People whispered about it in the market, stared at him as he walked-without a limp-th

furious. How dare that cripple get better?

ttlement, where Karlie was sitting out

it into sections, using a heated knife to seal the nodes and create waterp

ronies flanking her. "The cripple can walk. I suppose

arby, stood up. He moved to stand betwe

Caprice?" he aske

The healers said your leg was cursed. It was impossible to fix.

o hands and her brain," Gavin said.

Look at her, playing with sticks. What kind of mate

u really think you've won? He's still a broken m

ehind Gavin this time. She stepped

as for winning... I don't need to win anything. I just need t

ce. "You're lying!" she shrieked. "

"It's not slander, Caprice. I smelled the rut-grass juice in my

l. You wanted me to attack someone, to create a scandal. That way, your little affair with Konner

that a crowd had gathered. The other females in the se

to her eyes. "I was scared! You were in a

e to make me more violent? That makes no sense, Caprice. The only thing

ing them. She looked desperate, her

the finished bamboo canteens she had made. She filled it with filtered water from her own

anteen. "Try this. It holds water with

rlie's sanding technique with sharp, curious eyes, stepped forward and took it. She took a tentative sip. Her eye

to make them. And how to filter the

egan to disperse. But the older female stayed, gripping the canteen like a prize. As the crowd thinned, Karlie overheard the older female muttering to a frie

Unit 9, log that information. It w

o was now answering the older female's hesitant questions,

e screamed, her voice crackin

n, her cronies sc

g but a vague sense of relief. The g

placed a hand on her shoulder

as cutting. "For what? Exposing her li

, a small smile playing on his lip

ale, who was now holding the c

nemies," Karlie said, winking a

g people who were beginning to see her value, and felt a warmth spread through his