Ouroboros Spine I never really cared until I met you.

He shared with her the names of his newest offspring: girls and boys, five, born to both of his wives. Ciri saw the way he lit up at the opportunity to speak of them and, although her smile brightened, she was trying not to imagine herself among them with whelps of her own.

She would not have been satisfied as a wife to Chakliux. She knew this - they both did. She'd accepted that they would only make each other miserable.

Ciri shifted and withdrew from the shallows. Perhaps he builds a lodge because he wants for a woman of his own, she suggested with a sweep of her ear, knowing well enough that young men often sought the company of the fairer sex.