“Not as long as this illness lasts,” Seban said bleakly and the light mood vanished. T’mar gave the ex-dragonrider a sympathic look in apology.

“We were just going to break our fast,” Fiona said to get past the awkward moment. She gestured. “If you’d care to join us?”

T’mar shook his head. “No, thank you, Weyrwoman,” he said, “I’ve duties to attend.”

“Oh, come on, T’mar!” Fiona snapped at him. “Seban’s man enough to let your gaffe pass—join us and tell us how the training is going.”

Seban gave the bronze rider an encouraging nod and the two headed out toward the Kitchen Cavern together. “How has Ladirth’s illness affected the wings?”

Fiona followed a moment later, distracted from their conversation by her worries.

She forced herself to be cheerful throughout breakfast and teased Xhinna, Terin, and Taria for their hollow-eyed cheeks and evident fatigue, but she knew she was just putting up a front, a trick she’d learned Turns before when she was still a toddler at her father’s Hold.

“A Holder is the hope of all,” Lord Bemin, her father, had told her solemnly once when Fiona had been having a tantrum. “When you laugh, they are happy.” He lowered his chin as he asked her, “And when you misbehave, how do you think they feel?”

She’d understood, even then, what he meant, though it was Turns before she truly grasped the concept of leading by example. It was a strange thing: Even if she was feeling sad herself, just displaying cheer to others would inevitably cause her to cheer up, as well.

She wondered if she would still be able to do that if she lost Talenth. Little Aryar’s question echoed in her mind: “How can the Weyrwoman live with only half a heart?”

She glanced around, spotted Xhinna, rose, and went over to her, grabbing her around the shoulders in a great hug.

“What?” Xhinna asked, turning to face her, surprised by the embrace and the emotions behind it.

“I just wanted to say that I love you,” Fiona told her, ignoring Taria’s concerned look from her nearby seat. Xhinna gave her a wide-eyed look and Fiona’s lips quirked upward as she quoted: “‘Her heart is big enough, even just half, and with our love, it’ll grow back.’”

“Oh,” Xhinna said in a quiet voice. “I didn’t think you’d heard.”

Taria had risen just in time to hear Fiona’s words and gave her friend a look of admiration. Fiona shared a smile with her.

“Weyrwoman!” Shaneese bustled over quickly, suppressing a yawn with irritation. “I’d been hoping to find you.”

“Yes?” Fiona asked, steeling herself for another daunting problem.

Shaneese noticed and smiled. “I wanted to introduce you to one of our treasures.”