“Cursed idiot!” The sergeant raised the whip again, but the line lurched forward as the vanguard got moving, distracting him.

Yudit tapped Shai’s wrist. “Eska’s stumbling.”

Back stinging, he walked backward as the others walked forward, and hoisted Eska to his back before her faltering drew the attention of the soldiers. Fortunately the whip had only welted him this morning, not drawn blood, so the pain wasn’t too bad as her weight—such as it was, her being little more than skin and bones—rubbed his bare skin. But he was thirsty, and of course the hollow in his stomach was a constant torture. Yet he must not show the weakness he felt. Up and down the line of prisoners, faces turned to mark his progress at the rear of the ground. He nodded at Wori, with his tear-streaked face, and at Jasya, who had bruised eyes. Yudit plodded along, her chin lifted with stubborn defiance, and when Dena began dropping back through the line, Shai handed Eska to Yudit and carried the heavier Dena instead.

The soldier called Twist walked up alongside. “Heh. You there, packhorse. You tasted the girls yet? Or are you fashioned for men, eh?”

“Greetings of the day to you, ver,” said Shai with his biggest grin. “You got food, maybe? I’m sure hungry.”

Twist snorted and called to his comrades. “Cursed fool says the same thing every day. You think we should set him on the girls tonight, like? We could see if he’s hung like a horse, way he packs them all day, eh?”

So they laughed, and when they laughed they weren’t likely to be beating on the children.

All morning they struggled to keep the pace set by the soldiers. For days and days and days they had pushed north along the ragged skirts of a range of hills, through sparsely inhabited countryside. At midday they paused to water the horses at a stream. After setting down Dena, Shai ranged the line, making sure none of the children drank too much, which would cause them to founder, or too little, which would weaken them further.

“Drink more,” he said, coaxing Jasya.

“I’d be better dead.”

“If you let yourself die, then they’ve won. We’re going to win by surviving.”

She sighed, but she drank.

Once the horses were watered, they marched on. And on. To his sight, the woodland never seemed to change, but just as they waded across another stream, Yudit whispered, “we’re getting close to a village,” seeing something in the way trees were spaced and bushes flourished in open spaces. The children pointed at berry-laden branches, but none dared leave the line of march to grab them while the soldiers watched.

A command rang down from the vanguard. Abruptly, the captives were herded into a tight group and left with six guards while the rest ran down the path. The children shivered as they heard screams and shouts in the distance. Vegetation rattled in the woods, sounding exactly like folk running for their lives. Eska began to snivel, shocked by fear, and Shai hugged her against him to stifle her sobs. Of the rest, some stared at Shai while others covered their faces with their hands.