Chapter 23

A hand grabbed the edges of her skirt and tugged hard.

She looked down to see a small boy of about three-year-old smiling widely at her. The boy spread his little arms wide and pipped, "Up, up, up, up,"

Instinctively, she knew the boy was asking to be picked up. Ismena can safely say that she avoids children because they cry a lot and she doesn't understand them. She's almost a stranger to them because she hasn't been around much of them in years.

But, as this blond little boy kept his arms spread, looking at her with big brown-eyes wide with trust and asking to be picked up, she couldn't resist bending to the waist and lifting the boy up. His little arms went around her neck, and he held on.

That gesture seems to be what all the others, who were watching her warily before, were waiting for. They threw themselves at her.

She almost fell if not for the strong arm that shot out around her waist and steadied her.

"Easy." Wolfariane's voice filled her ear, the deep baritone causing a s