I am pleased to see my praise wash over him, and hope that he takes it to heart. Rigel's patience with me in Mahgrib had been everlasting, and even now he did not outwardly give off any indication that he was tired of my company. I wondered if there even were enough of our kind in these isles to give the brothers their own wives, considering I had spent nearly a year in the heart of the desert with only crosses and other breeds to keep me company. The thought of them being unable to find happiness in a first wife of their own hurt my heart, and I wondered if I might be able to help in such an endeavor.

As he apologizes, a chuckle slips from me and I shake my head, not accepting it. I, who had been favored so heavily by Allah with my match, had already used up the good luck allotted to me. The most I could hope for now was that our union would bless us with a beautiful and strong Prince, and that I might grow to love and accept the lesser wives that would come to join us.

He reassures me that I will not vow to them, and I nod my head, storing away that tidbit for later. Even still, he offers me the words I may use to accept or rebuff the requests made of me in my husband's name and I memorize them, so that if the time should ever come, I would have the tools available to uphold my family's honor. The last thing I wanted to do would be to make promises on behalf of my Husband that I did not fully understand the ramifications to.

There is a lull and a change in Rigel's demeanor that tell me he is ready to discuss the heavy part of my questions and I still in response, turning my gaze in his direction. He offers a lot of words, and I sort through them all in my head, picking out those few things that hold any meaning to me. I knew Priestesses of Min to be those that instructed Mira's sons in their husbandly duties, but as to what those teaching entailed, I was not sure. I did not understand how Antares might have defied Min, or what his Wartime Duty was, and my ears splayed back as I listened quietly. Rigel goes further to explain that it was the first time Antares had felt free from his duty to me, and to our betrothal and that the madness of the season had taken my Husband firmly, leading him to repletion atop her.

As the pieces fall into place, I avert my head sharply to avoid him seeing my expression, busying my lips at my foot as though to dislodge an over adventurous beetle. The well of feeling is a strange one, that I feel as though I lack the tools to handle. My purity had been so sacred to me, so precious a thing that I had never considered giving it to another other than my true husband. To know that he had thrown away such a gift to someone of no breeding or connection to him as though it had no worth or value, when I might have treasured it for always, hurt surprisingly deep. Did she already carry the first of his blood? The child that should have been mine to cherish? I had known too, that he chafed at his bond to me as I had to him, and yet somehow the thought of him rejoicing in the freedom did not bring me happiness.

The thought wounds me further and I refuse to look at him, right up until he mentions that this woman then went on to fight all four of them. All four of the brothers were here? And she had... taken on all four of them? My head swivels back to look at him in consternation, not having believed that any of them would cheapen themselves by coupling with a woman of such coarse morals. I am embarrassed to even think of it, but the words stumble from my mouth before I can stop them.

"She took on... all four of you? And you let her?" Concern clouds my gaze as I consider the implications before I shake my head, wafting away such deplorable thoughts. "I'm sorry. It is not my place to know."

I clear my throat and cast my gaze ahead, back to the steady view of the rippling water. "It pains my heart that his first was not with me. The thought of someone else raising the first child of my Husband is... unpleasant, but it is not a thing that can be undone. I hope someday that I might meet her, and understand what the four of you found so beguiling."

Eager to find a new topic that was less invasive and that would leave me less uncomfortable, I turn to other matters of the state. Other things that I may need to know to better support my husband here. "Tell me brother, how did you come to be here of all places? I swam too far out and could not return, and washed ashore in the wintertime on the main Crossing Isle. Allah must have been looking over me then, for I was saved by my dear friend Naz, rather than an overbearing stranger, and she escorted me here to Salem. Did Malik Maslakhat find you on the Crossing as well?"

I knew, later on, how lucky that I had been. Standing there, warming myself against Naz's soft coat, I had watched as other stallions drove mares away with teeth and force. Stallions of every shape and size from a squat dun stallion to a lean painted male. None of them had been of my blood or breeding, not that Naz was either. But she, like me, was made to stride across the desert, and we had come home to the Dunes. I had stayed away from the likes of Bahadir, despite his purity. He seemed distant with his mares, and many of them seemed conflicted on his kindness.

In truth, the fact that he hadn't sought me out had stung a little, but it hadn't mattered. He was gone, and Allah had stepped in once more to guide me to my true match.