Coming home was a gift in and of itself. I had enjoyed my time in the Commons, as strange as it sounded to my ears after having resented even the short time I spent there in the beginning for so many months. But there was a difference to going there when you knew that you had a home and happiness to come back to.

Plus, while I had not shared this secret with any of them, not even my husband, I had used it as a way to scout my path for later. I had hoped perhaps (although I used hope loosely, all things considered) that I might run into Indira and coax her home. As much as the girlish part of me resented that she had lain with my husband as intimately as I had, my heart yearned to bring her back so that if her womb had quickened with Antares' child, that he might know this one, as he had not his first.

Corona's joy was infectious, and I giggled as I paced alongside her to the top of the Dune. I had never truly known what it was to have a friend when I was growing up in Mahgrib, but Naz had shown me what it was to have someone to confide in. I adored my husband and cherished the time with my brothers, but it was not the same as having someone to speak with that knew what it was to be a woman. To know what it was to feel heat swill in her blood, and to be treated as less than by so many others. To have parents and family that planned your future without your input, and to know that you looked upon years of unhappiness.

Or had, anyway.

Neither I nor Corona had any reason to dread such awful fates anymore. Allah had smiled upon us and seen to our continued happiness beneath his grace. I truly hoped that she would flourish here as surely as I had.

Atair joins us shortly, and brushes aside my worry. I had known that he would, if only because the strong stallion refused to show any weakness before me. I did not think it was because he did not trust me. In fact, considering what limited time I had spent with him, I had come to realize that he did not like to show any weakness, even to himself. It troubled me, but I knew it was not something that I could fix, nor should I even try. Such intimacy was perhaps reserved for that and his wife, if he were to find one. I still believed that something existed between him and Eness, and perhaps even Sekhmet, but such things would require time. Despite my eagerness, I could not force them together.

I am torn from such musings by the arrival of my handsome sabino brother. Rigel was handsome, even among non-Arabians. His sleek coat glowed with a galaxy that spread across his sides, and intelligence lurked in his dark eyes. I had once had a small crush on the verbose brother as a young filly, before I had known how truly matched I was to Antares. His coat was handsome, but I knew that his true gifts lay below the surface in his quick intelligence and big heart. We as a family often jested that he was long-winded, and such jests were true, but it always seemed to come from a place of good intentions. Words were the way Rigel showed that he cared, for to him, they were the best way to take care of someone. A smile breaks across my lips as I return his greeting, and make room for him to greet the beautiful gray mare at my side. I cannot help but to watch the two of them closely for any telltale reaction in their faces, any glimmer of attraction that I can encourage them to explore.

Before they have much of a chance to interact, Aldebaran arrives in his typical showy fashion. I do not bother to stifle my subtle laughter at his display, knowing that such feats of speed and endurance are his way of showing his joy. Still, my gaze cuts back to Corona with a grin, studying her reaction. Unlike the two dark-colored brothers she has met so far, Aldebaran glowed with a deep rich mahogany red, offset by ebony points and subtle white markings. Lithe and athletic, Aldebaran could put us all to shame in a race across the dunes. At his commentary, I shook my head with a full smile. "I needed someone else here to keep you in line. You never know, she might be able to best you in a race." I grin at her encouragingly before turning back to him. "It would serve your ego well to be taken down a peg, my brother."

Even as I speak, however, my gaze is lifting in search of the one my heart yearns for. I cannot stop my body from moving to him as he makes his appearance, and even though I do notice his concern, I am far too worried about aligning my slender figure against his own to pay heed to it. I appreciated Atair's sacrifice, and knew that I would not venture out again while Qetesh's heat still burned on my skin, but I could not bring myself to regret it with Corona nearby.

Unlike with the brothers, I do not eye the two of them for their reactions to each other. If my beloved saw favor in Corona, I knew that I would do my best to stifle my jealousy, but that did not mean it would be easy. My heart still did not rest comfortably with the notion that I would not be the only woman that caught his eye in the future.

"Of course, husband." I reflect his formality, and lift my muzzle from the fond touch I had laid on his neck to gesture toward my pretty friend to draw her eye toward my husband. "This, is my Beloved husband, Ser Antares." I gesture then to Aldebaran, who Antares had informally named before moving down the line. "And these are my brothers. Aldebaran, and Rigel. You've met Atair, of course."

With a smile that grows wider I then gesture back to Corona. "I would like you all to meet my friend, Corona. She has come to see the Dunes for herself, and may yet decide to stay." Still buoyed by happiness and a relief I could not name at being among those I trusted once more, I tease the lot of them wickedly with no seriousness in my tone. "She is here as my guest, so I hope that you will all curb your worst tendencies and behave."