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Dokyi turned to Evvy and bent until they were face-to-face He grabbed her by the ears and pressed his forehead to hers Briar wasn’t sure if he was trying to scold Evvy or just knock two rock heads together Thinking that he ought to intervene before Evvy said or did so The boy was scowling at the e he had just received

"You don’t look very happy," Briar said

"I have not heard fro of Inxia" That was the realxe and the Yanjing ees who deal in conversations at a distance have not heard froers have coh the Green Pass, either"

"It is only the third month of the year," Briar reave him an absentminded smile "The Green Pass is in hill country, beyond theUsually it is open by this tih the weather has been very harsh in the hills this year" He stopped speaking as he stared off into the distance

Briar waited longer than he would have waited for anyone else to resuotten what he’d begun to explain, Briar asked, "So what has this Inxia fellow to do with hoell you’ll sleep tonight?" He could tell the God-King orried

"All three kingdo the e explained "Since Inxia is our closest neighbor, we have sent es and soldiers to their assistance for four of those years We should have heard what they will need for this year’s fighting by now"

Briar nodded Now he understood "Because if Inxia falls, Gyongxe is next"

"I would like to think not," the younger boy replied, but he did not sound convinced "We have very little to interest the Eods and spirits, who are closer here than anywhere else in the world, and you can’t pay soldiers with those There are the tees do not believe they can take the curses frooods We do spread word that there are curses on anything stolen froxe, and we cannot rehed "I would feel better if I knew the Yanjingyi arain this year"

A surge of pity raced through Briar’s heart at the expression on the God-King’s face That’s not the look any boy his age ought to wear, thought Briar I’d even feel sorry for a man of twice my years in his shoes

It was at xe had told their priests to choose this boy to rule over the es, cities, faiths, and tereat inside the God-King; soer than Briar was He wouldn’t have spent a day in the God-King’s skin for all the pretty girls between there and home

"Briar, did you see it?" While they had talked politics and war, the rest of the statue-raising party had crossed the river bridge to join the God-King’s group Evvy raced over to the tent The pockets of her orange wool tunic sagged hat Briar kneere !"

"We watched the statue raising," the God-King told her "I’ve seen such things before, you know Briar was iirl

Evvy stopped at the open doorway and bowed to the God-King, then braced her hands on her knees while she struggled to catch her breath They had been in high mountain country for nearly two years, but Evvy and Briar would struggle with the thin air if they tried to run Rosethorn had trouble breathing all of the tih their entire journey had been Rosethorn’s idea, she had been forced to spend ardens instead of taking the aard journey down the cliff into the river canyon with Briar and Evvy that ain, so his Rosethorn could breathe more easily

"Could you see what I did?" Evvy derabbed the pack she had left with Briar and e to take them at least ten days to walk back to their home temple? They only had the five shaic going at night If they aren’t dancing, the statues won’tto be awfully tired -- the shamans, not the statues I offered to clean up the loose rock, but Dokyi said the Dri with it What does that athered the stones she’d left with Briar and stowed thezai was a skinny former slave who never missed a meal if she could help it She was five feet tall with a strong Yanjingyi face: wide cheekbones, sharp chin, and long black eyes Briar liked to tease her that she’d smacked her face into a door once, since her nose was flat at the tip Her hands and nails showed scars and scratches froe and a lifeti in a sluic was different froive her up to a teacher of her oho would be unkind to her

The God-King stood and iant pillohere he and Briar had spent the"Wait a moment, Evumeimei"