“Outlander bastard!” He turned around and shouted. “Divass! Avard! Get over here. About time we took a taste of what these cursed shut-holes are withholding from us, eh?”

A pair looked up from haggling with a man seated on a blanket who was selling white plums and heaps of cawl petals.

Nudged from behind, Shai glanced over his shoulder. Eridit thrust the hilt of a short sword into his back. “Here.”

“That won’t help me,” he muttered as the drunken man stumbled back to his friends and began gesticulating his complaints in a thready whine. Yah yah yah. Merciful God! How much longer Bai expected them to keep up this cursed pretense, Shai could not imagine. Men were coming around every cursed evening after drill, and so far Bai had managed to put them off with various plausible excuses delivered in her drawling, contemptuous style. “Hu! Take the children out the back if you have to. Here they come.”

The three swaggered with outraged privilege as they approached. Merciful One, act now!

A sergeant jogged through the ragged market street, pausing to grab men by the shoulders. “Heya! Heya! Three Circles cadre, report at once.”

A second sergeant followed, calling another group. Men turned from browsing the wares on offer: fried vegetables, hot noodles, goat’s milk, carved bowls and spoons, an old man repairing knife hilts, women skinny from the abuse they took to fetch a few vey.

“Avard! Divass! Kili! Get your cursed horses’ asses over here.”

“Assembly?” muttered the big one. “At dusk? After we’ve already been released from drill? The hells!” But he lumbered away.

Shai sagged, all his readiness blown.

“Did that man go away?” asked Vali, venturing up behind Eridit. “He was following me before. He tried to touch me.”

“Sheh!” said Eridit in disgust. “You’re not even of an age, Vali. But I’m not surprised by any crude thing I hear or see in this place.” She loosed an accusatory glance at Shai, pushed past him, and crossed over the open space to the man selling white plums and cawl petals. There she smiled prettily, and she and the man entered into a protracted haggle, which she no doubt drew out to annoy the poor merchant.

“Why do you argue with her all the time?” asked Vali.

“Shai’s a prude,” said Yudit, laying her head against Shai’s shoulder.

“Neh, he isn’t,” said Eska. Dena and others in the interior echoed her, defending him.

“Oh, shut it, little plum,” said Yudit affectionately. “I’m not ragging him. I’m just saying so, because it’s true. Nothing wrong with it.” She shuddered, and he put an arm around her. Vali leaned against him on the other side, and they watched as the market street cleared of soldiers and the merchants packed away their wares for safekeeping.