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From his pack, Petrik pulls out what meager food we have when we make camp. One round of soggy bread. Some oats that miraculously stayed dry in their leather pouch, and dried meat.

That’s it.

“It’ll last until we can barter with other travelers on the road,” Kellyn says, for once the optimistic one. Is he trying to get back in our good graces?

It’s not going to work.

“How far is it to the capital?” Temra wants to know.

“Just over a week.”

We get a fire going, and Petrik boils some oats before pulling out his books.

Temra and I stare at the sodden tomes on ancient magic. Though the pages are bloated, the ink still looks mostly intact.

One silent tear slides down the scholar’s cheek. Without a word, Petrik sets to turning the pages close to the fire, letting them dry while he waits for the food to cook. I go to help him. I know what it’s like to lose my life’s work.

Kellyn takes a whetstone to his blade. He opens his mouth occasionally, as though he wishes to say something, then thinks better of it.

Temra approaches the snake, drawing her shortsword. “Let’s go, mercenary.”

“Are you challenging me to a duel?” he asks without humor.

“It’s time for another sparring session.”

The whetstone makes a piercingscritchas Kellyn almost loses his grip on it. “You still want my help honing your skills?”

“Obviously.”

He glances over to where Petrik and I sit. “I thought you all had some private pact not to interact with me.”

Temra smiles. Smiles at the man! “They’re not exactly endeared to you right now, but I need the practice. Prepare me better for the next time I’m outnumbered four to one.”

He grunts before saying, “All right. Let’s go.”

They step away from the fire, finding another clearing a ways off, but they are still within hearing distance.

“When they came after you,” Kellyn says, “what happened?” He holds his longsword up in the air, looking at it rather than my sister.

Temra stretches out her limbs, preparing for their sparring session. “I excused myself to my room. I was debating whether or not to go after Ziva. I’d said some stupid things and needed to apologize.

“Volanna came in first after knocking. She was pleasant as always. She started asking questions about my mother, and I knew she was trying to get me to admit that she had magic. But I lied and attempted to divert the topic.

“Then she started searching my room. I tried to talk her down, but she found the weapons under my bed and shrieked. That brought her sons running; all three of them barged in at once. I kept circling, trying not to let any of them get behind me. Volanna tried to call them off, but they didn’t listen to her. She eventually gave in and helped them.”

Temra bends down to touch her toes, stands, and pulls one ankle up as close to her back as it will reach. “I didn’t expect her to grab me. That was foolish. Even so, I don’t know that anything could have been done against so many.”

Kellyn’s face is a mask of indifference as he sets down his sword. “How did she grab you? Show me.”

Temra steps forward and clamps her fingers around Kellyn’s forearm like a vise.

“It’s instinctual to pull away, but it’s far more effective to strike.” He shows her a series of moves, bringing the flat edge of his free hand down on Temra’s forearm to loosen her grip. He has her grab him again in the same way, then leans into her andmock-knees her in the stomach. “Use the enemy’s closeness against them,” he says.

After several minutes of going through different motions, Kellyn says, “Even I have trouble being outnumbered. When that happens, you have to intimidate or outthink your opponents. That’s harder to teach.”

Eventually they raise their swords and take swings at each other. Listening to Temra’s explanation of what happened has made my chest grow tight. She must have been so scared and alone. I never should have left her.

Petrik doesn’t take his attention off his books. I think he’s trying very hard not to cry anymore. “Thousand-year-old books, and I let them fall in a lake.” His voice cracks at the end. “I’ve never felt more of a failure.”