Then Kaya spoke, voicing the thought that had been nagging at her. "Vayu's information about the human women being brought here every twenty years or so—do you think it's true?"Veer considered. "Vayu's a scholar. He has no reason to lie, especially when it would be so easy to disprove. And it explains... a lot. The coordinated hunts, the value different tribes place on you, the prophecies and legends."
"It's horrible," Cutie said quietly. "Bringing people here just to... to breed them like animals."
"Yes," Kaya agreed. "But it also means I'm not the first to face this. Other women have been in my position. Some survived. Some even thrived." She paused. "That woman Vayu mentioned—Aria. She built her own power base, led her own tribe. If she could do it two hundred years ago, with no knowledge of what she was facing..."
"You think you can do better," Veer finished.
