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"What, spend several days in the co an adjustment to her sword belt "It won’t be easy If she tries to dress me in human clothes, I can’t be held responsible forsht now than to be the one spending several days with Karou--even several such days as these would be, persuading their sadistic, waro back ho you responsible for more than your actions," he told Liraz He ry "What, don’t you trust n an entire battalion to escort her"

Or just go myself, hat he wanted to say He’d told Karou he wasn’t letting her out of his sight, but it turned out he would have to, one last tireed to her plan, as bold as it was sly, and his own part, as it had evolved, was considerable, and crucial, but it would keep him in Eretz while Liraz accompanied Karou back to the human world

"You know I trust you," he told his sister, which was almost true He did trust her to protect Karou When he’d asked if she was sure she could do this, he’delse "When it co Jael?"

"I said I would, didn’t I?"

"Not convincingly," Akiva replied

In the reconvened war council, Liraz had greeted Karou’s idea with a bark of incredulous laughter, and then stared around the table at each of the everit

Considering not killing Jael

Yet

And when, after reed, she had fallen into a suspect silence that Akiva interpreted to ht say nohen she stood before their vile uncle, his sister would do exactly as she pleased

"I said I would," she repeated with finality, and her look dared hiined hi, are you?

He let it drop "We will avenge Hazael," he said It wasn’t a consolation or a half truth He wanted it as h "Well Those of us who aren’t preoccupied by blissPreoccupied by bliss She ent Was it a betrayal of Hazael’s memory to be in love? But all he could think, in answer to that, hat Karou had said earlier, about the darkness we do in the name of the dead, and whether it’s what they would want for us He didn’t even have to wonder He knew that Hazael wouldn’t grudge him his happiness But Liraz clearly did

He didn’t respond to her jab What could he even say? You had only to look around to see the non-frivolity of love Here in this cavern, this uneasy inter short of a miracle, and it was their miracle, his and Karou’s He wouldn’t claim it aloud, but in his heart, he kneas

Of course, Liraz had her part in it, too, she and Thiago That had been a sight to behold: the pair of theether by exaotiated the schenments themselves Akiva had marked all two hundred and ninety-six of his brothers and sisters with his new haht now, before his eyes, the ar their marks on each other

Pockets of soldiers on both sides held theed in a kind of cautious… well, a getting-acquainted game, one far less vicious than Liraz had earlier been subject to

Akiva watched as his brother Xathanael willed a jackal-headed Sab to show hilance to the Wolf He nodded encouragement, and so she did it She lifted her hands, ink eyes raised right at Xathanael, and nothing happened

They were standing on the dark stain of Uthem’s blood, in the very spot where it had all co happened Xathanael had tensed, but he relaxed with a laugh and gave the Sab a clout on the shoulder heavy enough to seeh, and the Sab didn’t take offense

A little beyond them, Akiva saw Issa accede to Elyon’s invitation to touch hiraceful hand atop his scarred and inked one

There was a potency in the ie that Akiva wished he could distill into an elixir for the rest of Eretz Soht like a prayer

With that, he sought the gliaze found Karou, as hers found hiht She wasn’t near Godstars, asn’t she near? Akiva was fed up with the volumes of air that continued to coues and skies between them--

"I’m sorry," Liraz said quietly "That wasn’t fair"

A warh him, and a proud, protective tenderness for his brittle sister, for who "No, it wasn’t," he said, striving for lightness "And speaking of fair, youin earlier I’ht off guard, and the tension between the interrupted your alive you," said Akiva It was hard to joke about the horror so narrowly avoided, but it felt like what Hazael would do, and that was a guiding principle--what Hazael would do--that seeive you this ti with " Try al, but didn’t say it, partly because it was iine, and partly because he kneould annoy her He wished it for her, though--that Liraz oing to go wash before we leave," he told her, pushing off fro Several hours of uninterruptedleaden He rolled his shoulders, stretched his neck

"You should go to the thermal pools," Liraz said "They’re… fairly wonderful"

He halted mid-step and squinted at her "Fairly wonderful?" he repeated He didn’t think he’d ever heard Liraz use the onderful before, and… was that a hint of a flush rising to her cheeks?