Tanax dismissed the blade of his haken and bowed. Raskos swept past him, the two Legionaries at his side, and picked his way among the corpses. When he reached Sarah, he stopped and prodded her with one boot.

To Maya’s surprise, Sarah responded, her words forced through gritted teeth. “Come a little closer, you plaguing fuck.”

“Now, now.” Raskos looked down at her with his horrible smile. “Your rebellion is over. Your leader is dead. Tell me: Where is Halfmask?”

“Check your fucking chamber pot.” Sarah struggled up on one elbow. Her other shoulder was a blackened ruin, leather and skin burned to identical black char by the blaster bolt. As she moved, the crust cracked and blood seeped through. “He’s too smart for your traps.”

Raskos raised his foot, delicately, and pressed it down against her wound. Sarah’s jaw locked with the effort of stopping a scream.

“Where,” the dux repeated, “is Halfmask?”

“Get off her,” Maya said.

Raskos looked over his shoulder and found himself staring at the point of her haken, divine fire boiling a few inches from his nose. His smile faded.

“That woman is a prisoner,” Tanax said, coming forward. “She’s entitled to medical care.”

“Of course.” The dux didn’t seem amused, but he lowered his foot. Maya didn’t budge.

“Your men fired the first shot,” she said.

Raskos tried to look at her past the blazing haken. There was sweat on his forehead.

“My men had orders to give support if it looked like either of you was threatened,” he said. “For your protection.”

“I wasn’t threatened,” Maya said. “They were going to surrender.”

“A difficult judgment to make at a distance, unfortunately,” Raskos said.

“Unfortunately?” Maya edged her haken closer. “This is what you wanted. A bloodbath, with us as your private executioners.”

“I am not sure I like your tone,” Raskos said. “Agathios Tanax, please control your junior partner.”

“Stand down, Maya,” Tanax said.

Maya felt blood thundering in her head, and deiat pulsing through her body in waves. It would be so easy. Close her hand, and Raskos would be consumed in the fire of the sun, just like that poor rebel. Reach forward, and his rotting smile would melt around her haken.

That’s what being a centarch is, isn’t it? Judgment.

She wasn’t a centarch, though. Not yet.

“Agathios Tanax,” Raskos snapped. “Stop her—”

Maya lowered her haken, the blade flickering and fading.

The dux let out a long breath. “Thank you, Agathios. I understand that emotions can run high in battle—”

Maya had already turned away. She stalked past Tanax, toward the three warbirds. No one realized what she was doing until she grabbed the saddle post of the closest and pulled herself up.

“Maya!” Tanax said. “What are you doing?”

“What we should have done in the first place,” Maya said.