She sat, clutching the bowl of rice. A pair of young Qin soldiers had walked up from the barracks. One nudged his comrade, and that man ventured forward hesitantly and sat down by one of the young women, who smiled shyly as she handed him a bowl of rice.

Avisha looked at her hands. After a while, she heard a new rustle of arrivals. Over by the other corner, an older Qin soldier strolled up to the noodle-seller, Darda. He was received with a pretty greeting and an offered bowl of rice.

Her mouth was so dry. Again, she looked away. She had to be brave and determined. She had to take care of the children. Her life in the village was lost; she must build a life here.

The settlement lay in four pieces: the reservoir, irrigated fields, and parade ground beyond the embankment; the settlement growing out from the gate; the altars and council square sited on the upper hill; the captain’s house on the farthest spur of ground with cliff-side for its skirts. There was plenty of room for the settlement to grow, both expanding across the low hill and out into the surrounding land.

From this corner she could see three of the altars. A simple wooden gate with three lintels, facing east, marked the Herald domain of Ilu. Adjacent to the council square, stone walls delineated enclosure of Kotaru, the Thunderer. A flat boulder, brushed clean and sprinkled with water every morning, offered a resting place for Hasibal, the Formless One.

The Lantern’s accounting house, so far just a one-room hut, had been raised beside the market square, the With-erer’s roof thatched by the fields, and the Lady’s shelter planted farther out yet where a footpath ran south along the shore toward distant villages. As for the Devourer—

“Avisha!” Mai came lumbering down the path, dust kicked up by her sandals. Priya and Sheyshi walked close on either side, and Chief Tuvi and a pair of guards paced behind her. “I was looking for you everywhere!”

Mai assessed the situation with a sweeping glance. As she turned to speak to Priya, Chief Tuvi strode forward into the shadow of the canvas awning and right across the dirt square to Avisha. Up from town a Qin soldier came running, riding whip in hand as though he had been interrupted at drill.

Chief Tuvi glanced that way, and stopped, dust settling around his boots. Seeing him, Jagi slowed, then halted, hand tight around the whip. The chief made a gesture with his right hand, visible to Avisha from this angle only because she saw the chief’s arm move. For an instant, Jagi remained poised; then he took two steps back like a horse under tight rein. Obedient to his superiors.

Not even willing to fight for her!

The chief sat down on the bench beside her. He had a pleasing smile; all of the Qin did, able to find humor in most everything. He was old, but the second most important man among the Qin.