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J ai crouched in the grass, stroking Winter’s head as he watched over his camp, unseen. It was alive with the sound of laughter, and merriment. What a difference a week had made.

In the morning, they would finally reach the Kidaran camp once more. The going had been slow, for the wounded could not take the gruelling pace Jai had hoped to set.

And there had been many casualties. That, Jai regretted. But one more wounded was one less dead, and it was the latter that weighed the heaviest upon his heart.

He had sacrificed two khiroi in their honour, old, infertile does bought with coin from the Keldar. They all had mourned, together. For he and the Kidara too had suffered losses. In all, fifty. Jai did not distinguish between sides.

He wondered, still, if the Keldar would have accepted his terms had he approached under a banner of peace. Unlikely, he knew. This was the way of the steppe, and Jai could only be thankful they had been spared more bloodshed. Indeed, the Keldar had joined him as was the manner of any conquered tribe in the Great Steppe, ceding half of their belongings.

It had surprised Jai how civilly this had been done, but it was apparent by now that such conquests were not uncommon among the Sithians. And for the Keldar, who had conquered others by this method themselves and thought their fate was to become fettered, this union and their tithe was a welcomed alternative.

Now Jai only needed to reach the Kidaran camp once more. With his five hundred warriors reunited with their two hundred and fifty, he would be a force to be reckoned with. Perhaps not enough yet to defeat a Sabine legion, but enough to make a start.

Jai turned to stare out at the mountains behind him. They were tall as anything he’d seen before, even the Petrus Mountains he had been imprisoned within at Porticus. It was strange to finally see something other than endless horizon.

Beneath them, he could make out the orange lights of the Kidaran camp. So close, he’d been near to ordering a march through the night. But the wounded needed their rest. Jai, though, had decided he could not wait. And if he was to be rited anytime soon, he would have to get used to riding the steppe alone.

Jai turned to Winter, and scratched her beneath her chin. He was tempted to go back to his tent, but he was tired of the interruptions and politics of the camp, where he’d found a stoic, mysterious silence was all that kept him from revealing his tentative grasp of Sithian customs or speaking words he still struggled to pronounce. This night, he was itching to be away.

‘Wanna go for a ride, girl?’ Jai asked.

She yipped in agreement, and Jai grinned. He went to Baal, saddled nearby, and mounted up. By now, Jai was used to the broad-backed beast, and so too had Baal changed since the battle. It seemed Jai had earned his spurs in Baal’s eyes, for whereas before he had fought Jai’s pull on the reins, he now responded as docile as a lamb.

Jai kicked his heels, and they rode on through the grass, headed for one of the scouts keeping watch. He needed to let Harleen know where he was, lest they find his tent empty and panic.

To Jai’s surprise, Jai found Devin, seated upon his Alkhara, staring at the Kidaran campfires.

‘A fine night,’ Jai said, trotting up to him.

Devin started, then allowed Jai a smile and motioned for Jai to join him.

‘A fine night indeed,’ Devin said. ‘I welcome the morrow, where I might greet the rest of my tribe.’

Jai knew Devin was laying it on thick, but he appreciated the sentiment.

‘I am glad you feel that way,’ Jai said. ‘Mother knows I might not were I in your shoes.’

Devin shook his head ruefully.

‘To keep my people safe,’ he said, ‘I would do anything. Even marry a woman I had not yet met.’

Jai looked at him, surprised. Devin shrugged.

‘It is our way.’ He sighed wistfully. ‘Never had I seen so many Tainted in one place,’ he said. ‘We were the two largest Tainted tribes on the Great Steppe. We would have become almost a Great Tribe of our own. Imagine that... a Tainted Great Tribe.’

‘Now you are part of a Great Tribe,’ Jai said. ‘Untainted, Tainted – it no longer matters. Your people are safer than they ever were, even if I rule above you.’

Devin uncorked a skin, and offered it to Jai.

‘That you do,’ Devin allowed, motioning for Jai to swig.

Jai smelled the acrid scent of khymis, and braced himself, letting the cloying, sweet liquid burn its way down his throat. He choked back a splutter, and followed Devin’s contemplative gaze towards the horizon.

‘We have sold our fair share of fettered,’ Devin confessed. ‘I hold no grudge against you. I am only grateful we were spared the same fate.’

Jai shook his head.

‘How could you do it?’ Jai asked, handing back the drink. ‘When it is the fate you fear most yourselves? The Valor avoided it where they could, and they do not even honour the Pact.’

Devin shrugged. ‘We do,’ he said. ‘And we never sold Sithians. Tainted or not.’

‘That is cold comfort,’ Jai replied. ‘There will be no fettering in my tribe. Is that understood?’

Devin held his hands up in peace.

‘I regret my part in it,’ he said. ‘But when a bunch of foreigners fall into your lap... if it wasn’t us, it would be someone else.’

‘I would not call a band of traders going about their business falling into your lap,’ Jai snapped.

‘Nothing like that,’ Devin said hastily. ‘As I said, we follow the Pact. It was just a bunch of Huddites, seeking refuge in the east.’

Jai froze. Then his hand had seized the man’s collar, pulling him closer.

‘Was there a girl?’ Jai asked. ‘A Dansk one?’

Devin’s brows furrowed.

‘How did you—?’

‘What did you do with them?’ Jai demanded. He realised he was yelling, and Devin’s eyes were wide with fear. The Keldar prince’s Alkhara shuddered, and Jai released him, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

‘Where did you sell them?’ Jai demanded once more.

Devin was breathing heavily, his hand upon the hilt of his blade. Winter snarled at him, and he raised his hand away slowly.

‘Answer me!’ Jai bellowed.

‘To the Caelite,’ Devin blurted. ‘I’m sorry. Please, my khan, I did not mean...’

‘Why?’ Jai asked. ‘Why them?’

Devin was too terrified to speak, and Jai realised his own hand was on his hilt.

Twin spots of light had appeared on Devin’s chest, and Jai realised that in his rage, he had allowed his mana to roil through his body. His eyes were glowing.

Jai took a shuddering breath and closed his eyes, sucking his mana back to his core.

‘Devin, this girl is important to me,’ Jai said, feeling his heart rate begin to settle. ‘I need to know what happened to her.’

Finally, Devin spoke, stammering.

‘We sent her together with the Huddites to the Caelite two weeks ago,’ he said. ‘To fund the bride price, nothing more, I swear it.’

‘Why them?’ Jai demanded once more. ‘Why not to a fettered trader?’

‘Because the fettered traders are all west,’ Devin uttered, his face still pale with shock. ‘They go to buy captive Dansk to sell to the Phoenixians – there’s a war there.’

‘And what use have the Caelite for fettered?’ Jai hissed, his suspicion plain.

‘Who can say? We only know they pay for fettered, though their prices are so low, most choose to make the journey to the east or west. She was a noble, ripe for ransom, and only the Caelite can fly their roqs to negotiate terms. Can you imagine one of us, trying to reach the Dansk, or Sabines, in the midst of this war? Better it be their problem. We were poorly compensated, if that helps.’

‘It does not,’ Jai uttered, feeling the blood drain from his face.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to come up with a plan. From what he’d learned in the Kidara’s approach to the Yaltai Mountains, the Caelite kept to themselves, but were known too for trading in rare goods, for their winged members flew far afield, seeking the secrets of the universe.

It made sense, now, why the Keldar had come this way. Not knowing what to do with Erica and the band of Huddites, they had taken her to the only people that might be able to negotiate a ransom in the fog of war. He realised had the Caelite been closer than the Kidara when he’d been a Valor captive, Sindri might well have traded him to the Caelite too.

Either way, the answers would not lie here.

‘I ride for the Kidaran camp,’ Jai announced, startling Devin. ‘Let Harleen and Sindri know.’

‘Yes, sire,’ Devin said, lowering his head. Beneath, Winter growled from the grass, making him shudder.

Jai clucked his tongue, giving Baal free rein. The beast trembled with anticipation, and then Jai lurched forward, riding for his home.