‘Hold your ground, Sorrin,’ ordered the elderly female.

Sorrin swivelled his neck to regard his herd leader. As Grand Matriarch, Balticea’s command could never be ignored, and doubly so when the oldster happened to be the mother of his mate. Still, the perturbed bull was compelled to try. ‘She shouldn’t have to go through the ordeal alone, Balticea,’ he contended.

‘My daughter has our support,’ stated the matron, ‘but she must undertake this act alone.’

‘Surely you could make an exception in Beliann’s case,’ Rosade interjected on Sorrin’s behalf.

‘No Healer. Tradition cannot be circumvented.’

‘She has suffered the disappointment of so many failed clutches already,’ argued Rosade. ‘To have Sorrin at her side will give her much-needed moral strength.’

The Grand Matriarch was not swayed. ‘If anything, Beliann must exemplify our ways. How would it look to the herd if their future leader flaunted custom just to allay personal fears? Longstanding practice has it that an egg-mother alone is the first to greet her hatchlings. I’ll not defy that, even for Beliann.’

Book 2 - Chosen Too

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