Alanna rose, somehow. She felt as if someone had pounded her with hammers. “Think there are any more of them?” She accepted her sword and sheathed it carefully.
The Prince shook his head. “I’d say we’ve seen the last of the Ysandir. Come. We’ll lean on each other.”
They made it somehow to the city walls, where Moonlight and Darkness waited patiently for them. Jonathan felt his saddle, then the saddle blanket. “They’re wet,” he said. “It’s been raining out here.”
Alanna pulled herself onto her mare’s back with her last bit of strength. She had no wish to comment.
Jonathan headed east, to a small oasis they knew was nearer the Black City than Persopolis. Alanna wasn’t about to argue that they were going the wrong way. The oasis was closer than home, and all she wanted to do was lie down.
The horses contentedly cropped grass while their owners bathed their aching faces and hands in the cool water. Jonathan finally leaned back against a palm tree. “I wish I’d thought to bring food.”
Alanna lay flat on the grass nearby. “I’m happy just to be alive.”
They rested in silence for a while, breathing the fresh desert air deeply. They watched the sun set in pools of rose and orange, thinking they had never seen a lovelier sunset. Darkness came, and thousands of stars.
“Moonrise soon,” Alanna said at last. “We could try for Persopolis then.”
“We’d never make it.” Jonathan’s quiet voice came from the shadows. “We’re in trouble as it is. Spending the night won’t make it any worse.”
There was a long silence once again. Finally Alanna said, “I suppose you’d like an explanation.”
“Yes.”
She sighed. “It’s a long story.”
“We have time,” he said comfortably. “I don’t intend to move till I hear it. You must admit, I’ve had a shock.”
“I’m sorry,” she said humbly. “I haven’t wanted to lie to you.”
“I should hope so. You’re the worst liar I’ve ever met.” He thought about this a moment, then added, “—or the best. Now I’m all confused. What about your twin?”
“He didn’t want to be a knight,” she replied simply. “He wants to be a great sorcerer.” She sighed. “Today was more Thom’s sort of thing than mine. Father was going to send me to the convent and Thom to the palace. And I didn’t want to learn to be a lady.” Jonathan’s chuckle gave her courage. “Old Maude knew. She said it was right. And—well, I talked Coram around.”
Jonathan knew Coram well. “How?” he asked curiously.
“I threatened to make him see things that were not there. He doesn’t like that.”
Jon chuckled again, imagining Coram seeing visions. “And your father?”
“He doesn’t care about Thom or me,” she said flatly. “I want to be a warrior maiden and do great deeds. Thom likes sorcery, and Father hates it. The only way we could get what we wanted—was to lie. I had to pretend to be a boy. I was always better at the fighting arts than Thom anyway.”
“Whose idea was it to make the switch?”
“Mine,” she admitted ruefully. “Thom might have thought of it, but he’s the careful one. I knew what I wanted, and I didn’t mind taking a risk or two.” She sighed. “I enjoyed the life.”
“You could’ve been caught at any time. You could’ve been a weakling; Roger could’ve found you out.”
“There’ve been warrior maids before. They weren’t weak. And—well, I think my Gift protects me from Duke Roger. I’m not sure, but I think so. And you can’t say I haven’t proved myself.”
“Of course you have, often. You do better than most of us.”
She picked at the grass. “I had to.”
“Alanna. It’s a pretty name,” he said thoughtfully. “Thom. Maude. Coram. Who else knows?”
“George, and his mother.”
“You trusted George?”
“He can be trusted!” she said hotly. “Besides—I needed help once, and I knew he’d never give me away. He’s my friend, Jon.”
“You called me ‘Jon.’”
“You saved my life, back there.”
“You saved mine. We wouldn’t have made it without each other. I knew I was right to take you.”
She lay silent for a while, listening to the sounds in the night. At last she gathered her courage. “What’re you going to do about me?”
His voice was surprised. “Do? I’m not doing anything. As far as I’m concerned, you earned the right to try for your shield a long time ago.” She heard him moving. “No one will learn your secret from me, Alanna.”
Her chin trembled. Tears stung her eyes. “Thank you, your Highness.”
He knelt beside her. “I thought you were calling me Jon. Alanna, you’re crying.”
“It’s been such an awful day,” she sobbed. Hesitantly the young man put his arms around her and drew her against him. “And now you’re being so kind.” She wept into his shirt.
“Not kind,” he told her. “Grateful. Admiring. You’re getting my shirt wet.”
She laughed and straightened, wiping her eyes. “I’m sorry, Jon. I haven’t done that for a long time.”
“I believe it,” he said, sitting back on his heels. “I don’t think you cried even when Ralon was beating on you, and you were just a little boy—girl. Mithros, I’m so confused!” he whistled. “Gods, that’s why you never went swimming! All the times you’ve seen us naked—me naked!”
She gripped his arm. “Jon, you start to act like that, and I’m finished. You’ve got to go on treating me like any other boy, or I’m through!”
He sat beside her. “What insanity! But you’re right.” She could feel his eyes on her face although it was too dark to see him clearly. “How do you plan to be a warrior maiden if no one knows you’re a girl?”
“I’m going to tell everyone, on my eighteenth birthday.”
“What will you do after that?” She could see him grin. “Mithros, Uncle will have fits.”
She relaxed. “I’m going to travel and do great deeds.”
He ruffled her hair. “I believe you. Don’t forget your friends when you’re a legend.”
She laughed. “You’ll be more famous than me! You’ll be king one day!”
“And I’ll need all my friends. Will you still serve me when you’re doing great deeds?”
“I’m your vassal,” she said seriously. “I’ll never forget that.”
“Excellent.” He rose with a slight moan. “I want to keep one of the best fencers at Court on my side. I’m going to bathe. Don’t watch.”
She grinned. “I never watch.” She turned her back as he walked down to the water. Dreamily she stared at the sky, listening to Jon yelp as he splashed chilly water over his aching body.
His voice startled her when he spoke. “You’re only that quiet when you’re worrying about something. What’s bothering you now?”
“Two things,” she admitted. “The Ysandir—we have no way of knowing they’re gone for good or that we got all of them.”
“I know that we did,” Jonathan replied. “Sometimes a man has to rely on his instincts. The Ysandir are gone forever.”
“Doesn’t it seem—well, strange—that a boy and a girl were able to destroy the Bazhir demons?”
“You’re forgetting,” he reminded her gently, “we had help. Even the Bazhir demons couldn’t stand against the gods.”
“I suppose so,” she said dubiously.
“I know so.” Jonathan climbed from the pool and hurried into his clothes. “Your turn. And keep talking—it’ll frighten any animals away.”
“Don’t you watch,” she warned as she stripped and plunged into the chilly water.