‘Please. They’re beasts, the house was between them and food so they attacked it. It’s no different to when the Toothsack ate part of Raften.’

Vasin frowned. He wasn’t convinced, and nor it seemed, was Anuja. Lakshin seemed to consider the matter closed and carried on.

‘In response to the attack, the elders of Fourboards called another hunt and upped the number of tributes to six.’

‘And did these tributes get through?’

‘Oh they got through,’ said Quasim. ‘It was incredible. Imagine it, Lord Vasin. All that blood in one place crying out through six wounds. They called every demon in the swamp.’

‘Incredible?’ snorted Lakshin. ‘It was the height of idiocy. There we were, three Deathless, all backed by hunters, and it was all we could do to not be overwhelmed.’

Vasin was surprised when Anuja didn’t respond to this criticism of her people. Perhaps she agrees with him. ‘I don’t think idiocy is the same as desperation. By the sounds of it Fourboards needed the second hunt to succeed.’

‘You don’t throw out a thousand years of tradition because of one anomaly!’

‘What other choice did they have?’

‘To endure. The traditions are there to protect us all. By breaking them, Fourboards put us all at risk. Surely you of all people should understand that?’

Vasin took a deep breath as he imagined hooking his fingers into the Opal’s lower jaw and ripping it out. He kept his hands by his sides however, and his voice light, ‘That’s why I’m here, to honour our friends in House Ruby.’

Lakshin’s eyebrows lifted. ‘I look forward to seeing it, Lord Vasin. Now, if you’ll excuse me, my lady, it’s been a long day.’

Quasim stood up as well. ‘A glorious day! Fourboards is safe once more, and the Wild will take time to recover from the beating we gave it.’

As will Lady Anuja, thought Vasin. As will we all. It troubled him that despite all they had seen, Lakshin and Quasim were still behaving as if everything was normal. As if tradition and skill alone would be enough to see order restored.

‘A toast before you leave,’ announced Anuja, raising her cup. She did not stand, and so the other two Deathless were forced to sit and collect their drinks. ‘To days shared. Be they long, glorious, hard or joyful. Let us endure them together, as friends, always.’

‘To days shared,’ they said. Then toasted, stood, bowed, and left.

‘I should retire too,’ said Vasin. ‘Leave you to your business.’

She held up a hand. ‘In a moment. First tell me you can hunt with them.’

‘Of course. The question is whether they’ll hunt with me.’

‘They will hunt wherever and with whomever I chose, until such time as their High Lords call them home.’