She smiled as she wiggled until she was in her former position. Let him sleep this night, but if this would be the only night she had with him, she intended to stay awake for the whole of it.

A large arm slid from its resting place under her waist until it was under her hip and heaved, leaving her, somewhat surprised, on top of him. He examined her with sleepy eyes.

“Still awake, eh?” he asked, his voice low with sleep and other, more private things. “Can’t have that.”

When he was finished with her, she fell asleep before she could remind herself to stay awake.

16
WARD

It is one of those lessons that every child should learn: Don’t play with fire, sharp objects, or ancient artifacts.

WEROSE BEFORE THE WINTER SUN, EATING AND PACKINGuntil it grew light enough to see our way. It had stopped raining, but everything around us was still wet. The trail Tisala led us on was little more than a deer trail, and I on my tall horses suffered the most from the undergrowth and low, wet branches. Consulting maps and the results of my frequentseeking for the Bane proved we’d chosen our way correctly: Jakoven was definitely headed toward the secondary pass.

We arrived at the base of the climb shortly before the evening sun went down. We back-trailed a few hundred yards and found a flat area to camp. Jakoven had stopped moving about six miles away, and we assumed that he was camping there.

“Oreg,” I said as I helped him set up the tents. “When you followed me to Estian, Jade Eyes felt you—he thought it was me. Is there something you can do so he won’t know you’re here?”

“How’s this?” he asked, and the comforting feeling of his magic disappeared.

I took a deep breath. I hadn’t realized how much I counted on the feeling of Oreg’s magic to bandage the hole that leaving Hurog tore in my spirit. When I put some power behind my search, though, I could feel him faintly.

“That’s better,” I said. “Do I need to do something of the same thing?”

Oreg shook his head. “You’re always shielded. Your problem has always been that nothing much gets through your shields. That’s why you couldn’t work magic for such a long time.”

“If you really want to take them by surprise,” said Axiel, “we ought to confront them now. We can tether the horses here and walk upon Jakoven’s camp while they’re sleeping.”

“Let’s go,” I agreed. A part of me hoped for one more night, but Axiel was right. If we could take them by surprise, we had a chance. If they knew we were coming, we were dead.