Herbalists' Cache rook's rest

Faust was more than a bachelor waiting to be softened by a feminine hand; Ayovi remembers how she had been cowed into submission. How her fate was demonstrated on the shredded bark of pine should she refuse. Old scars on tender pink feet, forced to travel. He was a dangerous man. Darukaal was a danger. From what Ayovi can tell, Star Eater has parted from one violent man to throw her lot in with another, and why? Because she was bound by her sister’s marriage to Blackfell?
“No—” Ayovi shakes her head, adamant now, “I tire of this being a woman’s problem. It is a woman’s responsibility to raise children, not men. The Darukaal are cruel, and not because they cannot be controlled. I fear you’re right. There is no capacity for words when men want only to prove their supremacy in blood,”  she exhales sharply, gaze flicking over the children’s sleeping backs.
“The farther from here, the safer they will be.”