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I don’t bother to see if he coroans loudly, only half conscious

"It’s the blow to her head," I say "She’s concussed" I shouldn’t have ordered everyone to set off so soon I should have taken the time to check everyone’s wounds

Belén slaps her cheek lightly "Stay awake, Mara"

She groans again, blinking, her eyes unfocused

"She saved my life," I murmur as Belén palpates the pillowed bruise on Mara’s forehead My heart sinks intofor a crack in her skull

"Mara is a warrior," he says siazes at her with such respect and affection that my heart aches a little "Did she ever tell you how she found your Malficio cah the wilderness to safety after the Inviernos destroyed her village?"

"No," I say

"Shut up," Mara mumbles

He reaches out as if to stroke her cheek but stops hi her head to the side to get a better angle "I don’t think anything is broken But she should rest She’ll probably vomit a lot"

I breathe a sigh of relief

Stor nearby, hidden froht, but ays carry extra and should have enough for a day or so

Belén helps Mara to her feet and hitches her arm over his shoulder "Elisa, can you lead our horses?"

I control the shudder before it can pass through me "Of course" Horses aren’t so bad, I tell rab the reins ofMara’s and Belén’s horses will follow They do

We’ve penetrated the foothills enough that sand and shale have ceded to gravely soil and stubborn grass We make caling, stunted trees The Sierra Sangre looed peaks capped in snow that shines pristine in the sun, but blurs icy blue in the shadows I can’t i such a landscape armed with only mountain ponies and determination, but conquer it we must

Beyond them lies Invierne, Storm’s homeland, my enemy, a country no one from Joya d’Arena has been allowed to set foot in for centuries And yet they have invited me--no, coerced me--to co, willing sacrifice toward an end I cannot guess

They have no idea what is co

While Storm ties the horses to the scrub oak, Belén and I help Mara stretch out on her bedroll "Elisa?" she whispers as I feel her forehead for fever "My head hurts"

It startles me So rarely do I hear Mara complain "I could heal you," I offer I’ve healed before with the power of my Godstone I can only do it for people who are dear to reat physical cost, but I can’t bear to see my friend in pain Worse, our objective cannot bear more delays

She shakes her head "No, no, not yet If one of us has to lose consciousness, it ht as well be me" Her head lolls to the side, and her eyes drift closed

"Mara? Belén says you shouldn’t sleep"

"Justresting eyes Heal me toain

"I hate you," she says

"Yes," he agrees sole to have a long talk with Storet soht Think of it as a royal command"

His lips quirk "Yes, Majesty"

Storainst a tree trunk, his long legs sprawled out before him, his eyes closed He alears a cowl and cloak, nothe desert heat, but for once his hood is tilted back, the ties of the cloak undone and open, showing the thin tunic beneath It’s soft linen, and the heolden floinding blue ste

With his face uncovered, his eyes closed and his features relaxed, I’m reminded how beautiful he is Such a fine cast to chin and cheeks, with slightly tilted eyes and a s to full lips He looks like my sister, I realize with a start She has the same uncanny beauty, the same delicacy that hides a sharp mind and steely focus

My sister I haven’t seen Alodia in e, that she’s willing to participate in a parlia in Basajuan I’ll need the support of them both if I’m to retake my country

Storrin "The pleasure of your charrunts, but he shifts aside to give ainst his tree trunk I settle next to his It feels nice to be in a different position After being in the saddle so long, it sees would shape themselves to the barrel roundness of ain

"You want to know about me," he says "How I killed that man so easily"

I nod "I’ve seen three people kill that efficiently, and all of theers "My foruardian by the Monastery-at-Amalur Hector, who is the commander of the most elite military force in Joya d’Arena And Conde Tristán, who once rescued lehandedly You move like them So fast, so assured, so" My voice breaks They’re all people I’d give anything to see safe and in good health again--no

"Yes, I’h, frustrated at how he e of information "Why? Are you an assassin like thelike Franco"