Ahmed sighed. He looked over at Isabet, who was sitting in the soil, trembling, the stump of her arm pulled against her body. Eshe stood a few paces distant with Khatijah. Kage and Eskander were a more tactful distance away, breaking for midday prayer and a meal. He resented not praying. Even during interrogations at the front, they never required him to miss a prayer.

“I can hack off some more limbs if you want,” Ahmed said, “but she says she doesn’t know anything about it. Inaya, this rebel leader, sent her after Eshe. She hasn’t heard from her mother, the saint, in over a year.”

“And you believe that?”

“No,” Ahmed said. He was good at what he did, but out here in the blasted desert wasn’t the place for it. “I think she had some other reason to come out here that she’s not telling me or even Eshe. But unless you want to beat it out of her, I’d leave it.”

“Why the bloody fuck are Ras Tiegans out here?” Nyx muttered.

“The Queen has always been friendly with Ras Tieg,” Eshe said.

“So what’s the Queen doing with Ras Tiegans out here?” Nyx said. And then, to Khatijah, “I thought you said it was First Families that took Raine.”

“We aren’t sure who took him,” Khatijah said. “That was a best guess. No one ever thought the Ras Tiegans would be interested.”

“I feel like we’re all knotted up in one big game,” Nyx said, “and I don’t like playing games without knowing the rules.”

“Why?” Eshe said. “It’s not like you’d follow them.”

“Yeah, but everybody else would,” Nyx said. She made an impatient gesture at Ahmed. “Fine. Let’s keep moving. We can work this out while we go.”

“After prayer,” Ahmed said.

“I stutter?”

“After prayer,” Ahmed insisted, again, because he knew if he didn’t push now, he was going to keep getting rolled over.

“He’s right,” Eshe said.

“You too?” Nyx said. “Fuck and fire we have more important things to worry about.” She stomped back toward camp, yelling, “Eskander! Stop fucking around and head north. North. No, the other way. Sun rises in the east, so what way is north? The fuck, woman, you act like you never prayed before.”