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‘J ai,’ a voice said.

Startled awake in the darkness, Jai saw a figure crouching at the entrance of his tent, hand outstretched. He instinctively recoiled, until Winter let out a low rumble of greeting, the calmness of her heart stilling his own.

Kiran grinned, placing a finger to her lips.

‘Come,’ she whispered in sithosi.

Without hesitation, Jai took her hand and followed her out of the tent. Winter followed, her chain clinking in the hushed air.

Night still shrouded the village, though the first hints of dawn brushed the horizon. To Jai’s surprise, he and Kiran weren’t the only ones awake. A youth was perched upon a strange, laddered bamboo structure, almost two storeys tall. A crow’s nest of sorts to scan the horizon for approaching enemies.

Kiran hailed the youth with a soft greeting, but this was not what she had brought Jai to see. Instead, she led Jai on, towards the village edge. Zayn and the best of his men, some fifteen of them, lay alongside their mounts, nested into the fur of the great beasts’ bellies. It was obvious they had only just returned from their patrolling, for the lower halves of the khiroi, and indeed the moccasin boots of the riders, were still coated with the morning dew from the grasslands.

‘We eat,’ she said. ‘Then we train.’

Jai grimaced, thinking of the leafy meal from yesterday. He looked to see if there were campfires for cooking yet, but there were none. Only now did Jai notice too that most of the tents were pitched lower than usual. Such that they were barely a few feet higher than the grass itself.

It was obvious the tribe were hiding. No fire to glow, no smoke to billow, not even the scent of spiced, cooking food to drift on the wind. Nor the silhouettes of their tents to be spotted by passing marauders.

‘Here,’ Kiran said, nudging the back of Jai’s knee with her foot, dropping him into a kneeling position. ‘Learn.’

Jai bit his tongue in indignation as Kiran crouched beside him, reaching out to the dugs of the animal, her flask in one hand, clasping fingers in the other.

She milked the teat, the milk splashing rich, foamy white liquid into the bowl. It was the work of a minute to fill it halfway, and she withdrew the bowl, handing it to Jai.

Jai went to put it to his lips, and earned a stinging flick to the ear for his trouble.

Instead, Kiran steadied his hand, pulling it into position beneath the great beast’s head. The khiro’s small, wrinkled eyes looked at him dully, as Kiran lay her head upon her khiro’s neck.

She rubbed along its throat, feeling for something. As she did so, she chewed on something, the edges of her lips stained green.

With a subtle move, she fetched a thin reed from her saddle bag, green and fresh cut at an angle. The narrow tube was raised to the neck of her khiro, and she knocked it into the beast’s jugular with the flat of her palm.

The khiro twitched, once. Blood, thick and caustic, jetted from the reed into the bowl, staining the milk pink, splotched with clots of red. It was over in seconds, the reed withdrawn, and Kiran spat into her palm, the chewed-up green leaves making a poultice as she pressed it to the wound.

She stepped away, wiping her hands on the dewed grass.

‘See,’ she said, speaking loudly and simply to help him understand. ‘Alkharas are good only for war. Doe, better. Doe feeds you.’

The horror on Jai’s face must have been evident, as she rubbed her belly and waggled her brows, giving Jai a playful grin.

Kiran stirred the mixture with her reed, before popping the tip into her mouth and sucking out the juices within.

She smiled again, her lips red stained, and motioned for Jai to have the first sip.

Jai groaned... but knew, like everything, this was just another test. He lifted the bowl... and swallowed.

It was a drink you could chew, for the clotted mixture clagged upon his teeth, and the back of his throat. It was fat, and rich, and tangy, and sweet, in all the wrong ways. But Jai forced it down, offering it back to Kiran.

She grinned, and withdrew a dumpling from her saddle instead, biting into it with great gusto.

‘Finish,’ she said. ‘It will make you strong.’

Jai took another gulp, looking with trepidation at the remainder, slopping in the bottom of the bowl.

A claw dug into his back, and a mewl from Winter made Jai pause. She pawed at him, panting with excitement. Jai didn’t need the meld to know her jaws were already dripping with saliva.

Jai looked beseechingly at Kiran, who nodded with a roll of her eyes, and the hint of a smile. In seconds, Winter was snorting and slavering into the bowl, nearly knocking it from Jai’s hands so she could lick every inch of what remained.

‘Good,’ Kiran said, taking another bite from her dumpling. ‘Very good. Now... come. We will fight, before the others wake.’

***

JAI STOOD AT THE fighting circle’s centre, rubbing his hands together in the crisp spring air. It was more a force of habit than anything else; his soulbound body could endure it well enough, and it did not cause him much discomfort. More than anything, it helped hide the nerves that trembled his hands.

Kiran had just finished knotting the grass edges, and now stood opposite him, contemplating Jai. Winter watched eagerly from the sidelines, hopeful with the bowl still in her mouth.

Kiran grinned and assumed a low, bow-legged stance.

‘You are with dragon,’ she said. ‘Me, with khiro. You are stronger, yes?’

Jai nodded, though in truth he was not sure. He knew, though, that those bonded to a khiro were not the most powerful of soulbound, their progress along the so-called path stymied by the qualities of their chosen totem.

Though for one bonded with the powerful Alkhara, like Zayn’s, he was not so sure. But certainly, Jai had ascended already, and he doubted Kiran had succeeded in the same yet.

‘Push me out,’ Kiran said, motioning at the grass with her chin. ‘Easy. Quick.’

Jai hesitated, leaving himself open to a swift slap from Kiran that landed squarely on his cheek. It stung, and he could feel his face redden with the rush of blood.

Flushed with embarrassment, Jai lunged at Kiran, attempting to push her out of the ring.

She fluidly sidestepped his advance, a blow to the back of his neck sending him sprawling to the ground. Flashing a playful smile, she extended her hand to help him up.

‘You rush,’ she said. ‘Slow, slow. A fight is like a first fuck.’

Jai groaned, even as her words stirred his loins. That strike... it felt like it had taken all the strength from his body, the shock of it running down his spine to turn his legs to jelly.

‘I’m waiting.’ Kiran prodded him with a toe.

Jai slid his feet into a crouch, rubbing the back of his neck, planning to catch Kiran off guard with an unexpected attack. He launched himself at her, yet Kiran remained poised, effortlessly dodging his move and guiding him into a stumble before pulling back.

‘I see your eyes,’ she remonstrated, motioning with two fingers. ‘I watch your body. It betrays you.’

Cursing, Jai squared up, circling her slowly. He glanced at the surrounding tents, but all was quiet. He was glad of that. It was an embarrassing display of ineptitude.

Jai edged closer, and closer, jabbing punches as she bobbed her head back. He chased her around the circle, cautious, yet keeping up the pressure.

‘Better.’ Kiran grinned.

She stepped into his guard, seizing Jai’s wrists. For a second, they grappled, Jai pushing her back. Her eyes widened at the sudden show of strength... and then Jai’s soles flew up, as a hooked leg took out his knees, his feet flopping into the grass outside the circle.

He stared into the brightening sky, until her face filled his vision.

‘You are strong,’ she said, peering down at him with bemusement.

She tapped his chest.

‘Strong is good.’

Then tapped her own chest.

‘Balance is better.’

Jai lurched to his feet, slapping ineffectually at the fresh grass stains on his trousers.

‘I am better... with a sword ,’ Jai grumbled. ‘Why can’t we...?’

He couldn’t find the words, so mimed chopping in the air.

Kiran shrugged.

‘Fight with a falx, all you think is falx. Fight with your body... all you think is body. Learn body first. Falx... later.’

She tapped her head, then patted Jai on the shoulder, chuckling as he flinched back.

‘Good,’ she said. ‘Enough.’

She spun on her heel, and stalked away, just as the morning reveille, a quieter one this time, brought the village back to life. Winter dropped the bowl at Jai’s feet with a clatter, and nudged it in his direction.

Jai sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. So much for showing off the swordplay he had learned from Rufus, such as it was. It had been a short session, done in private, which told Jai that Kiran was reluctant to teach him, or be seen to do so.

He needed this training, though – he was fully aware of that. So how could he ensure he got it, and got it faster than whatever pace Kiran thought she could afford?

It’s a matter of leverage, he thought. Or, as she put it, balance. After all, she was hardly powerful enough to use the shade spell. But there might be more he had to offer.

THE NOON SUN WAS warm as Navi stomped through the grasslands, alternately cropping and trotting to catch up with the rest of the herd. Jai didn’t mind. After all those years of starvation, she deserved to gorge all day.

‘Tonight, we can cook again,’ Feng muttered over Jai’s shoulder. ‘No sign of the Keldar. They must have moved on.’

‘Moved on where?’ Jai asked, scanning the horizon for any signs of the elusive tribe.

‘Who can say? The others think most tribes are headed east. Can’t trade with the Sabines anymore, so they’ll go to the Phoenix Empire. And everyone knows the legions are on the march.’

Jai chewed his lips, thinking on it.

‘Will the tribes fight together?’ Jai asked.

Feng sniffed.

‘It may have been peacetime with the Sabines, but the tribes have been fighting since long before the War of the Steppe, and since. After the fettered trade began, they have all the more reason for it. If there’s an alliance brewing, we Tainted will be the last to hear of it.’

‘So what, they’ll let the legions take their land?’ Jai asked, incredulous.

‘Let them plant their flags, and draw their maps. The land belongs to the Mother, Jai. No man can own it, no matter how loud they shout it.’

‘What happens when they start building their cities,’ Jai said. ‘When they burn the grass, and plant their crops.’

Feng was silent.

‘I’ll be long dead by the time it matters,’ he finally said.

‘Tell that to the elders that plant their trees,’ Jai said.

Feng had nothing to say to that.