“It will pass,” she said and laid her head on his shoulder.

“There’s no denying it. You’re with child,” Tarass said with a smile. It waned when he saw her grow paler.

“I believe so,” she said, her smile wide.

He rested his hand to her stomach. “I am thrilled beyond belief that our child grows inside you, but I hate seeing you suffer like this.”

“My mum suffered the same carrying me, but it passed after a while,” she assured him.

He grabbed the blanket and wrapped it around her. “Let’s get you into bed.”

“No, I want to stay in your arms,” she insisted. “Tell me what took you from our bed so early this morning.”

He knew she wanted her mind taken off her roiling stomach and he obliged her. Besides, he didn’t want to let her go. He wanted to hold her close and do whatever he could to help her feel better.

Tarass explained everything to her along with his plan to find the one in the clan who betrayed him.

He was met with silence when he finished, something he wasn’t expecting. She always voiced her opinion or gave advice, which he often found helpful. So why the silence?

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“You once mentioned that the whole tribe where your parents were staying when they were killed was massacred, except for one woman who managed to hide. Why would the whole tribe be massacred if it were only your parents this person wanted dead?”

“I and others have asked that over and over and can find no answer.”

“Maybe you didn’t ask the right question.”

“I’ve asked every possible question,” he assured her, though he wondered if it was himself he was reassuring, since he continued to feel he had failed his parents. Their deaths should have been avenged by now.

“Why massacre a whole tribe?” Snow asked.

“Pure anger and hate.”

“For the tribe or what they didn’t find?”

“What do you mean?” Tarass asked.

“Were you supposed to be there with your parents?” she asked and didn’t know if her stomach roiled due to the bairn or the thought of what could have happened to her husband if he had been there.

“No,” he said, shaking his head, then stopped abruptly. “I’d forgotten. My mum told everyone I was going to meet them there in hopes that I would.” He shook his head annoyed for not realizing that, but then he’d never planned on joining his parents so it had never been a thought. Now, however, he looked at his parents’ deaths differently. “You’re saying that it wasn’t only my parents this person wanted dead but my whole family.”

“It’s a possibility,” Snow said.

“But why wait? My parents have been dead months now. Why not strike again and see me dead?”