wont dare ignore us. And we wont stay immured in this dreary, underside Weyr. Well have strong men and the most powerful bronzes begging us for favors. Youll be oiled and fed and scrubbed and scratched and pampered as you ought. Youll see. Theyll regret their behavior.
Prideths eyes were completely lidded now, and her breath came and went with a faint whistle. Kylara glanced at the bulging belly. Shed sleep a long time with that much to content her.
I ought not to have let her gorge so, Kylara murmured, but there had been something so gratifying in the way Prideth tore into her meat; as if all indignities and affronts and discourtesy had leaked out of Kylara as blood from the slaughtered animals had seeped into the pasture grass.
Her arm began to hurt again. Shed removed the wher-hide tunic to groom Prideth, and sand and dust coated the new scabs. Suddenly Kylara felt filthy, disgustingly filthy with sand and dust and sweat. She was aware of fatigue, too. Shed bathe and eat, have Rannelly rub her well with sweet oil and cleansing sand. First, shed get some numbweed from little nurse-goody Brekke.
She came past the side window of Brekkes weyrhold and heard the murmur of a mans voice and the low delighted laughing response from Brekke. Kylara halted, astonished by the rippling quality of the girls voice. She peered in, unobserved, because Brekke had eyes only for the dark head bent toward her.
Fnor! And Brekke?
The brown rider raised his hand slowly, stroked back a wayward strand of hair from Brekkes cheek with such loving tenderness that there was no doubt in Kylaras mind that they had only recently been lovers.