“Broodbrother, I—” “I know what it means to lead,” he said, his raw voice emerging like a frightened beast clawing out of his throat. “I know what it means to see those following me suffer. To see them die. I know how it feels to have their blood on my hide, on my hands, overpowering every other accursed scent. “I was out here”—he jabbed his spear into the ground and released it, leaving it to stand on its own—“with our friends, with our broodbrother, leading them against an enemy she provoked.”
