Had I been sober, I never would have said anything that came out of my mouth that night. It was not appropriate, neither the time nor the place. It was presumptuous. It was a stupid thing to do, but I was stoned, and she was magnetic. “The thing about me, Shayat, is that you could do better than me. I have not held to Semadran standards well at all, especially in Vilahna. I mean to say, I am not marriageable. But,” and here I laughed, and I looked at her, “but if I were marriageable, I’d court you, I think. You knew how I felt in Rabatha. I’m sure you did. And I feel more strongly now. You are…incomparable.”

Shayat turned to face me. She wore a strange smile, something like surprise and victory and humor all threaded together. “You are very stoned,” she said.

“Well, yes. But you were right when you said I was carelessly honest. It’s all true.”

She raised her eyebrows. “That was an out, Ariah. That was me giving you the chance to pretend you never said any of that.”

“I know what it was,” I said. I inched closer to her. “I don’t want an out.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you.” She gave me a surprised, intrigued look. I think she thought I would pull back, that I would come to my senses. I didn’t. I laughed instead, giddy, high now in an altogether different way.

She held her place. She didn’t back away from me, and she didn’t close the distance between us. She held fast. “Why are you going back?”

“I’m to be godfather to Dirva’s baby. His wife is pregnant.”

“Godfather?”

“It’s a red elf thing.”

“He’s not red.”

“He is and he isn’t. It’s complicated, and it’s not mine to discuss. What about you, Shayat? What do you want?”

She was silent for a long time. She turned to face the fire, her hand hiding her mouth. Her eyes—large, dark eyes with long, dark lashes—creased at the corners, the shadow of a smile. “Well,” she said slowly, “I have all the time in the world to decide that. It’s not one thing, it’s never one thing, and it’s not always the same thing. Are you cold, Ariah?”

“A little.”

“It will be warm in my tent,” she said, and then she doused the campfire.