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The four of them shared out cold rice balls wrapped in leaves and cold red-bean buns As they were about to leave, Rosethorn trotted her pony by the open s and tossed two of her thorn balls inside Vines began to sprout through the doors and s as she joined the other three on the road Chickens erupted fro in alarm

As they moved on, Briar tossed a thorn ball of his own onto the road behind the out of the upper s Those vines that grew froround, snake-like, bound to n of bodies anywhere The vines had spread to cover them all

"They’ll knoere here," Parahan said

"Too bad," Briar and Rosethorn said at the sa around anyway," Briar added "Let’s teach Weishu to keep his greedy hands to himself"

SNOW SERPENT PASS

They trotted forward as theabout," Evvy told them "You just stood around while we did all the work" She had put her rice ball half eaten and her bun untouched back into the cloth sling over her chest Though she had done her part without flinching earlier, thepast any other thoughts or pictures in her head He joined her vividto survive before she had met Briar and Rosethorn and in bandit attacks on the road to Gyongxe It never got easier

When the road curved around the edge of a hill, she looked back Thick green thorn vines covered everything between the tuuardhouse The chickens and the horses that had grazed inside the fence had gotten away, the chickens to huddle on the bridge, the horses to gallop through the fields

Someone would notice the problem sooner or later, but by the time anyone cae, blocking the road coet at the road, Evvy supposed She wasn’t really sure when the thorns would stop growing Rosethorn and Briar created very deteric

She looked ahead once , since they hadn’t had tiive them a burial or prayers

They trotted a ot to Evvy She cried for a halt She dashed behind a boulder on the hillside and lost what food she’d eaten Once she’d covered thatup Nobody watch"

Since that ht she ht as well do the sarass, but it as available She was tugging at the ties on her breeches when Rosethorn asked quietly, "Are you all right?"

"It’s just … I don’t like killing people," Evvy whispered, ashamed of her weakness

"None of us likes it There would be so with you -- with us -- if you did You know Briar jokes to cover it up sohtht up in the picture of the dead otten all the tiht by Briar -- and Rosethorn -- crying out in their dreams

"Parahan will be different He’s a soldier We saw that today It wasn’t just bragging from him It may not bother hiirl You’re hu less like slime, she scrambled down the hillside to wash her hands They went nuot to her feet and tucked her fingers into her ar at Briar and Parahan as she walked over to the mules It wasn’t fair that men didn’t have to twist thee, her eyes narrow "My boy’s restless Not you, Briar, my mount I don’t think he likes what he s travels froht them respect for the animals that worked the trade roads She went to her pack and searched for the bag that held her exploding quartz balls

"We have no choice but to ride on," Parahan replied "Wait here" Without stopping for anyone’s reply, he hung his sling of spears fro only one as he cliht Evvy could see hi man went up several more notches It took plenty of skill to rass

She, Briar, and Rosethorn continued to load their ponies with the er, battle She and Briar had their daggers as well Evvy wore two blades inside and two outside her belt in addition to one at the back of her neck inside her jacket She didn’t knohere all of Briar’s were except for the obvious ones

As far as Evvy knew, Rosethorn didn’t carry extra weapons A kit with blades in it hung at her waist, but they were supposed to be used with plants The only non-plant use Rosethorn had for her belt knife was to cut her meat Of course, Rosethorn could turnnasty Evvy hoped that would be enough

She feared that it would not be Here in this steep gorge with its single road, she could not forget that for her entire life the one fixed idea in her world was that the eod andat the Winter Palace to teach her any different When they had destroyed the guard station, they had declared their oar against the Yanjing exe could soed to do when the imperial armies marched: defeat them