She turned her head to say something cutting—and saw the pentagram hanging from a chain around his neck. And was suddenly afraid of what might happen if she said yes to this Son of the House of Gaian.

She looked away. “No. The Black Coats and the barons who followed them in the name of greed and ambition deserve whatever comes to them. But not the men and women who just want to live free of fear. Not the children. Not the land.” She hesitated, then added, “Do no harm.”

He nodded. “But even within the words of our creed there is room for justice, and justice can sometimes be harsh.”

Not knowing how to respond to that, she focused on the low-voiced argument going on behind her and shook her head. “Don’t waste your breath, Selena. He’s gentry and he’s a baron. The only way you’ll get your point across is to nip him so that he’s reminded of it for a week every time he tries to sit down.”

“Is that what you do with your man?” the Son asked.

“On occasion. When he needs it.”

He grinned, then sobered as he looked out over the field again. “Fog.”

“What?”

He nodded toward the field. “A heavy fog. If we blanket the field, their longbowmen will be blind. We can go out and help the wounded to safety.”

“If they’re blind, so are we. Anyone going out too far could end up walking right into the enemy.”

“Would you rather leave them out there?”

Ashk shook her head.

“Problem is, fog is even harder to hold than a storm. We can create it, but it will drift. It’s well into the afternoon now. By dusk, there will be banks of fog as far back as the Old Place. But I think it’s our best chance.”

“What’s our best chance?” Selena asked, coming up behind them.

“Fog,” Ashk replied.

Selena considered this and nodded. “It will drift, but that’s not a bad thing. The Black Coats haven’t been here long enough to know the lay of the land. I don’t think they’ll be anxious to move men when they can’t see if they’re about to tumble down a creekbed or walk into a tree.”

“We’ll take care of it,” the Son said.

Selena studied him. “My thanks. In that case, I’m going to take Liam back to his house to get his arm sewn up. He stands there bleeding like a stuck pig and insists he’s fine. The jackass.”

“Thank you very much, Lady Selena,” Liam said stiffly. “It’s always a pleasure to discuss things with you.”

“Just nip him,” Ashk muttered.

“I heard that.”

“You were meant to.”

“You’ll go with them,” the Son said.

Ashk gave the man a cool stare. “I’ll decide when to go back to the house.”