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Belén shows me how to saddle Horse, and I promise to try it on my own next time We mount up, Belén leads the way, and round turns rocky as we enter a series of steep switchbacks Our horses’ legs are so spindly and fragile, and I fear they will snap like kindling on the jagged outcroppings thatunbothered, and after a while I forget to worry

We pause for lunch in a sreen valley, divided down the rassy bank as we approach, and Mara squeals "We could have fish for lunch!" she says "I can show you how to catch them with your hands Trout are the easiest to clean and spit, and then--"

I picture Hector being driven through these mountains, weeks ahead of us I would betto delay their progress God, I hope he’s being treated well What if he’s injured? Or starving? "We water the horses, and then we ht"

Mara looks away "All right"

Guilt stabs ain I don’t knohat else to do

As we ride, Storm tells us this trail is usually well traveled, for it’s one of only two es that hug the alpine slopes But in the days since the highway war," Mara says "No one will leave the shelter of the mountains to trade They fear conscription into the conde’s army"

"It doesn’t surprise me that he would extend his draft into territory that doesn’t belong to hi line of ambitious condes, and over the centuries, several attees into the countship of Montamayor But they are a wily, reclusive, and independent people, and far overn than they are worth

"We should stock up on supplies in the free villages," Storm calls at my back "Now that we have horses, we can carryhis own colance back over my shoulder at his, but I’m not sure it’s safe"

"It’s definitely not safe," he says "But no one there will recognize you Even I can walk through the free villages It’s the one place where your people and mine exist in relative peace"

I rein in Horse and twist in the saddle to face him "Truly?"

"I always speak truly"

I frown "My old tutor, Master Geraldo, taught es He never once s "I wouldn’t call it peace with Invierne I’m sure Invierne would love to annex and control the area just as much as your ard conde"

I turn back around and spur Horse onward to catch up to Mara and Belén She takes a few quick steps, then slows to her usual plodding, but I’ too hard to erous place, a net for black market merchants and army defectors and wanted felons It makes sense that it would attract the sae that he never e Only recently have I realized howpertaining to the Godstone I bear My old tutor wasn’t the only one My sister, Alodia My nurse, Xi husband, Alejandro All of thenorant Unsullied by dae They believed God had ordained my obliviousness, based on an alternate translation of one of the Scriptura Sancta’s

Suddenly I want to see the free villagesside by side I want to knohat a place without king or council looks like, how a society can exist without fealty

Mostly, though, I want to see it because during the last year I have learned, through s people work hardest to keep

8

WE find ourselves on the bald face of a giant granite outcropping The trail disappears, uide the way across the bare mountainside Without the cover of pine forest, the wind is as loud and steady as a rushing river, the sun bright and fierce

We take a aze ard toward the desert and see how far we’ve come Below, the foothills spread wide, forested nearby but beco sparser and sparser until they disappear into a hazy yellow horizon Looking down at the vast landscape nificent

I i path There must have been an endless stream over many years to have amassed the enormous army that eventually attacked and nearly destroyedadmiration for the determination and stubbornness such a venture would take

We cross the outcropping and drop into a grassy valley Store is just ahead, past a copse of spruce Though no one here is likely to recognize us, Belén has warned us to be alert at all ti into my palms, because at last we’ve come to a place where we can ask openly about travelers who have passed through before us

I ht of it Massive stone walls jut froht of a iant cleaver has lopped off their tops Chunks of quarry stone lie scattered throughout the ranite blocks so tightly fitted that thethe sides, corners rounded and worn smooth from centuries of wind and rain

It’s just like the hidden valley Storm and I discovered on our way to the zafira--the valley I destroyed Perhaps the towers in this e were also built by the ancestors of the Inviernos, long before God brought rown up around these ruins, incorporating ancient walls and cornerstones into its own odd architecture We pass a se that uses one of the towers for its rear wall Its roof is steep and pointed--never have I seen such a steep roof--and smoke curls lazily from a fat chimney A stout wo dust froe pelt with a club She studies us as we pass, but seee plaza of paver stone Market stalls ring the area, and h It’s a busier, louder place than the co around, listening to the rhyth

We toss a few coins to a stable boy who promises to feed and rub down ourwith two gable s The setting sun reflects against the panes, and I can’t shake the feeling that they’re fiery eyes, glaring at us

We’re stepping onto the wood-plank porch when soht blue in my peripheral vision I turn, puzzled

Beside the inn is one of the many merchants’ stalls, and it’s obvious why this one faces west In the setting sun, its wares are as bright as candle flalass Glass of every color, sculpted into goblets and jewelry and candlestick holders, even blown into delicate sculptures of ani squares that dance and sway in the gentle breeze, throwing prisainst the face of the tall, suprees ht-brown eyes shaped like a cat’s, an elegant nose and chin, and shining reddish-brown hair If her coloring were a little darker, if she were not quite so tall, she would look like a Joyan wo, her expression curious My Godstone flashes warhtly

I stumble up the stairs, Storm at my back "I think she sensed your Godstone just now," he whispers "I’ll speak with her later and try to convince her it wasmyself to be led inside