Chapter 36

She sighed and leaned back, tilting her chin up to the sky as she watched the sparks of the fire swirl up toward the stars. The night was only just beginning, and she had much more to enjoy.

All around the camp the music of lovers filled the air. Bodies twined together as couples met couples, some not even seeming to care whether it was a man or a woman they joined with as they indulged with an openness Netya had rarely experienced. She felt a kinship with these people, even if it was only for this one night. She was not an outsider, only one of many lovers, just like the rest of them.

On the other side of the fire Vaya had another girl’s hair curled around her fist, the pair of them making more noise than most of the camp combined. Netya could not quite tell whether they were fighting or making love, but neither seemed to care either way.

Nearer by, Fern and her partner knelt in the grass like two wild wolves, their passionate cries joining the chorus as the male