“Then we go north. That’s what you all signed on for, right?”

Eskander giggled.

Eshe glanced over at Isabet. She shook her head.

“Let’s get moving,” Nyx said.

“What direction?” Ahmed said.

“You miss me the first time?” Nyx pointed north.

Eskander babbled something.

“This is a foolish course,” Isabet said, in Ras Tiegan.

Eshe handed her a bandolier. “You heard Nyx. You can’t keep up, you can turn right around.”

“I can’t go without you.”

“So you keep saying.” He wondered just how thirsty and crazy she would have to get to turn back. He thought the loss of her arm would affect her more, thought Ahmed’s interrogation would intimidate her, but after some water and rest, she was as steely-eyed and determined as ever. He couldn’t help but admire her a little. For a rich girl, she had guts. And I haven’t exactly been nice to her, he thought, and cringed. If he acted like Nyx all the time, he really was going to end up just like her. He watched Isabet for a time, and his resolve softened. Don’t be a fool, he thought, remembering the words carved into the loamy cavern. There is something rotten going on out here, and she could very well be a part of it. Couldn’t she?

Nyx took the lead, and eventually, they all followed. An hour before dawn, Eshe was so tired he kept expecting someone would just run off into the desert with the water and take their own chances. If he thought Nyx would still speak to him if he ran off, he might do it himself. But out here in all this nothing, Nyx’s stubborn determination was comforting, like a stone pillar in a sandstorm.

Beside him, Isabet struggled to keep up. She had the long, dead-eyed expression of somebody about to pass out. The only person slower than them was Kage, who trailed after him and Isabet in a strange sort of half-crouch, arms splayed out like a spider. It was eerie, sometimes, to watch her move.

He reached for Isabet, and made her drink some of his water. She shook her head at first, and said some nonsense words, something like, “Kittens need cool coats,” and then she lapped the water from her lips and drank.

Eshe put his arm around her. She was so out of it she didn’t even push him away. He set his gaze on Ahmed’s back, and focused. Dug deep. If he had learned nothing else from Nyx, it was that he could always go on a lot longer than he thought he could.