‘Pran believes that we will be safe here. But I . . .’
Malina could only stare, somehow knowing what the Elf woman was about to say.
‘I do not share this belief. And it is a risk I will not take.’
They were both silent a long moment, the tea forgotten. Malina found herself searching her own feelings, grasping at intangibles that were, for her, becoming increasingly clear. Finally, she said, ‘What are you suggesting?’
‘That we prepare to leave Wel’adai. Not at the least sign of danger, when it will be too late, but now. That we find a way, perhaps with the Outcasts and Faerie Folk who remain, to leave in search of the Earth Mother.
‘The others . . . they do not seem to fully realize that She is our only hope . . . that only She can heal the wounds caused by the Elf Lore, that only She is powerful enough to overthrow the Elven King and the works of His Loremasters.’
‘But . . . shouldn’t this have been discussed- ?’
‘My husband wouldn’t hear of it,’ Theuli told her. ‘The menfolk, they see only their own strength of arms and resourcefulness and determination as being the answer to our plight, and it was this matter which was the cause of such sore disagreement between us.’