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“No. It’s warm, like being wrapped in a blanket in front of a fire.

Like sitting in the — I’m sorry, Teo, I don’t know this word.

Picture it for me, Ellie, please.” Humming softly, I focus on the image she’s building, and nod.

“It’s harder between languages than I thought.

I apologize. I’ll get used to it. Ah . It’s a sort of chair, just one I’ve never seen the likes of before.

Very full arms, full back. A sort of worn out red color?

With a patterned rug in front of it. It looks soft, and there’s a quilt on it. Does that help?”

He nods, smiling with something close to wonder. “It does! That’s Kyla’s grandmother’s chair. Ellie, Kyla and I used to sit on that rug and listen to stories when we were little. Axton too sometimes. But that grew less and less as he was pulled away for BloodLetter duties. So it doesn’t hurt you?”

“No. It feels like home. It’s different from what you were told as a child. How are you, Teo?”

His voice drops, whispering secrets to her. “Not well, Lollygirl. The world has faded without you.”

“Keep your promises to her, she says, and she’ll keep hers to you. You skipping stones reminds her. Do you remember a cold lake in snow-touched mountains, a broken cabin door, and a?—”

Teo barks out an almost alarmed sound, clapping his hand over mine, over her bone, and flushes red. “ That is not a memory to be shared, Lolly!” He’s half-chortling, half-embarrassed, fingers wrapped tightly around mine as though that alone could silence her voice.

“And a roaring fire? What did you think I was going to say?” I tease, voice brimming with barely contained laughter at his complete loss of composure. He turns to me, a mock-threatening look on his face.

“Woman! You’re impossible!” He groans dramatically, and though it’s not clear to me whether he’s talking to Ellie or myself, we’re both grinning, faces tilted toward each other, shared affection obvious. I’m about to answer when the rustle of pine needles draws my attention.

It is both the luck of the Gods and the curse of the Ender that Axton chooses this exact moment to walk out of the dense woods and into the open shoreline, Kylabet trailing on his heels.

Both are barefaced other than the typical paint that the People of the Blood wear, so it is easy to see Kyla’s astonishment, and Axton’s anger.

“What is this?” Axton is trying to keep his tone level, as though he recognizes his fury is disproportionate to the moment, and is making an effort to tame it.

Kyla’s eyes are narrow, brow furrowed; she studies us in a way that is uncomfortable.

There is nothing that should be too unusual about us, other than our surprising closeness, but Teo’s nostrils flare in barely contained panic, and though he attempts to keep his breathing casual and calm, his chest is rising and falling in shallow, almost panting motions.

Ellie’s bone is hot, trapped between our palms. “Such an unexpectedly… friendly …scene, Blood Rider.”

Teo nods, not looking away from my face; if eyes could ask for help, his would be begging. Lorcan whispers a suggestion against my back, and I smile softly at Teo, before pulling my hand from his, Ellie still in my grip.

“I’m being taught a skill, BloodLetter,” I say, purposefully keeping my tone light, unbothered. There is nothing suspicious in this moment I repeat to myself. “But being made fun of, despite my many admirable endeavors.”

“A skill?” Mistrust drips from his words like rain from the trees, and he strides towards us.

“Of sorts,” I reply, reaching into my pocket and pulling a few small stones from it while leaving Ellie behind, hidden. “Teo says a pastime. But it seems to require more effort than that.”

“You’re wasting time on skipping stones?” Axton directs to Teo, voice hard with judgment, and Teo bows under the weight, casting his eyes toward the ground.

“Is joy ever a waste?” I ask softly, remembering the words that were said to me by a kind woman who laughed so hard she cried. It seems an innocuous thing, but all three look at me sharply before Kyla replies slowly, “What an odd saying, Binder. Is it something from your people?”

There’s a sort of prompt in her voice I don’t completely understand, but accept, so I’m careful in my response, vague memories of Axton talking about ‘tasting truth’ shaping my answer. “It is something someone very dear to me used to say.”

Nodding tightly, she turns to her brother, lips pressed together. “BloodLetter? Our meeting?” she asks, but he doesn’t move away.

“And something in this moment made you think of it?” He is staring at me, face disturbingly blank; I wonder how much they heard before coming from the copse .

“Simple candles light fires, BloodLetter. I am curiously happy at the moment, despite everything. And when I’m happy, I tend to think of those who contributed to it.”

“Hmmm. My Blood Rider contributes to this…happiness?” The question is curt, somehow dangerous, and demands honesty.

“He does, though he laughs at me.”

“Show me,” he commands.

Startled, I tilt my head at him, completely baffled. “Show you?”

“Your stones. How you skip them.” It’s not a request; he is looking for something, and it makes me nervous, but I nod.

“Alright, BloodLetter. Prepare to be impressed,” I say, my voice firm and earnest, and his brow wrinkles in confusion.

“I can’t tell if you’re serious, SoulBinder. Why in the world would I ever be impressed by a child’s game?”

“ Bone Keeper,” I reply, attempting and failing to keep frustration from coloring my words. “And you asked for a demonstration.”

“And you are nothing if not accommodating,” Kyla interjects dryly.

“Just so,” I reply somberly. Then, picking a promising rock from the bunch in my hands, do my best to cast it across as Teo instructed, rather than down .

It skips once, twice, and then tumbles towards a third before sinking, and I don’t bother to hide the small flash of satisfaction on my face.

“Ha! Three times! You see? I am entirely undeserving of your Rider’s censure of my abilities. ”

“Three is a matter of pride?” He sounds so dismissive, which somehow, as always, sparks my temper.

“Small victories add up over time, I suppose.”

Nodding, he walks over to me, Kylabet just behind him.

“Shall I instruct you on how it’s done, SoulBinder?

” He towers over me, too close to be casual — a purposeful show of strength or power, and I try not to let myself be intimidated.

“My Blood Rider may have given you ideas on the way things work which aren’t accurate.

And it’s always best to follow the rules, even in things as seemingly inconsequential as skipping stones.

” Face dark, he stares down at me, and says softly, almost threateningly, “I’ll choose from the ones you’ve already picked.

Empty your pockets as well, hmm? So I know you’re not keeping the best of the bunch from me. ”

I don’t think he expects me to do so so willingly, but I shrug, and pull the entire lot out.

Teo is practically vibrating behind me, his attempts to disguise his near-panic doing more harm than anything else.

There’s no reason for him to be so edgy in the moment, and Axton knows that, eyes flicking between me and his Rider.

Kyla is silent behind her brother, hand resting on her sword, leaning forward slightly, as if at the ready for confrontation.

The air, which only moments before had been so serene and soft, is now tense and sparking with uncomfortable energy.

“Take your choice, BloodLetter.” I offer, shaking the rocks in my hands before him. Ellie’s bone is almost indistinguishable from the rest — I’m overwhelmingly grateful that Teo didn’t choose a vertebrae or something similar, where the marrow is exposed and can’t be disguised in a pile of stones.

“Most of these are useless,” the BloodLetter grunts, poking discontentedly at my hand, and I frown up at him.

“Then choose your own if you find my selection so lacking,” I snap back, and he raises a sardonic brow at my tone, still staring into my open palm.

“Touchy, touchy, Binder. Are your feelings hurt?” A moment later, he freezes, then slowly, slowly raises his eyes to Teo.

The muscles on his jaw tense from his clenched teeth, his full lips curled in something like disgust or disappointment.

When Axton finally speaks, it’s almost a snake’s hiss of sound.

Without looking away with Teo, the BloodLetter very purposefully picks a misshapen rock from my hand and shows it to me.

“You shouldn’t let your feelings get involved in things like this.

But don’t worry, Binder. I’ll fix the situation.

Teo clearly didn’t explain what makes a good skipping stone.

First, they should be flat.” The BloodLetter tosses it into the lake with a careless motion, then picks up another.

“Second, not too large.” The stone follows the first, and Teo’s breath is now stuttering, though his face is unchanged.

Kyla’s eyes dart from Teo to my hand to her brother; she opens her mouth slightly, as though she is going to speak, but then presses her lips together, her chin jutting forward.

“Third,” Axton continues, “not too roughly shaped.” Here, he grabs Ellie’s bone, and still staring at Teo, throws it into the water.

Teo makes a strange, swallowed, almost-sound, just a brief exclamation in the back of his mouth that disappears as soon as it starts.

I watch where she sinks beneath the surface, watch the ripples spread and fade, then turn to Teo, smiling reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, Rider. I trust your instruction still.

As you trust my abilities.” A pause. “To follow them.” He looks at me, confused, then nods, shoulders relaxing, and forces an answering grin.