He’d expected the hunter to praise him, she realized. To give him the credit for saving the keepers. “And of course you were very helpful to Thymara and me when Sintara brought us here,” Alise interjected, hoping to soothe his ruffled feathers. He flicked a glance at her that was like a slap. It suddenly reminded her of Hest and how annoyed he would get, even in a social situation, if she spoke during what he deemed “a man’s conversation.” Her sympathy for him evaporated. Almost vindictively she added, “Thymara has been doing most of our providing. I’ll speak to her now about going out.”

She turned and walked away from them, surprised by the strength of the anger washing through her. He isn’t Hest, she reminded herself fiercely and, in doing so, realized the true source of her anger. In a short time, the man she had come to love would be here beside her again.

And her husband still stood between them.

THREE SHORT BLASTS of the horn!

The first time he heard it echoing back to him, he hadn’t dared to hope. Sounds traveled strangely across the wet lands of the Rain Wilds. Leftrin had not seen Carson for some hours. He had vanished around one of the gentle bends in the immense river. Then Tarman had been delayed when Davvie had spotted exactly what Leftrin had most feared to see: a body tangled in the driftwood and debris along the side of the river.

It had been Warken, and he had not drowned but been smashed against the flotsam in the river. Carefully they had taken up the body of the young keeper, wrapped him in a fold of canvas, and laid him on the deck of the barge. Every time he passed the body, it seemed an ill omen of things to come. How many more draped bodies would weight Tarman’s deck before this day was out?

So he had been cautious when he first heard the three short blasts clearly. He had Davvie signal back and then had asked Tarman to make haste. Even as the barge picked up speed, he reminded himself that the three short blasts could signify anything; Carson could have discovered more bodies just as easily as survivors. But as the boat rounded the bend and came in sight of the tiny camp and its smoldering signal fire, his heart had leaped. He had squinted at the small figures in the shade of the great trees and tried to make out who might be there.