Page 50 of Yasmin and the Yeti
Yasmin waited too as the long day turned into an even longer night. Darkness settled over the clan caves, bringing with it a stillness that felt like a physical weight. The healer had left hours ago, promising to return at dawn. Talvi had stayed with her until the evening, her quiet presence a comfort, but eventually she too had left.
Now she was alone with her thoughts and fears, her hand resting protectively over her still-flat belly where their cub grew. Every creak of the settling stone, every whisper of wind at the cave entrance made her heart leap, thinking it might be news of the warriors’ return.
“Please come back to us,” she whispered into the darkness.
She shifted on her bed, trying to find a comfortable position, but even though she was exhausted, sleep remained elusive. A soft rustling at the entrance to her chamber made her turn her head. Polly stood there, a hesitant shadow in the dim light of the single crystal lamp.
“Can’t sleep either?” she asked softly, remembering that Njkall had been part of the war party.
Polly shook her head and stepped inside, clutching a small bundle to her chest. “I thought… maybe you’d like company.”
“I would. Thank you.”
Polly settled on a cushion near her bed, unfolding her bundle to reveal several small pieces of soapstone and carving tools—similar to those Yasmin had been using to make beads.
“Njkall got these for me before he left,” she explained, her voice barely above a whisper. “Since you were teaching me.”
Njkall’s kindness towards the girl made her smile, and she carefully sat up, arranging the furs around her. “Would you like me to show you another design?”
Polly nodded, and she demonstrated a simple star motif. The familiar motions of carving helped calm her racing thoughts.
“Were you scared?” Polly asked suddenly, her eyes fixed on her work. “When you first came here?”
Her hands stilled as she remembered that terrible flight into the blizzard.
“Terrified,” she admitted. “I thought I was going to die in the snow. And then when I saw Rhaal…” She shook her head, remembering the imposing figure looming over her inthe blizzard, his glowing eyes the last thing she saw before consciousness fled.
“I was scared every day after I was taken, even after we left the… bad place. But then I met Njkall. I wasn’t scared of him because he didn’t look like anyone who had… hurt me,” Polly said with a small, sad smile. “He was just soft and kind and patient.”
“How long have you been here?”
“Almost a year. He says I’m his mate,” the girl whispered. “But he’s never… He says he’ll wait until I’m ready. Even if that’s never.”
“Is that what you want?” she asked gently.
“I… I think so, but after what happened…”
She reached out, covering Polly’s cold hand with her own. “I’m so sorry.”
“I never thought anything like that would happen to me.”
She nodded, remembering her own shock and horror when she woke up in the cell. If the ship hadn’t crashed… If Rhaal hadn’t found her…
“I didn’t either. But we survived. I think you’re very brave.”
Polly shook her head. “Not like you. You’re having a baby with Rhaal. You’re really becoming part of the clan.”
“So are you,” she pointed out gently. “In your own way, at your own pace.”
“Maybe. I’m scared of so many things. Except when I’m with Njkall. He makes me feel safe.” Polly looked up, her eyessuddenly intense. “They’ll come back. Njkall and Rhaal and the others. The clan protects its own.”
The conviction in the girl’s voice eased something tight in her chest. “Yes,” she agreed. “They will.”
They worked in companionable silence after that, the soft scrape of tools against stone the only sound. Eventually, Polly’s head began to nod, her hands growing clumsy with fatigue.
“You should rest,” Yasmin told her gently.
Polly shook her head stubbornly. “I’ll stay until they return.”
