Selene woke to her mother’s soft face and voice. She was back inside.

“Sweetie,” her mother said, and Selene groaned, rolling over in her bed, wincing as her body ached with the movement.

“We must get ready, love,” her mother continued, and Selene opened an eye.

The stupid choosing ceremony. “I’m not going.”

She wasn’t getting married, and the crowd had looked women heavy, which meant multiple wives to the same men. They didn’t need her.

“Selene, I know it was hard on ...