They stood at the base of the valley, where they’d left the three swiftbirds. Tanax, as Maya had hoped, had been shielded by his panoply, and he’d awoken after a few hours. After some quickheal, Beq was walking, albeit with a limp. As for Maya herself, Beq had wrapped the through-and-through wound tight enough to make it hard to breathe, given her all the quickheal she could stomach, and proclaimed her intention to drag her to every alchemical healer in Grace, sanctioned or not. For the moment, she could move, though with considerable pain, and that would have to be enough.

Jaedia showed no outward signs of injury, aside from the small punctures at the back of her neck, and her breathing and pulse were steady. But she also showed no signs of waking up, and Maya worried. The faster we get her back to the Forge, the better. She winced at a spike of pain. I suppose that goes for me, too.

None of them would have made it out of the valley under their own power. The big, spider-legged things—not plaguespawn, Gyre had said, but “constructs”—had carried them, with surprising gentleness, down the rocky slopes. Now they waited a little ways off, with Gyre standing among them. Maya looked at him, then over at Beq.

“We have a lot to do when we get back,” she said, apropos of nothing. “Find out who Nicomidi was working with besides Raskos, and figure out what in the plague he meant by ‘hearing the Chosen.’ And that black spider-thing—” Maya shivered. “I think Baselanthus knows more than he’s telling. And—”

“Go talk to him,” Beq said, smiling slightly.

Maya sighed and winced again. Even that hurt. Moving slowly and carefully, she left the birds behind and climbed the slight rise to where Gyre was waiting. He crossed his arms as she approached, and Maya fought the urge to touch the Thing for calm.

“So,” she said.

“So.” Gyre hesitated. “You’re going to be all right?”

“Beq thinks so. I’m lucky, apparently.” Maya gave a careful shrug. “Or your girlfriend was trying to keep me alive.”

“Her name was Kit,” Gyre said. “And I seriously doubt that, to be honest.”

“Was?”

Gyre closed his eyes for a moment and nodded.

“I’m sorry,” Maya said, then thought about that for a moment. “I mean. I guess.”

“I’m sorry she stabbed you.”

They lapsed into silence again.

“You could have had your constructs kill us,” Maya said. “Two helpless centarchs. It must have been tempting.”

“A little,” Gyre said.

“You told me you’d do anything to destroy the Order.”

“I will. Someday.” He shook his head. “But it has been brought to my attention that I need to think a little bit harder about what comes after, when I do. There are some sacrifices that aren’t worth the cost.”