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J ai plunged through the darkness, a borrowed blade at his hip, and Winter perched behind him. His soulbound eyes could see well enough, the grass turned silver by the crescent moon, a subtle glow shrouded by an overcast sky.

His soldiers followed. Two hundred riders, blinded by the night, placing their trust in their surefooted mounts. Even Gurveer had joined, his mouth pinched into a grim line, yet resolute in his refusal to abandon his tribe to face the unknown alone.

Beneath Jai, Chak’s snorting breaths were like great bellows, a rhythmic breathing Jai matched as he soulbreathed from where he sat.

Jai had never felt more alive. This was what it was to be a Steppeman. To feel his mount shifting beneath his thighs, the sharp sting of the wind against his cheeks. The stark beauty of it all made his spirit soar. This was not just living. It was freedom.

By now, the Valor’s campfires were within sight, flickering like far-off stars. They had pushed deep into the night, but the sun’s first tender blush was already staining the horizon, urging Jai and his force onward.

Yet even as the lights grew brighter, they flickered out, one by one, until all was dark where they had once been. It was obvious why.

‘Harleen,’ Jai called out. ‘Feng! Zayn has heard the thunder of our mounts.’

The duo rode up alongside him, their weariness visible in the harsh moonlight. Their eyes, underscored by deep circles, mirrored his own fatigue. They were exhausted, as was he. Yet fatigue must yield to necessity. Now was the moment of reckoning.

‘They will ride out to face us,’ Jai declared, raising his voice against the wind. ‘They won’t risk their camp. Be prepared!’

His flag bearer, forever listening, signalled, though Jai doubted many could discern it in the veiled darkness. Still, they pressed on, Jai flexing his free hand and pulsing mana through.

He focused, and he sculpted a glintlight at his fingertip. He released it, letting the thin, invisible thread of mana control its movements. It hung above like a second moon, and his soldiers roared their approval, not knowing how much it was costing him.

Ahead, Jai saw the Valor in the distance. Their silhouettes surged in shifting shadow, and despite the solid wall of two hundred warriors at his back, a rush of fear coiled in his stomach. He set his teeth, and let out a cry of his own, ululating as they did.

A responding cry echoed back, and now he could see the distinctive outline of Zayn’s humped Alkhara leading the enemy.

No, not the enemy. Not if this goes the way I hope...

‘Slow!’ Jai bellowed. The flag bearer flapped his flag, now visible in the ethereal light. He yanked on Chak’s reins, straining against the Alkhara’s combative spirit. It took a moment of wrestling for Chak to comply, and even then, Jai could see the unquenchable desire for battle flickering in the aged beast’s wild eyes.

‘Halt!’ The order flew from Jai’s lips, as the flag bearer nearly fumbled his ensign in response. The command echoed down the ranks, and gradually, the thundering momentum of the warriors behind him slowed until Chak stood nearly motionless, save for the excited pawing of its feet.

‘Sire,’ Harleen’s voice rang out through the tense silence. ‘They’re still advancing.’

‘They must think this their only chance,’ Feng added, his voice desperate. ‘We must meet their charge, or be swept aside.’

Jai spat out a curse, sawing at Chak’s reins and manoeuvring to the side of his flag bearer. ‘Parlay,’ he snarled. ‘Now.’

The boy scrambled to obey, his hands trembling, nearly dropping it. As soon as the new message was hoisted, Jai snatched the banner from his hands.

‘Hold here,’ Jai called out.

‘Jai!’ Feng yelled. ‘You can’t—’

Feng’s protest was swallowed by the night as Jai spurred Chak forward, the Alkhara letting out a low moan of excitement as they raced ahead of the milling Kidara. Jai’s glintlight drifting above, casting him in a circle of light, even as Winter dismounted, leaping in bounds, her scales blazing white in the glow.

Fifty yards.

Still the Valor came, and Jai swept the banner back and forth, even as the war cries of their warriors rang in his ears.

Thirty.

Zayn’s Alkhara led the pack, far ahead of the rest, and Jai could do nothing but wave his flag as the two great khiroi charged head-on. Zayn was now in sight, his beast pounding the earth, its silver-streaked back a ghostly blur under the spectral glow. Zayn’s blade was held high, glinting ominously in the light.

Ten...

Zayn’s mount twisted away at the sawing of its reins, its rider’s eyes wide and staring, shock upon Zayn’s face at the sight of Jai. The Valor rode on, parting like water around a stone. Jai looked behind, and was relieved to see the Kidara had not followed, though Harleen rode the line, blade bare, holding back their soldiers.

‘You dare ride on us?’ Sindri screamed.

Jai wheeled, confronting a fuming, disordered Sindri, her face a taut mask of fury. Her blade whipped up, but a foot from his neck, and Chak reared, snorting his displeasure. A screech from Winter set Jai’s teeth on edge, and he held up his free hand in peace.

Warily, Sindri lowered her blade.

‘I knew you do not follow the Pact,’ Jai said. ‘But what Sithian rejects the rules of parlay?’

‘Those who have no other choice,’ Sindri snarled. ‘What have we to discuss? You are a fool, Jai, to come here. Now you are our hostage once more.’

‘Not so,’ Jai said. ‘I come to talk, and I give you one more chance to honour it. I promise you, I come not for war.’

‘What, then?’ Zayn called, keeping a wide berth. ‘Trade? We have nothing you could wish for, and our khiroi are not for sale.’

The two Alkharas’ eyes were fixed upon each other’s, pawing at the ground. Chak was larger by several hands, but Zayn’s was younger, more muscular. Jai had to use all his strength to keep the great khiro under his control, letting his flag tumble, heaving at his reins with a white-knuckled grip.

‘That is where you are wrong,’ Jai said, twisting Chak around. ‘Come, let us discuss it where ears cannot pry.’

He did not wait for an answer, instead spurring back towards the thin strip of no man’s land between the two armies, keeping his pace slow so as not to startle Sindri’s blade through his throat. It was so close, the two armies could have spoken with but a weak shout.

He saw Kiran try to intercept him, but she thought better of it as Chak jerked past, as if she saw something in his eyes.

Soon enough, he discerned the rumble of hooves behind him as Sindri and Zayn followed his lead. When he finally halted, he was just out of earshot, but not too far that the Valor couldn’t chase him down should he dare attempt an escape.

Trust begot trust. This was a gamble. And he’d stake his life to win it.

‘What, then?’ Sindri spat, her voice low as she cantered up to him, Zayn trailing by her side.

Jai straightened his back, and met her gaze.

‘I come here not as an heir, but a khan. And I come with an offer. Allow me to anoint you as the lord and lady of the esteemed clan of Valor, under my banner. Join us. You are Tainted no longer. Join the Kidara.’