Garwin laughed boisterously, earning him a loud, “Shut the void up!” from Dahlia.

“He pegged you straight, didn’t he, Min?” Garwin whispered. “Noble to a fault. So brave you’re stupid. And where has any of it got you so far? Nowhere, that’s where.”

Minwar had every right to react badly to the other man’s words, but this time he didn’t, just closed his eyes and slumped back. “I’m sorry I ate your breakfast,” he said. “Next time, we’ll share, won’t we, Gar?”

“We’ll see about that,” Garwin said.

“Gar, I swear to the gods I’ll bite your nose off in your sleep.”

“Fine. For Narcissi’s sake, I swear you’re a real pain in my arse, more than every bump on this rutting path.”

Ludo found himself smiling for the first time since the morning had begun so terribly. “Thank you,” he said. He lowered his voice conspiratorially. “Now, you’ve been with them longer than me. When is the best time to make our move?”

Minwar’s eyes opened again, but they looked toward Garwin, not Ludo. Something seemed to pass between them, and then Gar spoke. “When they make us fight each other. That’s when.”

Over the course of the day, and in between being berated by Dahlia and Mister Rose, Min and Gar explained how things had been going for them. Every few days, when they were camped somewhere well away from civilization and usually after their captors partook of more than their fair share of strong drink, they would force them to fight each other. The winner would get extra food and a bit of ale to soothe the pain from their injuries. Dahlia, in particular, loved to egg them on, her lust for bloodsport insatiable. It was because of this that they knew it was only a matter of time before Ludo was forced to participate. Most likely it would be sooner rather than later.

Which meant he needed to tell them something. “I heal quickly,” he said, even as shadows began creeping along the outside of the wagon’s cover.

“Course you do, you’re young,” Gar said.

“No, I don’t mean like that. Unusually quickly.” When both men stared at him blankly, he said, “Maybe I should demonstrate.” He looked around for something sharp, but of course their jailors hadn’t been so foolish as to leave anything that could be used as a weapon behind. He had an idea. “Watch this.” As his companions looked on, he tucked his lip inside his teeth and bit down. Hard.

The pain was sharp and immediate, but he persevered until he felt the warm flow of blood, its taste metallic on his tongue.

“If they think you’re harming yourself with your teeth, they’ll gag you,” Min warned.

“They won’t know,” Ludo said. “Just wait. And watch.”

He licked his lips clean to remove the evidence of his act, and then stuck out his lip so they could both see the damage. At the bottom of his lone eye’s vision, he could just make out the tear, blood still welling up from the wound, though it was already slowing as it congealed.