And then he’d plunge all that distance to the valley, and she might not even know she’d lost him. No, that couldn’t happen. Maybe she’d better go and see what had—

“You should be painted with that fire framing you in the darkness. Very effective,” Korgan called out to her from the bottom of the road. “I can’t decide if you look welcoming or like a demon spirit casting a spell. I’m sure you’ll let me know soon.”

The relief was overwhelming, and she was glad for that darkness so that he wouldn’t see it on her face as he walked toward her. “Why should I look welcoming? You did exactly what I told you to do. I was only wondering if you were going to stay out there all night.”

“I was busy. I lost track of time.” He went past her and got a bottle of water from the carton sitting beside the fire. “But I did get thirsty.” His demeanor was as cool and brusque as if those moments by the fire had never happened as he opened the bottle and took a long drink. “And Gilroy and I were doing a lot of talking. It got fairly involved. But some good things might have come of it.”

“What kind of things?” she asked warily.

“You ordered me to come up with a plan, didn’t you? I told you that to hear was to obey.” He took another swallow of water and then went to stand before the fire. “Besides, you know very well that it would take me time to cool down. But when I called Gilroy, he’d come up with some information that distracted me enough to make me actually think about throwing together some kind of plan.”

She stiffened. “What kind of plan?”

“Ah, that interested you. Gilroy found the answers he was looking for. We’re not going to have to complete our trip to Kabada. Those Kabada villagers might have been dealing with Masenak, but it wasn’t extensively. It seems that Samlir has been providing most of the labor for Jubaldar for the past few years. Principally in the stables and household, but occasionally they bring in women to provide fun and games for the guests.” He paused. “At any rate, they know where Jubaldar is located.”

“Sasha!” Her eyes widened with excitement. What he’d said meant they were going to find her. “Then they can tell us where it is.”