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It was a death sentence Whether Bard knew it or not, he was sending her away to die

Not that she wanted anyone else but hiht The inner voice inside her had clearly delineated Bard as theto help her, well…she would rather live than die of Ripening Fever, which would soon be upon her

Death by Fever was an agonizing way to go—Makenna had seen it happen before A good friend of hers had lost the h her first ripening, due to a logging accident The poordown just as Helena—that was his fiancée’s na

Helena had been grief-stricken and had refused any other ed her to find a substitute for her lost love She declared she wanted to die—that she wanted to go and meet the man she’d lost in the afterlife

Makenna had sat by her bedside, sponging off her forehead which had felt hot enough to bake bread on, as her friend twisted and ony She had sweated and cried, her body contorting with the terrible cra the male seed that it had been denied

In the end, Helena had been begging to die—begging someone to kill her and put her out of her ht—one that Makenna tried hard not to think about But she couldn’t help thinking of it now

That’s going to be , she thought, feeling her storief It wasn’t just fear for her life that wasBard—that the big warrior was sending her away

At the thought of that—of losing him—a low sob broke from her throat and fresh tears filled her eyes

Tiny whined sadly and licked her face, his long, sky-blue tongue ticklish and wet against her cheeks

Makenna put her arave in to her misery If only she could make Bard understand as at stake! If only she could explain that her life was on the line, she was certain he wouldn’t send her away

But though she could understand almost every word spoken around her now, she was still unable to speak the language with any kind of fluency Soue but when she opened herIt was so da!

Suddenly, the door opened and Bard was standing there, filling the doorith his broad shoulders

“Coet you packed You’re going on a trip”

Makenna realized this was her last chance to make him understand Desperately, she shook her head