"Precisely. Killian will handle things until I can return. Obey him without question. Do you understand?"
Miles turned and left without waiting for an answer.
Tavi sighed and crossed the tiles to help Fade finish assembling the cot and bedding. On the other side of the room, Gaius lay on his back, his skin grey and pale. Killian knelt over him, his tea brazier alight, and some noxious-smelling steam drifted up from the coals.
"Tavi," Fade said, his voice low. "I can't do this, I can't be near Miles. He'll recognize me."
"That would be bad?" Tavi whispered back.
"I'd have to fight him." The words were simple, gentle, unadorned with anything but a faint tone of sadness or regret. "I must leave."
"We need your help, Fade," Tavi said. "Gaius needs your help. You can't abandon him."
Fade shook his head, then asked, "What does Miles know about me?"
"Your name. That I trust you. That Gaius sent you here to the Academy with me."
"Blighted furies." Fade sighed. "Tavi, I want you to do something for me. Please."
"Name it," Tavi said at once.
"Tell Miles nothing more about me. Even if he asks. Lie, make excuses, whatever you need to do. We can't afford for him to fly into a rage now."
"What?" Tavi asked. "Why would he do that?"
"Because," Fade said, "he's my brother."
Chapter 13
Though she had been unconscious for much of the day, by the time Isana had packed and settled into the covered litter, she was exhausted.
She had never flown in a litter before, either open to the elements or closed, and the experience felt far too familiar to be so terrifying. It looked little different than any covered coach, at least from the inside, which made it ail the more disconcerting to see, out the coach's windows, the occasional soaring bird of prey or feathery tendril of cloud tinted dark gold by the deepening evening. She stared out at the gathering night and the land far below for a time, her heart beating too quickly in her chest.
"It's been getting dark for so long," Isana murmured, only half-aware that she'd said it out loud.
Serai looked up from the embroidery in her lap and glanced out the window. The light colored the pearls on her collar in shades of rose and gold. "We're flying into the sunset, Steadholder, high and quickly at that. The sun will outpace us in time. I've always loved evenings, though. I rather enjoy spending more time in them."
Isana turned her attention to the woman, studying her profile. Serai's emotional presence was barely there-something feather-light and nebulous. When the slave spoke, there was very little of the depth of emotional inflection Isana was used to feeling from those around her. Isana could count the people who had successfully concealed their emotions from her on the fingers of one hand.
Isana lifted her fingers to the front of her dress, touching them thoughtfully to the hidden ring on its chain. Serai was obviously more formidable than she appeared. "Do you fly often?" Isana asked her.
"From time to time," Serai replied. "The journey may take until this time tomorrow, possibly longer. We'll not stop until Rolf's men need to change places in the harness, Steadholder, and that may be long after dark. You should rest."
"Do I look ill?" Isana asked.
"Amara told me of your encounter this morning," Serai replied. Her expression never changed, and the flicker of her needle did not slow, but Isana felt a faint current of trepidation in the courtesan's bearing. "It would be enough to exhaust anyone. You're safe now."
Isana regarded Serai quietly for a moment, and asked, "Am I?"
As safe here as in your own home," Serai assured her, a dry edge lurking beneath the lightly given words. "I'll watch, and wake you if anything happens."
Serai's voice, presence, and manner rang with the subtle tone of truth, something few honest folk could ever hide successfully, and Isana felt herself relax, at least for a moment. The woman meant to protect her-of that much, at least, she felt certain. And Serai was right. The shock and startled fear on the face of the young man Isana had killed still tainted her every thought. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
She didn't expect to be able to sleep, but when she opened her eyes again, there was pale light flowing into the litter from the opposite windows, and her neck and shoulders felt stiff and uncomfortable. She had to blink her eyes for several moments to clear the unexpected sleep from them.
"Ah," Serai said. "Good morning, Steadholder."
"Morning?" Isana said. She fought back a yawn and sat up. There was a rolled cloak behind her head and a heavy, soft blanket covering her. "Did I sleep?"
"Most deeply," Serai confirmed. "You wouldn't stir when we stopped last night, and Rolf was a dear and loaned you his cloak when we got moving again."
"I'm sorry," Isana said. "Surely you rested as well?"
"Not just yet," the courtesan said. "I've been here, as I said I would-but for a few necessary moments, and Rolf sat here with you until I returned."
"I'm sorry," Isana repeated, embarrassed. She offered the cloak to Serai. "Here, please. You should rest."
"And leave you without conversation?" Serai said. "What kind of traveling companion would I be if I did such a thing." She gave Isana a small smile. "I've a touch of metalcrafting in my family's blood. I can go for a few days without."
"That doesn't mean it's good for you," Isana said.
"I must confess that as a rule, things which may not be good for me seem to hold an unwholesome attraction," she said. "And in any case, we should be arriving in the capital within the hour."
"But I thought you said it would take at least a full day."
Serai frowned, staring out the window. The blue-white light of dawn, pure and clear, made her skin glow, and her dark eyes seemed all the deeper. "It should have. Rolf said that we were fortunate to be flying with an unusually swift wind at our backs. I've never experienced such a thing before, between any of the cities, much less flying from the far provinces."
Isana collected her thoughts for a moment. This development changed things. She had less than an hour to prepare herself for the capital, and it might be the only chance she had to speak with Serai in relative privacy. There was little time to discover whatever she could from the woman through conversation-which meant that there was little point to subtlety.
Isana took a breath and addressed the courtesan. "Do you travel this way often?"
"Several times each season. My master finds all sorts of reasons to send me to visit other cities."
"Master. You mean Gaius," Isana said.
Serai's lips pursed thoughtfully. "I am a loyal subject of the Crown, of course," she said. "But my owner is the Lord Forcius Rufus. He is the cousin to the High Lord of Forcia, and holds estates at the northern end of the Vale."
"You live in the Amaranth Vale itself?" Isana asked.
"At the moment, yes," Serai replied. "I'll be missing the orchards in bloom, which is a pity. It makes the whole Vale smell like paradise. Have you seen it?"
Isana shook her head. "Is it as beautiful as everyone says?"
Serai nodded and sighed. "If not more so. As much as I love to travel, I find that I miss my home there. Still, I suppose that I am glad to travel and even more glad to return. Perhaps I am doubly fortunate."
"It sounds like a lovely place." Isana folded her hands in her lap. "And an even lovelier conversational diversion."
Serai looked back to Isana, smiling. "Does it?"