Free Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh

to get warm. We both do.”
    Pek’s soaked hair drips into his lap as he sits, slumpedforward, on top of his kayak. He doesn’t bother to slide back under the deck. It would be pointless. The boat is drenchedinside and would not warm him.
    “Pek,” I say, but he doesn’t lift his head. I have never seen my brother more defeated. I pull his paddle from the spot where it bobs on the surface between us. When he won’t take it from me, I slide it across his lap. “You’ll lose your strength if you sit out here. Come in and get warm. Then we’ll try again.”
    I turn and start to paddle in without him. “You needto stay strong if you’re going to win her,” I call over my shoulder.
    I don’t need to glance back. I don’t need to tune my ears to the sound of his paddle breaking the surface behind me. I know he will follow me in. Whether by faith or foolishness, Pek will follow Seeri wherever she leads.
    Once we’re on shore, Pek insists on helping bring in the fresh kill, though shuddering waves of cold rackhis body.
    I watch him, stubbornly struggling to grip the carcass with hands streaked red with blood and cold, and I remember his words— These girls are going to change our lives .
    Those words have proven true a thousand times over in just two days.
    I can’t help but worry what changes are still to come.

EIGHT
    O n the third morning after your departure, Pek and I are up while it’s still dark, standing on the beach as the sun gradually fills in shadows and reveals the edges of things. Together, we’re loading one of the long, two-man fishing kayaks for Pek’s trip to visit your clan. In three days we’ve collected seven seal pelts, and some of the meat of those kills has been butchered and wrappedas a gift to your clan, as well. Pek and I pack everything into the hull, filling the space where a second paddler would sit.
    All this preparation has been overseen by our father. Though this visit may appear to be the work of one lovesick boy, it is actually part of our father’s larger plan to befriend the Olen. A betrothal between Pek and Seeri would help create a bond between our clans, enablingus to move south.
    “Here, put this with the sealskins, away from the meat,” I say, handing Pek the pelt of the saber-toothed cat you killed,tightly wrapped to stay dry. Since you left, Pek has watched me work a special tanning solution mixed by Urar into this hide every night, and stretch and pull it every morning—even early on this morning—so it would be ready in time. I explained to Urar thatI feared the Spirit of the cat had not climbed to the Land Above the Sky, but remained among the living as a ghost. Urar then combined ingredients that would give the hide strength while setting the Spirit of the cat free.
    The results were worth the effort; the pelt is more soft and supple than any other pelt I’ve ever tanned. I can only hope the Spirit is gone now that the hide is done.
    AsPek takes the pelt from my hand, he hesitates. “Hey, don’t worry about her, all right?”
    Why would he say this, I wonder? Do I appear to be worried about you?
    “You don’t need an ill-tempered girl like Mya, Kol. You’re ill-tempered enough on your own.”
    “Thanks,” I say, pushing the pelt into his hands. “Just take care of this until you get it to her. It’s not what you think. I’m not trying toimpress her or earn her affections. I just think she deserves this.”
    “Of course,” Pek says. “But while I’m gone, you should take Kesh and Roon and visit the clan camping on the western shore. Maybe among the girls there, you’ll find someone sensible enough to appreciate a gift of honey.”
    Why did I tell him that story? Was it to soothe his own feelings of rejection and failure? Whatever my reason,I regret it now. That should have stayed private between you and me.
    “Just try to stay above water, all right? I’d like the pelt to be dry when it reaches her.”
    “Nothing to worry about there.” If I