He had certainly taken his time. Vanya had watched the days tick by slowly with ever-increasing annoyance and frustration. She had known that she was not Rougaru's favorite for some time now, but the longer she lived among the peak, the more she doubted that she had ever held his attention at all. Maybe it was truly just an out of sight, out of mind thing. The thought that she was so easily dismissable burned her to her core but she was determined to make him pay. Rougaru would come to regret threatening to take her son away, even if she had to go to the ends of the earth to prove it to him.

It did not help that Drogon did not appreciate her efforts.

Every single day there was a new plea to go back to Paradise and she knew it was only a matter of time before he left her entirely. No matter how many times she told her son that Rougaru had tried to separate them, he refused to believe her. It was as irritating as Rougaru's lack of retaliation and she'd spent the last few weeks in a foul mood that had allowed Drogon to spend most of his time alone among the Peak mares.

The foal she carried was nearing term and she could tell that only a few days stood between her and renewed motherhood. A part of her had wondered if she would feel more maternal emotion for this child now that she had Drogon, as though her pride for her son would bleed over to this newest parasite, but nothing of the sort had happened. She loathed every movement the fetus made, and had considered on more than one occasion just leaving it behind to fend for itself on Peak shores while she sashayed back to the main part of the Crossing to find her next victim. There were enough mares here that she was certain someone would fend for the little leech, and if the little bastard didn't know who she was, then the odds of Rougaru ever finding it were slim to none.

As though summoned by her thoughts, Rougaru's baritone call ricocheted among the bare mountains of the Peak and she oriented to it as though it were a homing beacon. With a cat-in-the-cream smile spreading across her face, she danced toward the sound, uncomfortably aware of the gravid sway of her belly with each step. Thankfully, the one creature that would likely find her more attractive like this at this particular moment was the very one that stood before her now.

Coquettishly she halted just within sight range and eyed him for a long moment, the grin evident on her face. She knew that somewhere below the surface of his handsome face, fury bubbled. She had spent long enough in his presence to know that he would have considered their last interaction a win. Where he had dangled her freedom before her at the cost of her son, and then managed to plant a new child in her womb at the same time. For him to have lost all three in one fell swoop to a herd of mares had likely gotten under his skin, even with his associations to Wasp set aside.

The elegant little mare offered one bat of her eyelashes in a confident wink before she set to grazing without moving any closer. Perhaps it was petty of her to expect him to close the distance between them, to demand that he concede to her in this small way, but Vanya was perfectly aware that the ball was in her court now. Rougaru had already had the privilege of forcing her to his home once, and he would not get the option again.

If he wanted her back, he would have to work for it.