It had been a long day, and Abi was not used to spending that much time in the saddle. Neither were the other three Masters, who had declared themselves very stiff and sore on dismounting and, after supper, groaned on getting up. Abi herself felt that she had been using a great many muscles she was not used to using, and was very grateful for all the weapons training she had done with Master Leandro. If she hadn’t had that, and all the attendant exercise, she was pretty sure she’d be feeling crippled at this moment.

“I’ll be making allowances for you in the morning, Masters,” Jicks said politely, although Abi had the feeling she was having a hard time keeping a straight face at their expense. “I counted on this, you being city-bred and all. Don’t worry, it’ll get better.”

“I certainly hope so,” said Byrne, wretchedly, as he hobbled off to bed. The other two followed him. Abi waited by the fire for them to get settled, then climbed into the caravan, feeling her aches, and in the dim light from a single candle-lantern, climbed into the upper cupboard-bed and closed the curtains. The older men were already snoring, and she was just dropping into sleep when she felt the caravan move slightly as Jicks and the Herald climbed in. So ended her first day on the road.

•   •   •

She was not the first up, but she was the first of the Masters awake in the morning. She heard the sounds of people moving around outside. She squirmed into her clothing, trying not to make the caravan move too much, and slipped out into the cool dawn light.

The air was a little damp and full of the scent of torn foliage from where the hinnies had been eating all night. Jicks and the lads were already up as well—and practicing.

They all had the same kinds of wooden practice blades that Master Leandro used, and at the moment, the two lads were doing strike-and-block exercises as Jicks quietly counted out a cadence. Watching them, Abi felt an impulse and gave into it.

“Can I join?” she asked softly.

“I’d like that too,” said Herald Stev, who had come up behind her so quietly she wouldn’t have noticed if she hadn’t been trained by her father.

Jicks raised an eyebrow. “There’s practice blades in the—”

“Oh, I have my own,” the Herald chuckled.