Anji shifted her gaze to the mountains standing sentinel over the village, so much larger now after a day of travel. Their sawtooth tops cut a black line through the swath of stars overhead.

“You’re sure we need to take that route?” Anji said, hating the quiver in her voice.

A bat screeched and dove straight for the horse, startling her into a rear that almost knocked the Hawk out of the saddle. After shifting back into place, the Hawk leaned forward and rubbed a gloved hand against the mare’s neck.

“Did you hear me?” said Anji. “I asked if we—”

“Yes, we’re taking the pass,” said the Hawk in one breath, the mask shifting to watch the bats flying past. She levered herself straight in the saddle, then craned the mask down toward Anji. Sitting so high on the horse, the woman made Anji feel tiny as an insect as she went on in a cold voice, “I’ve no wish to come across more of Rolandrian’s patrols, and they and everyone else looking for you will think twice before taking such a route.”

Anji scoffed. “They’re right to. You might be willing to risk your skin, but I want to keep mine as long as I still can.”

“And what would a stable girl turned laundress know about a mountain pass four days’ travel from Linura? Have you even seen these mountains before today?”

Anji bit back a retort. Working in a castle full of people, she’d heard her share of stories of the wider world. Soldiers and couriers liked to talk. There was no way for Anji to have verified their tales even if she’d had a mind to. But as far as she knew, Tumbledown pass was home to myriad horrors. Vengeful storms, snowfalls, landslides that had buried entire caravans. Insects, poisonous snakes that hid in icy fissures, bears twice the size of a house that could rip your limbs off. She crossed her arms. “Go fuck yourself.”

She couldn’t be sure, but something in the Hawk’s bearing told Anji the woman was grinning behind that mask. Leaning over the saddle, she said, “If you’re afraid, just say so. No need to be so crass. That may have fooled a couple drunks in the Hammered Smith, but it won’t work on me.”

“I’m not afraid,” said Anji, forcing herself to keep her foot still lest she stomp it like a child. “Besides, how will you get paid if I disappear down a crevasse?”

“You’ll not die before you’re supposed to,” said the Hawk.

The horse reared again at the approach of more bats.