Fulmo had gotten a pot of food going, his movements slowing as twilight settled. He looked no different from before. If she had not witnessed the cracking shell, she’d probably not notice he was a bit smaller.

The haunt was kneeling beside Jirvy, with a hand on the warden’s injured thigh. Was there a pale golden haze gleaming around his hand? Or was it just firelight glinting on the three lineage rings a prince wore?

A shadow emerged from behind a boulder and approached her.

“Here you are, Deputy Courier.” Simo blocked her path, so she had to stop.

“Yes, here I am, Captain.” She eyed his aggressive stance.

From inside the ring of campfires, Kem laughed at something Ipis said. It hurt that he still was so angry at her and yet could laugh and joke with others. But she had to put it aside. He had the right to be angry. It wasn’t her place to require him to react or respond in any specific way. Still, it hurt because he’d never been mad at her before, ever, not like this.

Simo cleared his throat portentously to grab her wandering attention. “Deputy Courier, you will have observed the situation with the gagast. I assure you, we who serve His Exalted Highness are aware of Fulmo’s unusual characteristics.”

“If you mean he is immune to Spore, and how he protects himself against steel and afterward cracks open a new skin, then yes, I am aware. Is there something else you are concerned about, Captain?”

His mouth worked. His shoulders tensed.

She added, “One of our pursuers survived the fall, but he died before Spore could escape through him.” Not that she was about to mention the mouse! Or her viper!

He nodded, satisfied by her answer. “Do you know this countryside?”

“North of the Cut? Not really. I’ve been over Five Bridges with the intendant. That was five years ago, when the intendant escorted a newly appointed intendant to Farledder Intendancy. There was a lot of brigandage in Farledder Intendancy at the time because … well, that’s local gossip that won’t interest you. I’ve studied the surveyor maps of the area. If we leave here at dawn and head overland, west-northwest, we should reach the road by midafternoon, north of the fifth bridge. From there, we can make it to the next Halt by nightfall.”

“Do you happen to recall the name of the Farledder intendant?”

She caught the flutter of his eyes, the curl of his mouth. The defensive posture. “Are you concerned the Farledder intendant might be an ally of Prince Astaylin?”

“Surely you understand why we must be on full alert.”

“I do. Her name is Berel Karissar. She is a distant cousin of the Orledder intendant. That’s why the intendant was asked to escort her when she first came north.”