Shards of Sanity (Book 6, Forgotten Series)

Prologue: Part Two

I made my way towards the ragtag group of rogues that had rushed into Altia several hours ago. The female they had brought had been close to death but we had managed to save her. To what end, I did not know. At least not now. I tucked my hands into my robe and lifted the hem over the dewy grass, relishing in the feel of it on my bare feet.

The moon was bright and high in the sky, despite the slight warming of the skyline that showed morning would be coming soon. Mene had been lingering in the sky over the territory, as if she were curious of what was happening within her temple. I did not blame her, I was curios as well.

I scanned the group and landed on the burly male with the scraggly beard and blood soaked clothing. I found myself frowning at the state of him. "You have not gotten clean." I stopped in front of the group and dropped the hem of my robes as I tilted my head at him. "This is Altia, what is ours is yours. You are in need of cleansing, we cannot have you running around as such." I gestured him up and down but his dark eyes showed me the reason he had not done as I had first suggested when they arrived.

"How is she?" The words rumbled out of him and I slowly looked over my shoulder to the large temple we had placed her in for healing. It had the largest windows for Mene to look through as the healers worked her given magic. It was always better to work underneath her gaze.

I looked back to the male. "She is alive and should be grateful for those who brought her into our care." I found my mouth turning up at the corners just a fraction before letting out a sigh. "She will not bear children though. Not anymore." A harsh sadness fell over me for the female who had been brutalized as such. It was always a sorrow when one could not complete what the bond wished. "Who ever did as they did wanted to ensure that, and they have gotten their wish. Did you find who harmed her?" I looked them all over but no one but the male would meet my eyes.

He swallowed hard, the gesture catching my gaze at the nervousness it held. "She did." The words were said bluntly and he looked surprisingly pale at the words as if he were remembering something he would rather not.

"She found them?" I tilted my head with curiosity as I watched him shuffle in his spot, looking away.

"She did it to herself." His face turned nearly grey but it was his words that made me give a long and slow blink as I processed what he was saying. A female who had nearly given up her life in an attempt to remove her ability to have children... I had never seen such a thing before. The mundanes had ways of making their females infertile but they were monitored and done with professionals, we did as well with healers present and neither were so brutal.

"Why in the name of the goddess would she do that?" I watched him intently, looking at him as if his skin and clothing would tell me the answer. I had so many questions and I knew that his answers meant very little. I would ask the goddess about this and she would provide me with all I needed to know.

"She cut her baby out." The words were nearly enough to drop my mouth open in shock. As it were I inhaled sharply in horror at what the implications were. The destruction of an innocent life by their own mother. "I am assuming he was an heir to whatever ranked position her male had and she did not wish for the pregnancy but I don't know. She never spoke ill of the child or the pregnancy. We never expected that." The male gave a helpless gesture to the temple as his dark eyes met my own, looking far too soulful for the female who had done such a thing.

"I... I need to meditate on this." I needed to speak to Mene, I needed to have her guidance for what it was that had been delivered into my hands in the deepest dark of the night. "Please, Altia welcomes you and you are free to use our facilities to clean up and to rest. You may stay as long as you wish." I turned slowly, once again picking up the hem of my robe.