She was on a rock-strewn plain under a grey sky. All around her lay the bodies of her escort’s mounts, all with black blood staining their faces, sightless eyes staring at nothing. Horses, but no riders, dead or otherwise. She was alone.

Alec stretched out on Thero’s cot for a few hours of sleep and woke a little after midday to find Mika trying to struggle one-handed into his breeches.

“Hold on there. You’re not supposed to be out of bed, are you?” Alec asked with a yawn.

“Nobody said,” the boy replied, trying to untangle the uncooperative garment from the long tails of his shirt.

“Are you sure?” More likely no one thought he would try to get up.

“Can we play games if I stay on the cot?”

Bakshi was not the sort of game easily played in bed, so Alec fetched a deck of cards from his tent and taught Mika Blue Goose, then Bell and Trumpet, resisting all wheedling to teach him how to cheat at them. Soon, however, Mika was restless and hungry, so Alec helped him dress, settling his broken arm carefully in its sling, and they went in search of something to eat. The fog had burned off and the afternoon was clear and pleasantly warm.

“Are you sure you’re well enough to walk about?” Alec asked as they made their way to the cooking area.

“I’m all right,” Mika assured him, clearly happy to be out and about. “The drysian took good care of me. I just can’t use my arm. I know where to get food, though. One of the cooks likes me.”

Mika led him to one of the booths, where the cook made a fuss over them and saw to it that they had bowls of lamb stew and bread. Alec carried Mika’s bowl for him over to a place on the trampled grass by the large central fire. He set the bowl down in front of the boy and Mika was able to eat one-handed.

When they were finished, they found themselves at loose ends.

“How about you showing me where those people attacked you?” asked Alec.

“My friend didn’t attack me,” Mika reminded him. “He got hurt, too, but he helped me get away.” He paused, clearly conflicted. “Master Thero didn’t say whether I could leave the camp.”

Alec gave him a wink. “It’s all right if you’re with me. I have my sword, just in case.”

Together they walked down the road to the river. The sun was bright, making the snowy peak of Mount Erali glow against the blue sky.

Mika brought him back to the large rock. “This is where I met my friend.”

“Show me where you played.”

They walked down the riverbank for half a mile or so, with Mika pointing out where they’d caught crayfish, and where he and his friend had wrestled in the river.