She tested her strength, standing as she held on to the upper bunk, but her legs held, although they were unsteady as she walked over and sat. He handed her a warm, damp towel to wipe her face and hands. When she had finished he spoke the words of blessing: “May the Tranquil Emperor live in peace, our spear and our shield.” He uncovered her bowl to reveal a spicy barley soup, something quickly cooked while turnips steamed.

She began eating. The peppery spice was pungent enough to make her eyes water. A good dish for a cold night. She ate carefully, one spoonful after the next, really concentrating on it because suddenly she was ravenous. Only when she had emptied the bowl did she realize he hadn’t touched his.

“You should eat it while it’s hot,” she said.

There was a new maturity to the steadiness of his gaze, the determined tilt of his chin, his willingness to confront her not with anger or with avoidance but with love.

“You have to tell me,” he said.

“Tell you what?” she grumbled. But she knew.

“You have to tell me the truth. I understand, I really do. Well, I understand a little. And I’m still angry. But you’ve waited long enough. I’ve seen too much. Are you even really from Duenn Manor or some isolated upland village in Woodfall Province?”

“We aren’t from the empire at all,” she said quietly. “Duenn Manor was the place we escaped to, only then we had to escape from there too.”

“Where are you from, then? Who are you, to have a viper inside you? Who was Mama really? How can I understand who I am if I never know who you and Mama were?”

She thought of the dragon made of smoke, and she wondered if Kem’s forgiveness was the gift the haunt had given her in the end. Sniffing, she wiped her eyes.

“If it’s going to make you cry again, then it can wait.”

“No. You’re right. It’s long past time. Before you go off into your new life, you should understand a tiny bit about your mother, what a courageous person she was and why she could be so hard to get along with at times, when the old memories took hold. But…”

“But?”

She smiled, although the gesture hurt like poking a bruise, and uncovered Kem’s bowl to release the soup’s savory scent. “But you have to eat while I’m telling you. This will take a while.”

66 IMAGINE THERE IS A NAMELESS LAND

Imagine there is a nameless land that lies beyond this uncrossable Pall, beyond what the mapmakers say is the end of the empire, and maybe even the end of the inhabitable world.