Llew clenched her fist against the burn of the Syakaran knife wound in the pad of her thumb and whisked her other hand from Jonas’s shoulder. No. Her father’s. She’d made that mistake once before. On the run with her pa. Him Aenuk, and yet her Syaenuk draw would drain him dry if she let it. Mustn’t touch. Must wake ready to run in the morning, ready to escape Braph. But that wasn’t quite right, because she hadn’t met Merrid and Ard at that point, and Merrid and Ard were dead. Oh, why were they dead? It wasn’t fair! Her heart hurt. Yes. Her heart. Not her hand. Her hand was whole. Her heart was broken.

Her pa also lay dead and forgotten. Part of Llew’s trail of destruction.

And this time she was with Jonas, and she could kill him. Or he would simply fade and die in the night if she didn’t check on him. She had to wake. Wake up. The body beside her felt cold. Don’t touch. Wake up!

Her wrists were bound to a chair a hand forced to touch, to drain the life of a fellow street urchin. No, this time it was Jonas. Braph laughed. He’d won. He was finally superior to Jonas in every way because he lived, and Jonas was dying. And Llew the conduit, channeling his life into Braph’s crystals. Draining him. Wake—

Llew’s eyes flew open. She took a moment to gained her bearings. Cocooned in a blanket in Merrid and Ard’s bed. Jonas lay beside her, wrapped in a separate blanket so they wouldn’t accidentally touch in their sleep. Good. That part of her dream couldn’t be true, at least. His back to her, she could neither hear him breathing nor sense his chest moving.

She sat, reaching over him to hold a finger beneath his nostrils. His breath blew warm over her skin in slow, rhythmic waves and she relaxed a little. Then she pressed her hand to his back to get a sense of his. The blankets also rose and fell in a steady rhythm, no faltering. No signs of weakness there. She lay back. The night was still deep in darkness, and they had long days ahead of them. Llew tried to force herself to relax over the background anxiety that refused to leave despite her proof that Jonas was alright. What if he deteriorated before she woke again? Could she afford to sleep? Her sleep versus his life. It was hardly a competition.

Karlani’s chuckle floated through the thick curtain followed by Alvaro’s offended ‘What?’

‘Nothing. Keep going,’ Karlani murmured.

Llew wished she could’ve slept just a little longer as the quiet sounds of their coupling filled her ears no matter how much she tried to shut it out. Then again, it was better than being trapped in her dreams. At least Karlani and Alvaro were trying to keep quiet. Llew wondered if it was out of courtesy to the others or if Karlani hoped to reserve the right to deny it. Hopefully, it would bring an end to Alvaro’s interest in her. She wished them well and silently apologized for her intrusion on their intimacy. But she wouldn’t return to sleep. She thought of Cassidy and her heart ached again that his life had been the price of her lesson. Although, what had she learned? She couldn’t remain awake forever. She sighed too loudly and Karlani shushed Alvaro’s moans of pleasure, her laughter lending a staccato to the admonishment and not diminishing Alvaro’s progress at all.

Llew rolled over, gripped the blanket enshrouding Jonas, pressed one ear against his back and tried to trap her own blanket between her other ear and shoulder. Let them have their fun. She and Jonas just needed to survive.

She woke with a start sometime later still snuggled against Jonas with layers of blanket separating them. She smiled at their closeness, then remembered she wasn’t supposed to have slept. She cursed and pushed up on her elbow. Leaning over, she caught the glint of Jonas’s eye and the hint of a smile.

‘Mornin’.’

‘How do you feel?’

‘Normal.’ The smile and glint vanished and instead of glancing up at her, his gaze became flat.

Yes. Llew wished he still had Syakaran strength and speed, too, but he lived. And that really was enough for her.

‘Good.’ She kissed him on the cheek then gave him a cuddle, pressing her cheek to his, and trying to encircle him in her arms despite being thwarted by the mattress beneath him.

Jonas shuffled and she sat back as he rolled to his back. He spread his arms and pulled her into a proper cuddle, her ear on his chest, deeply satisfied to hear the strong heart.

The rest of their group began to rouse. Anya took control, directing bedding tidied away and requesting more eggs sourced. Breakfast would be a repeat of the previous night’s dinner, as would every other meal, until they could identify what was ripe in the garden.

‘Do you or Elka know bread?’ Anya must’ve been addressing Rowan. ‘I’ve never learned bread. I think there’s a sourdough in the jar in the corner, but I have no idea what to do with it now.’

‘Sure, we’ve made a bread or two over the years. Elka knows the science of it. I’m just a pair of hands.’ There was a smile in his voice. ‘Who’s up for a morning coffee?’ He raised his voice for all to hear as he clunked a heavy kettle on the stove.

Reluctantly, Llew extracted herself from Jonas’s cuddle.

‘You’re a good lieutenant.’

‘Aris would disagree.’

‘Aris isn’t here. His opinion counts for nothing.’ She clambered from the bed and held out her hands to aid Jonas to its edge. ‘How does this thing work?’ She picked up the prosthetic as Jonas’s toes eased to the floor.

‘Trousers first.’ Jonas held out a hand for Llew to pass the pair discarded on the floor the night before to him. He slid them over his left foot, pulled them up to his thighs, then got Llew to help him balance as he pulled them up to his waist and buttoned them. With trouser leg bunched around his thigh, he buckled the prosthetic’s cuff in place, and covered it with the loose trouser leg.

‘Wow. You could boot that, and no one would be the wiser.’

‘That’s the plan.’

But, for now, Jonas still needed Llew’s – or someone’s – assistance to stand until he had himself balanced with a crutch. Then he hopped forward on this left leg and swung his right leg through, each step taking a great deal of concentration.

They joined the others at the kitchen table.

‘I’m feeling fine. Thanks for asking.’ Karlani glared at Llew, like it was her fault the flying creature had spilled its contents onto the Syakaran.

‘Good,’ was all Llew could be bothered saying and she filled her mouth with egg.

‘We need her,’ Alvaro said.

‘I know.’ Llew dug into the egg for her next mouthful. ‘But there’s enough to worry about without adding something to the list that might not happen. So, while we do have Karlani’s power, we might as well put it to good use cutting Merrid and Ard down.’

‘That’ll signpost us: “here we are, come get us”,’ Alvaro said in a mocking tone. ‘For now, at least, so long as the Turhmos rangers are too lazy to leave the road, they’ve no reason to suspect we’re here.’

‘There’s too much to do to be worried about discovery. Between keeping ourselves fed and doing what we must to get Jonas right, they’ll see at least one of us as soon as notice missing bodies. Which is why,’ Llew continued before Alvaro could object further, ‘I’ll also need you, Karlani, and Jonas to make a start on defense and alert systems. We need to know the moment we’re discovered, and we need to give ourselves a fighting chance.’

‘This place is too big to defend,’ Karlani said.

‘Then get creative.’ Llew had no time for anything less than compliance. She had a mission. ‘Jonas and Anya might have some ideas.’

‘Me?’ Anya queried. ‘I— Well, actually. Speaking of a fighting chance . . .’ She went to the corner by the front door and scooped something up from the floor. Jonas’s vest full of knives. ‘We found this when we were bringing up bedding last night.’ She presented it to Llew. ‘Maybe you should wear it, in the meantime.’ She grimaced at Jonas, but he just nodded his agreement.

‘Put it on,’ he said.

Llew looked around at her posse. Surely someone else would be better suited to wearing the vest. Alvaro? Urgh, not with the way he felt about Jonas. Karlani? Hmm. Llew’s own feelings got in the way of that option, no matter how pragmatic. Rowan?

He shook his head. ‘I’ve got some things in the carriage; besides, it looks a little tight across the shoulders. It’s probably best suited to you.’

Llew stood, and Anya held it open so Llew simply had to turn and slip her arms through and buckle it. It was a little too big, but all those blades easily at her disposal did a lot to boost her confidence.

‘Looks good on you,’ Jonas said.

Anya had assigned herself the role of homemaker and set to cleaning up, nibbling her breakfast as she went.

Rowan set off to survey the land, to see how the sheep, pigs, chickens, and other livestock faired, and to let his imagination play with what he knew of Braph’s inventions and how he could apply that to Jonas’s leg. Alvaro and Karlani reluctantly headed out to cut down Merrid and Ard’s bodies. Jonas dedicated himself to re-learning how to walk. And Llew and Elka returned to the cows to help them dry off in comfort. As much as Llew wished they could be collecting fresh milk, they had to think of the long-term consequences for the cows they would abandon soon enough.

Jonas fell forward on his left foot, swinging the crutches out in front to catch him. So far, so good. He brought his right leg through in a natural motion, but when he shifted his weight to stand on the foot, it wasn’t where it needed to be. Instead of the heel being in front of him, ready to catch him and roll into the next step, the knee was bent so the calf hung down, and the toe pointed to the gravel, directly beneath him, not out in front. He shifted his weight back to his left leg, swung his right leg back, flung it forward again, and leaned into it, digging the heel into the ground before it could succumb to gravity again. This was going to take some getting used to.

He kept the stride on his prosthetic foot short and caught his weight on his real left foot again and shaded his eyes against the morning sun to watch Alvaro and Karlani’s efforts. They’d been discussing the merits of simply cutting the ropes and letting the bodies fall. Luckily, Alvaro had been squeamish enough not to want to risk rupturing anything. Karlani was up the top of the wooden frame, had now cut the rope Merrid hung from, and was easing it down as far as she could reach for Alvaro to facilitate the final lowering of the woman’s body.

It was hard seeing the older couple that way. They deserved better, and they certainly hadn’t deserved to hang.

But it was done and dwelling on it wasn’t going to change the fact, while practicing walking would improve his proficiency. Back to it, then. He hopped a little farther forward on his left leg to give himself a good arc to swing his right leg through and repeated the weight shift to catch the heel at the right time.

Footsteps crushed gravel and he looked up to see Llew coming from the cow paddock.

‘How are they?’ he asked.

‘Good.’ She pursed her lips as she approached, so Jonas leaned in for a light kiss. In a quick moment, Llew smiled her pleasure, glanced past Jonas, looked ever so briefly like she might cry, swallowed that down, then gripped Jonas’s collar and pulled him in for a deeper kiss. He ran his tongue along her top lip and imagined things were different; they were here on their own, he was whole, healthy, they hadn’t lost anyone, and no one wanted them dead. But needing such perfection would doom their real relationship to failure, so he switched off that thinking and focused on the feel and taste of her in the midst of their reality.

Llew pulled back, resting her forehead against his, and Jonas suspected she was right there with him. Dreams were nice, but reality was better. Always would be, no matter how much it hurt.

Llew twisted her head so she could see past him, as Ard’s largely desiccated corpse touched the ground, maintaining forehead contact. Jonas swiveled to face the same way; shoulder-to-shoulder would have to do.

‘What do we do with them?’ Llew whispered.

‘Anya didn’t have any ideas?’ He quirked a smile at her, despite the morbidity, then grew serious again. ‘You’ll want to say goodbye.’

‘Hmm. I wish I didn’t have to.’

‘You and me, both.’ Jonas shifted so both crutches were under one arm and placed his other arm across Llew’s shoulders.

Movement had them both turning to watch Rowan make his way down the grassy slope. He carried something, like an item of clothing . . . Leather. A knife vest.

Jonas’s blood ran cold, his eyes burned hot, and he was thrown right back to the day Hisham died when Jonas himself had been little more than a shell and had done nothing to save his friend. The sense of hopelessness and remorse consumed him.

‘Hisham,’ Llew said, slipped free of Jonas’s arm, and started forward as Rowan swung himself over the fence.

‘I hope this won’t offend you, since I figure that must have been your friend,’ Rowan said as he drew near. ‘But I also figured he’d rather we put these to use since he won’t be needing them anymore.’ He twisted the vest, showing off the knife handles. ‘It’s a bit gross, sorry.’ He drew the vest back as Llew approached. ‘It’ll need a clean.’

Jonas’s gaze followed every move of the vest. Holes, rimmed with dark staining, punctured the back, and a last few maggots had yet to fall from its folds.

‘Where is he?’ Llew asked.

Rowan nodded over his shoulder. ‘Just over the rise. It’s been a while. He’s not pretty.’ He grimaced.

‘Doesn’t matter. We need to bring him down, pay our respects.’ Llew looked back to where Alvaro and Karlani had laid out a couple of old blankets and were positioning the corpses on them for easier transport.

‘It might help that I think I found a family plot. At least, there are several cairns in a paddock not far from the house.’

‘Perfect.’ Llew’s shoulders dropped in relief, and she flashed Jonas a quick smile. He hadn’t realized how much it bothered her not to have a clear plan for the bodies. ‘Something tells me Merrid and Ard would welcome Hisham into their family.’

‘He loved Merrid’s stew.’ Such an innocuous thing to say when his best friend lay dead nearby. What had Jonas said about reality? It hurt.

Llew turned back to Jonas and pulled him into a hug, and he returned it.

‘Ah, someone’s coming,’ Alvaro said just before the crunchy clop of horse hooves on the road reached Jonas’s ears.

Llew drew back from Jonas. ‘We’re not ready,’ she said. ‘We’re not ready. What do we do?’

‘Whatever happens, you live, Llew. Promise me.’ If Turhmos had arrived, Jonas was a dead man.

Llew gaped at Jonas, but she had no argument against that simple edict.

The first rider appeared, followed by just four uniformed men. Uniformed, not soldiers. But it was the lead rider that held Jonas’s attention. He rode tall, his hair dark, his face framed by a road beard, but still undeniably Lord Gaemil Tovias of Rakun. A long way from home.

Llew released an audible breath.

Rowan stepped in closer to her, pulling a knife from the vest he still held.

‘We know him,’ Jonas assured him, and Rowan lowered the knife.

Gaemil turned through the gate, taking everything in, and continued to ride right up to Llew and Jonas. Alvaro and Karlani walked behind the riders.

‘Where is Anyunca?’

Llew seemed lost for words, but she glanced over her shoulder to the farmhouse and Lord Tovias took that as direction and invitation and urged his horse onward, his men following.

‘Uhm.’ Llew gave Jonas an alarmed look. He didn’t know whether to be pleased to see the lord, either. Llew took off at a run back to the homestead, giving the horses a wide berth, reaching the door a few moments before Gaemil pulled his horse up outside and swung down from his saddle.

Rowan, Alvaro, and Karlani followed the horses at a brisk walk, and Jonas found the faster pace easier for mastering the art of swinging his right leg through. Funny what you could achieve when you had to do something without the time to think about how.

Anya appeared before Gaemil had taken a step up onto the porch. She stepped out just enough for Llew to stand beside her.

‘My love. I’m so grateful to see you are safe and well.’ Gaemil placed one foot on the porch and stopped, evidently reading in Anya’s demeanor that she was less than joyous to see him. ‘It’s time to come home.’

Anya was shaking her head the moment Gaemil started talking. ‘No.’

‘Why ever not? You’ve ensured your friend is alive and well.’ He waved a hand in Llew’s direction. ‘She and her friends may return with us. No doubt you’re eager to leave Turhmos.’ He smiled at Llew, business-like; one of those smiles that fails to reach the eyes.

‘No,’ Anya repeated.

‘Yes,’ Gaemil stated. ‘Your business in Turhmos is complete and we have a tenuous enough relationship with Turhmos as it is. You’re not a civilian anymore. What you do has consequences. You can’t be here without an invitation. And you certainly can’t fight them.’

‘Llew still needs me.’ Anya glanced at Llew, as if asking permission to divulge more information.

‘Brurun needs you.’ Gaemil shuffled. ‘I need you. I have my own obligations to keep, and I’m not getting any younger.’ He cleared his throat and glanced at his audience, then pulled himself together and stood tall. ‘Come home.’

Again, Anya shook her head. ‘Not yet.’

Gaemil turned to Llew. ‘Make her see reason. Not that I’m not pleased to know you’re well, and you—’ He turned to look at Jonas, saw the crutches, but Jonas’s trousers and boot hid the prosthetic. ‘We heard about your fight. Not surprised you survived it, more surprised you were captured in the first place.’ He tilted his head in a that’s-a-story-I’d-like-to-hear kind of way. ‘And Aris. I was sorry to see him turn like that. He’d always been a good friend to me. My condolences. I will miss him, too.’

Jonas nodded his acceptance of Gaemil’s good wishes. He’d lost the Aris he’d loved weeks before the bastard had got his comeuppance.

Gaemil turned back to Llew. ‘Llewella, please.’ Llew flinched at his use of her full name. Seemed she still heard Braph’s voice every time she heard the name. ‘You’re welcome back in Rakun while you settle your plans for the future.’

Llew gave a tight-lipped smile. ‘Turhmos is working with the magician Braph to destroy Quaver’s Kara. I think even Brurun would prefer we fight to maintain the status quo, and we have the only person capable of achieving that.’ She nodded at Jonas. He both wanted to shrink under that expectation and rise to meet Llew’s belief in him. ‘But first, we need to fix him.’

Gaemil looked at Jonas, scowled, turned back to Llew. ‘How do you know Turhmos’s plans?’

‘Ask your troops to help with moving some bodies, and I can fill you in.’ Llew stepped back, opening the door in invitation.

Not looking too pleased, Gaemil relented, and counted off three of his men to help, while Llew instructed Rowan to show them where Hisham’s body and the burial ground were, and for Alvaro and Karlani to assist again. Gaemil entered the homestead, pausing to kiss Anya on his way in. Gaemil’s last man took up a guard post beside the door, and Jonas followed the group into the house.

Llew introduced Gaemil to Elka, who had been cleaning surfaces inside, and invited the lord to sit at the humble kitchen table. Then she laid out the pieces of the flying machine and started filling him in. She told of her time at Braph’s when non-flying machines had crawled over her to draw blood to make Braph’s crystals to fuel his magic. With an apologetic look Jonas’s way, she explained his powerlessness and the loss of his leg and explained that the broken machine had flown at Karlani, targeting her.

‘What we don’t know is if this one was out in front and we have some time, or if it went off course and the others are already in Quaver infecting Kara as we speak,’ she said. ‘What we do know, is that only Kara can be magicians, and with Jonas fitted with a device like Braph’s we believe we can halt their plans, or at least stand in the way should Turhmos decide it’s powerful enough to control all of Phyos.’

Gaemil had remained silent throughout, a deep scowl in place. ‘If what you say is true, Quaver’s Kara could already be lost. How can you undo that?’

Llew shrugged. ‘We don’t know we can. But I believe either Aenuks and Ajnai trees can reverse the effects of the infection, if not destroy the infection itself, or a magician can do it.’ Llew nodded at Jonas like he was already kitted with the device.

Jonas couldn’t hold her gaze. She was right. They needed a magician to fight a magician, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit to being queasy about being fitted with tubes and pumped with Llew’s blood.

The ghost of euphoria flowed through him, as he remembered the day he’d fought Aris by the Ajnai tree and lost. The first time Llew had injected her blood into him, back when he’d still possessed his Syakaran powers. He’d never forget that feeling. A part of him would always hunger for it. Another part would always watch on in disgust.

Gaemil sat back, folding his arms. Anya watched him intently, imploring with a look alone.

‘How long will it take you to build this device?’

‘That depends on Rowan.’ Llew smiled. ‘He’s our engineer.’ She nodded to Elka. ‘And his sister Elka is our doctor.’

Gaemil sized Elka up. Physically, she didn’t look like much, with her twisted spine and hands, but the girl brought years of working alongside her mother and seemed to manage just fine.

‘I suppose extra hands would speed up the process and you could get on with finding out the truth and getting out of Turhmos sooner.’

Jonas shared a glance with Llew. She mirrored his schooled neutral appearance. There was no need to interrupt Gaemil talking himself into helping.

‘I shouldn’t be here.’ Gaemil sat forward, elbows on table. ‘That I am puts the whole of Brurun at risk.’ He gave Anya a significant look. She had more to consider than herself and her friends, now. The wedding may not have occurred, yet, but their union was already official. ‘But it sounds as though Brurun is at risk, anyway. Our peace has, for a long time, been maintained by the balance between Quaver and Turhmos.’ He turned to Jonas. ‘Your own murder of Aenuks had us worried.’

Jonas wanted to shrink from that. He hadn’t been in his right mind at the time.

‘Luckily, myself and the other Brurun leaders worked with Turhmos and Quaver to insure Turhmos didn’t retaliate, and Quaver didn’t feel emboldened enough to act against Turhmos. A peace, of sorts, has prevailed.

‘But— And I don’t mean to doubt your credibility, but you must understand I am simply taking your word, here. But, if what you say is true, then Quaver’s military strength is about to be decimated by a Turhmos agent. Assuming your brother—’

‘Not my brother.’

‘Right. Assuming Braph would consider himself such.’

‘Even if he’s working alone, Turhmos is benefiting from it.’

‘Although, with their own Aenuk numbers in doubt.’

Jonas conceded that. Aris had killed more than twice as many Aenuks in the last few months as Jonas had the previous year. As far as they knew, just one Aenuk barracks remained.

With a wry smile, Gaemil said, ‘Seems I’m not doing much to talk myself out of staying.’ Wry turned to affectionate as he shifted his attention back to Anya, and then stern. ‘Promise me you’ll not do this again.’

‘I wish I could.’ She looked a little remorseful, but also stubborn.

Gaemil clamped down on whatever he wanted to say to that and turned back to Llew and Jonas.

‘We’re about to help turn you into one of, if not the most powerful man in the world, something I’m only considering because I respect Anya’s choices. We’ve spent the best part of a year growing what we have. I certainly don’t wish to throw away our future by choosing to be on the wrong side of history. I believe you’re a better man than Aris, but it’s not an easy decision to plan to put so much power into the hands of one man.’ Gaemil shifted his exasperation to Llew. ‘Please, tell Anya you won’t need her again.’

Llew opened her mouth to speak, but Anya got in first.

‘Although I do hope you’ll allow me to be Matron of Honor at their wedding.’

‘Naturally. That won’t be held in Turhmos, will it?’

Llew shook her head.

Jonas found himself picturing marrying Llew the very next day, right here on the farm. They had all the witnesses they cared for, and Anya could just as easily be Maid as Matron. It wouldn’t be quite as he’d hoped, without Ard there to officiate, but Gaemil had the authority.

Anya continued talking as if Gaemil hadn’t spoken. ‘And there will be newborns to attend to, and cousins to introduce . . .’

Anya’s vision for their future both delighted and terrified. Jonas couldn’t deny a desire to raise children with Llew, but they didn’t even know if Jonas could survive the next week, let alone where they might live if he did. Once again, he found himself glancing up at the rafters, finding comfort in this solidly built farmhouse. He returned his attention to Llew, who had fallen silent and become still under Anya’s words.

‘They would love to come visit us in Rakun, I’m sure,’ Anya continued. ‘You will always be welcome.’ She placed a hand over one of Llew’s ‘Of course, the estate has plenty of rooms we don’t use, most of the time. You could even live there.’ She looked to Gaemil, as if his approval mattered after the offer has been made. ‘If you have nowhere else to settle.’

As often happened in the face of Anya’s rambles, Llew remained stunned to silence, which was soon broken as running feet approached. Super-fast running feet.

And Karlani burst through the door, carrying Hisham’s vest.

‘Riders approaching. And I don’t think they’re friendly.’