She said it with such certainty that, even knowing the truth, it made him question what he thought he knew. He’d finally met his match in the art of deceit. “Just making conversation.”

“To distract me from this wild goose chase?”

“Maybe. Look, it’s not like we’re going that far out of our way. We’re still traveling east. Comman Dur is east. Assuming Cainan is still anywhere near Comman Dur, though why would he be?”

“Because he’s smart. Everyone will expect him to run. So instead he’ll hide until the dust settles. Then he’ll make his true escape.”

“And you know this how?”

“Call it a hunch.”

“Then that’s what this is too. A hunch.”

“Because you saw a vision.”

“It was more than that. Ereniel spoke to me. She showed me her daughters.”

“The virgin Daughters of Ereniel.”

“So they’ve been called. Look, I know it sounds like madness. Normally I’d laugh at a fool saying such things, but not this time.”

“Because you’re the fool?”

“Yes, because I’m the fool. I don’t know why, but I need to see this through.”

“Two days,” Bryony said.

“Two days?”

“Yes. That’s how long we’ll search for Oath. Not a second longer. Agreed?”

It didn’t seem like he was being given a choice, so Ludo simply said, “Aye, agreed.”

Bryony

They walked that entire day. Each time they rounded a hillock in the infinite sea of grassy waves, Bryony expected to find something different. But instead she just found the next hillock, and the one after that, a ceaseless march of uneven terrain.

Night fell like a retreating tide. Soon the pools of shadows were so deep and unrelenting that they might’ve been painted on by an artist’s brush in whorls of black ink. “I’m tired, we should sleep,” Bryony said.

“Soon. Just a little further,” Ludo said, plodding on ahead, not noticing that Bryony had already stopped and unshouldered her pack.

She waited patiently. Just as he was about to disappear behind the next mound, he glanced back. Stopped. Sighed. “Fine. We’ll camp here.”

“It’s as good a spot as anywhere, don’t you think?” Bryony said. “If we lean against this hillside it might even be comfortable.”

“Fancy that.” Ludo returned and loosed his own pack to thump to the ground. They both took a moment to swig from their water skins and then settled down. There was no need to eat as they’d both done plenty of that while walking, mostly chewing on chunks of dried meat or hard tack. It wasn’t particularly satisfying fare, but it staved off the worst of the ache from her belly.

“Have you ever…” Bryony bit her lip, wishing she’d never started the sentence.

“Ever what? Don’t be shy, I’ve tried most things.”