“Believe me, Dineas. You want to serve under Arxa if you can. Every unit he trains ends up fighting better. He pays attention to his men. Notices what makes them better soldiers.”

Masista chimes in. “He stands up for us. A few years ago, the emperor wanted to save money by cutting our time on leave and skimping on our rations. Arxa fought him on it—spoke out in front of the court about how it would wear us down in the long run. He kept at it until the emperor gave in, and in the meantime, Arxa paid for our supplies out of his own fortune. There’s many who think that Arxa would be a general now, if he hadn’t offended the emperor like that.”

“Neju’s Guard is holding a round of tryouts starting next week,” says Walgash. “Open to everyone. Naudar’s trying out.”

“You are?” I say to Naudar, who nods in response.

“Don’t underestimate our Naudar,” says Masista. “He may have a face pretty enough to grace the temples, but he’ll put up a good fight when he needs to. And he’ll do it without letting a single lock of his hair fall out of place.”

“At least I have hair,” Naudar says between spoonfuls of stew.

“For now,” Masista says, rubbing his own shaved head.

Kosru and Walgash guffaw, and my thoughts circle back to what Walgash said about Neju’s Guard. “The trials are open to everyone?” Arxa does sound like a good commander. And after last week’s test, I’m curious to know what else I’m capable of.

Walgash grins. “That’s right. You interested?”

Chapter Twenty-three

I hold my blowgun steady as I try to peer through the leaves of the tree overhead. The snake I’m stalking is a master of camouflage, and its brown and green stripes confuse the eye, especially when the wind rattles the leaves. I’ve seen the snake a few times and I don’t recognize it, which makes me all the more determined to get ahold of its venom. Now that Dineas is settled in the army, I have more time to experiment with rose plague treatments, and Central Ampara is rich with new specimens for me to study.