“We’re all visitors here, aren’t we?” the Chenjan said. “Beyond the Wall, your people have rules. In Nasheen, they have theirs. But here in Kiranmay there are different rules, aren’t there? Shall I call an enforcer and see what he has to say?”

The woman with the weapon frowned. She pointed the insect leg at Nyx. “Don’t think I’ll forget. When we meet next, we settle this.”

“Sounds bloody fucking wonderful,” Nyx said.

The woman sheathed her weapon and slid out the door. The crowd that had gathered around them began to dissipate.

Nyx raised her brows at Ahmed. “You’re even better at making friends than I am.”

“Your woman dishonored her,” the Chenjan woman said.

“And who are you?” Nyx asked.

“Afareen.”

“Just Afareen?”

“Out here? Yes. I belong to no one but myself out here.”

“Let me buy you some tea,” Nyx said.

Ahmed said, “Is that necessary?”

Nyx grinned. “You’ll excuse him. He’s just returned from the front.”

Afareen said, “I lost all my men to the front. Husband, brothers, sons and all. So perhaps I am not as threatening as you hoped.”

“That wasn’t what I meant,” Ahmed said.

“Wasn’t it?” Nyx said, and gestured for the Chenjan to join them at a table.

Tea with a Chenjan. What was next? Ahmed thought. Dinner with bel dames?

“If your intent is to get beyond the Wall, you best turn back now,” Afareen said.

“Not an option,” Nyx said.

The three of them sat at Nyx’s table at the back, propped up on low cushions. Nyx had listened to the tea shop owner smoothly transition between a dozen different languages in the quarter hour they’d been seated. She had never had much of a head for languages, and the idea of packing that many into her brain made her dizzy.

“Passing over the Wall requires a sponsor. One of those women must speak for you.”

“Like the one who threatened Nyx?” Ahmed said.

“The one you insulted, yes.”

“I can’t believe it was Kage,” Nyx said. “Maybe there’s some other Drucian running around.”

“Not out here,” Afareen said.

“Why one of these women?” Ahmed asked.

“They are the Aadhya. They rule the world beyond the Wall.”

“You ever been there? Beyond the Wall?” Nyx asked.

“No. I have been here some years. It was my intent to reach the other side of the continent, to discover what lay beyond the Wall. But the Aadhya are, as you saw, a prickly people. Unless you have something of great value to offer them, they will not permit you entry.”

“Hasn’t anyone just climbed the Wall?” Nyx asked.

“It’s two kilometers high, and the other side is sheer. The dangers are… many. Those who live stay on the caravan route. To stray means death.”

“So people do get across,” Nyx said.