In time, my fever ebbed. I still ached, but the cocktail of stimms managed the pain tolerably. Perhaps two more days passed before I found my eyes open, and felt myself to be fully in the room.

The physician, who was examining my dressings, lurched up in alarm.

‘You’re awake, my lord,’ he said, bowing his head. ‘I did not think… I was not sure you would recover. You have been quite unresponsive. I feared the worst.’

‘I was close to death,’ I murmured, tongue thick. ‘I commend your skill.’

‘It was nothing,’ the man said, bowing again. He seemed nervous, or perhaps just startled. ‘Thankfully, the black rot had not fully set in, and the break was clean. But… you must understand I have limited resources, sir. I cut away the diseased flesh. There will be scarring to the leg, and without further treatment I fear you will struggle to walk unaided.’

‘That does not matter.’

He visibly sagged in relief, wiping his hand across his face, his fingers slick with sweat.

‘Good of you to say so, sir,’ he said. ‘I confess I recognised you from her ladyship’s last visit. I suspect a man of your station is accustomed to a standard of care greater than I can offer.’

‘I travel in varied circles. You saved me, and that is all that matters.’

‘May the Emperor bless you, my lord.’

‘What of Commander Shard?’ I asked. ‘Is she recovered?’

A frown marred his face. ‘Who, my lord?’

‘Flight Commander Shard. She piloted the boat that brought me here.’

‘Ah,’ he said. ‘She was well enough when I last saw her. But the governor’s guards had orders, sir. She is a fugitive. We dispatched her back to the governor’s château.’

‘Fugitive?’

It should not have surprised me. In undertaking the ill-omened flight, Shard had broken a plethora of rules and regulations. The fact the governor’s guards were ordered to detain Shard, even those situated far behind enemy lines, spoke volumes. I pressed the physician and he told me what he could, though he was reluctant, perhaps fearing his words could be used against him. I felt sorry for him, and eventually feigned fatigue, thus giving him the excuse to depart he so desperately craved. But before he left, he told me he would dispatch a message that I was recuperating.

As the door closed, I wondered why he had not done so sooner. Perhaps, had I expired, they would have condemned my corpse to the swamp, claimed I was dead on arrival. It did not take an investigator of Kikazar’s skill to realise the physician was terrified of displeasing Governor Dolos. This was hardly surprising, but it did not seem a hypothetical fear of a distant, unknown ruler. Rather, he had seemed familiar with her, at least to a point.