Ambassador Ghoush folded her hands on the tabletop. “As I understand it, the agricultural guild has produced a cure that worked on the farms surrounding Kolonya City.”

Akeylah nodded. “But we’ll need to distribute it to the outer Reaches as soon as possible if we want to avoid mass famine. Especially the Reaches with short crop-growing seasons…” The meeting droned on.

More than once, she caught Danton studying her, gaze narrowed.

She didn’t like keeping Ren locked up any more than he did. But while she couldn’t release her sister, she wouldn’t force her into a worse position either. She would not cave to the heir’s demands.

Akeylah didn’t know why the heir singled out Ren and Zofi for punishment. Or why they’d decided to manipulate Akeylah instead. But she’d spent too much of her life being beaten. Too much time on the floor, cowering. No more.

If the heir wanted a sister they could easily control, they picked the wrong one.

12

Zofi

Falling back into the Traveler stride was easy. A relief, almost. She’d been able to make only minor headway on foot, but on horseback, they rode all day and well into the night.

The next morning, Zofi roused Vidal before the sun so they could ride throughout the early morning. At midday they broke to nap in the heat, then started again in the afternoon.

Vidal proved much better at maintaining this grueling pace than she’d expected. Maybe there was something to be said for the Talons’ training after all. By nightfall, she expected him to quit. Instead, he rode without protest until a rare desert thunderstorm gathered on the horizon, obscuring the moons. Only then did Zofi decided to camp, to avoid the worst of the damp.

They removed the horses’ tacks and pitched the double tent Vidal had brought.

“Impressive.” She inspected the tent. “Is this why you signed up to become a Talon? All the fancy equipment that comes with the job?”

He laughed. “Hardly. I signed up because ever since I was a little boy, for as long as I could remember, I wanted to serve Kolonya. All the Reaches,” he quickly amended. “The same way my father served, and his mother before him.”

“What’s so appealing about a life of servitude?” She scrunched her forehead.

But Vidal’s face lit up. “It’s not servitude. It’s protecting people. Helping people. I surrender some personal freedom, but I gain so much more from becoming a piece of something greater than myself. Together, we Talons keep the Reaches safe.”

She worked on the campfire in silence, digesting. She could understand sacrificing a little bit of yourself to build something bigger. Wasn’t that what her band did, after all? They stuck together through thick and thin, not because they had to, but because they chose to. Together, they were stronger. Together, they were more than they could ever be apart.