“He was a dhakim. If not him, then who?” And now that he’s dead, will anyone be able to fix Jaedia? Maya took a long swallow of water and tried to banish the thought.

“And what about Nicomidi? Where does he fit in?”

“I don’t know,” Maya admitted. “Maybe we’ll get the chance to ask him.”

“It’s …” Beq sighed. “I wish I could be … more helpful. Understanding things is supposed to be my job.”

“Beq.” Maya put her hand across the table, fingertips on Beq’s knuckles. Even this faint contact sent shivers up her arm. “I wouldn’t be here without you. You talked Faressa into helping us, you shot that plaguespawn off my back—”

“You could have managed,” Beq said, faintly.

“I trust you with my life,” Maya said. “Obviously. And it’s because you’re clearly worthy of it.”

“Oh.” Beq looked down at her hand. “Thank you.”

There was a long pause.

“When you told me Tanax was coming,” Beq said quietly, “I think I was angry.”

“You were?”

“I don’t … get angry very often. And I knew it was stupid. But I kept thinking that you had another centarch to help you now, so you wouldn’t need me.” Beq swallowed. “And that’s so utterly selfish, I know, because you’re out here trying to help Jaedia, and all I can think about is—”

“Please,” Maya said. “It’s all right. Tanax is … Tanax.” She shook her head. “He may not be quite the plaguing asshole I thought he was, but he’s still not easy to get along with. And I will always need you.”

Beq nodded, blinked, and shifted in her chair. Maya got the sense she was trying to work up to something.

“I wanted to talk to you,” Beq managed eventually.

“You’re doing that,” Maya said. “So far, so good.”

Beq gave a weak smile. “About … that night. Before you fought Tanax.”

“Okay.”

“I kissed you.”

“You did.”

“And I ran away.”

“I wouldn’t say ran—”

“And then we talked about it, afterward, but we haven’t … had much time since then.”

“Yeah.”

Beq took a deep breath. “Can I tell you something that probably makes me insane?”

“Um. If you want?”

“When we were down in the tunnel, and that thing was all over me, and it was trying to get in my nose and mouth and—” She shuddered again. “I thought I was going to die. And all I could think about was … why did I run away?”

“Really?”

“I told you it made me insane, right?” Beq pulled her hand away from Maya and hugged herself. “When we didn’t die after all, I promised myself I would come and talk to you. Only now I’m doing it and I still feel crazy and I’m kind of wishing I’d chickened out and gone to bed—”

“Beq!” Maya said, laughing.