Mudminnow River If I ever were to lose you, I'd surely lose myself.

To Rivenwood, he said. It spurred the memory of her mother's voice and their last discussion of how her father wished for she and her sister to spend the Sprintime with him there, and Ciri's velvet lobes splayed backward at the blow of it. Her mother was gone; Elke was gone. Where else was there for her to go, if not Rivenwood?

She remembered how small and insignificant she'd once felt among her father's wolves, and dread settled heavily in her gut as she considered the possibility of feeling that way again. The answer she wanted to give was "yes", of course - a resounding yes! - but...

"What if - what if they don't like me?"