Letting him leave my side to answer the stranger's call had been no easy task, but our duty would always be with our people and I was hesitant to risk the safety of our unborn child to the aggression of a strange stallion. Further, from what I had come to understand of these lands and the way they operated, the new lead would be within his rights to press a claim upon the shoulder of any woman that came to him and I had no wish to be separated from my heart.

Thus, while I had no desire to be a silent helpmate beside Antares while he did all of the speaking, my desire to risk our babe was even lesser. It was not until he called for me that my stiff stance shifted, a tremor racing across my body as I shared a meaningful glance with my Husband's brothers. Squaring my slender shoulders, I moved to join them at a light jog, my posture regal despite the nerves that plagued me.

I was not prepared for the size of the new claimant, who towered over my Beloved like a mountain. His build, too, was unlike most of the Desert inhabitants, though I had seen through Nyimara's kin that this was not particularly unusual amongst these islands.

I inclined my head toward them both as I slowed and joined them, my gaze reading my Heart's expressions before moving on to the unknown giant of a stallion. "You have come to claim the Desert," I murmured, echoing what I am almost certain has already been said in the conversation. I do not know for what purpose Antares' has called me, but it speaks to a measure of trust of some kind. "I am Sayyida, the Mira of our group, and Antares' first wife." I nod to my beloved, realizing that such formality might be off-putting.

My gaze roved over them both again and then settled back on the stallion whose name I still did not know. "We only ask for your grace to allow us to continue living as we have - a separate, autonomous entity in the land that you lay claim. An entity that would no doubt lessen the burden of leadership and lack of company that a new title often brings." I had no way of knowing the giant stallion's history nor did I possess any knowledge of what companions he might already have or be planning to pursue, but I knew that most claimants came alone, unlike my own family.

"You have heard my Husband's offer," I murmur, my voice solemn and shoulder gently brushing my Beloved's. "Is it something you would accept?"