“Unless your calculations are off, and the Haunt reaches us in the open.”

“I am with Commander Asan.”

The auditorium had been listening, rapt, to the Councilwomen’s argument, but now they turned to stare at Rhyanon. She held her head high, and a fierce pride was written across her face as she gazed at the Commander. Asan met her eyes, and returned that expression with equal boldness, the same measure of warmth and challenge and possessiveness.

Oh, I thought, stunned. So that’s how it is.

“I am with the Commander too.” Jesane rose beside me.

I looked around, then also stood up. Morwin glared daggers at us, but I kept my nerve. Around the room, others were rising in turn, until almost every Sister was on her feet.

“I suppose that settles the matter, then,” said Asan.

CHAPTER

TWENTY

The moon cast a thin sliver of silver above the southern horizon. The air remained warm, and the sky was dark and hazy. I urged the horses down the eastern track, air streaming over my face. Before we had left Tivaria, Asan had instructed all the civilians to remain inside the hall, including our Ceyrun drivers. Alone, we would take the cabs as far as the old farm roads allowed, then cross the remaining distance on foot.

At another time, I might have enjoyed the rush of the moonlit ride. Fireflies swarmed over the pastures on either side, bright glimmers against the shaded fields. I scanned the landscape. The Haunt could come upon us at any time. Every movement of the grass, every night bird swooping through the air and animal rustling in the dark, felt like a threat. Two carriages rode in front of mine and four behind, with Asan leading the procession. Ahead, the solitary rise of Geise’s Hill loomed over the countryside.

None of it seemed quite real. The appearance of a second Haunt in less than a month put paid to my dim theories about an isolated case of airborne infection; a renegade Sister had to be responsible. But why? One Haunt, one drunken mistake or terrible lapse of judgement, I could understand. The taste of Finn’s kiss lingered in my mouth, his fingers tangled up in my hair. I grimaced. I understood that only too well.

But to repeat the crime, to have sex with two different men while knowing the probable outcome? That could not simply be lust. Someone must have infected these men on purpose.

Asan reached the base of the hill and drew on her reins to slow the horses. I followed suit. The animals huffed, their sides heaving, their coats shining and damp. I wasn’t much of a driver, but Zenza and I had occasionally made field expeditions without a coachman, and I knew the basics. Tonight, the horses were skittish; their ears flicked and they tossed their heads. Whether they smelled something on the breeze or simply responded to our own fear, I could not say. I murmured soothingly and swung down from my perch. The doors to the cabs opened, and Sisters clambered out.