I wasn't invited to those conversations about details and conditions, and I was glad. Even though the monarchs had been happy to listen to me in a private room, in large meetings about politics I had nothing to say, nor the right to speak up. Besides, being around Kassia was draining, and much to Tannix's dismay she was attending the meetings as Valkiros' advisor.

Over the few weeks that followed, more of Deorun's higher ranking nobles or advisors were found in their hiding places throughout the city. They started to attend meetings, and Valkiros began to form his own council. My understanding, picked up in bits and pieces whenever Tannix felt like talking, was that things were going relatively smoothly. That information was enough to satisfy me. I had smaller, more personal concerns.

I spent most nights in the castle with Tannix, but during the day tagged along with whichever knight was spending the day with Jalor. With reluctance, the medics had let him move back to Tannix's tent, as long as he promised to check in with them daily. Mayah had been given her own tent and assigned a small group of Navirian guards, but she was rarely away from Jalor. More often than not, her guards could be seen standing outside of Tannix's tent.

He slept a lot, but the physicians assured us that it was a normal part of healing. When he was awake, he gradually got used to his missing arm. Or he pretended to get used to it. Mayah and I spent most of our time trying to distract him. Mostly he quietly watched us, but sometimes Mayah managed to coax him into joining a game of Stampede. Sometimes Mayah would read to him, or, if Jalor dozed off, she would make me practice.

When I wasn't with Mayah and Jalor, I was with Castin and Kovin. Castin was released from the medic's tent after only a few days, Kovin after little more than a week. They weren't given any new orders, so Castin decided to continue acting as my guard. Kovin was given papers saying he was on leave while his arm recovered, so with nothing else to do he hung around Castin. It was nice having them nearby, if only so I could see that they were doing well. Even if they both refused to step foot back inside the city.

It was almost two weeks to the day later when Mayah stopped reading and sighed heavily.

I had been comfortably lying on my back nearby, enjoying the history account she was reading. I propped myself up to see the reason she had stopped—Jalor was asleep. That didn't explain her sigh.

"Is something wrong?"

Mayah looked at me, her eyes glistening with tears. "I am glad that he's alive." She daintily wiped her eyes with a bit of her sleeve. "But I'm worried about him. How do you think he's doing? Honestly?"

I sat up properly and crossed my legs. Jalor was laying between us. He looked peaceful while he was asleep, and the blanket tucked around his left shoulder made it easy to forget his missing arm. "I think..." I had thought a lot about this very question. "I think he's coping as best as he can," I said. "I think he's devastated, because he's a knight. He's probably worried about what comes next."

She reached out to touch the stubble on his cheek. He insisted on shaving himself, even though Mayah and I had both offered. "Do you think he doubts how I feel?"

"No." I shook my head. "How could he doubt it?"

"I don't know." Her eyes darted to his left side. "My feelings haven't changed. He is every bit as handsome and kind and brave as he always was. I'm worried he won't see that."

"We'll help him," I said.

"What if..." Mayah paused, her gaze landing on mine for a moment. "You're a very good friend, to him and to me, so I know you'll tell me the truth. Do you think it would be fair of me to ask him to be Lord East Draulin? What if he needs to be with the knights?"

That was a much harder question, but I had been thinking about it, as well. "I think asking him to marry you will make things easier for him. We never talked about it, but he must have been conflicted about his feelings for you and his loyalty to Tannix. Now he doesn't have to break any oaths to marry you. I think it'll be an easier decision. Just... maybe let him have some time to get used to everything before you ask."

She gave me a small smile. "Yes, of course. He needs time. I just wish I knew how it happened, but he won't talk about it. You didn't see anything?"

"No. By the time I saw him, it had al—"

"It was me." With a rustle of canvas, Tannix stepped into the tent. "Sorry, I wasn't trying to eavesdrop. I was going to wait for you to finish your conversation, but... well." He walked across to join us and stopped at the foot of Jalor's bed, arms crossed uncomfortably. It had been really hard for him to get away from the castle, and he had only managed to visit Jalor twice before. Both times, Jalor had been asleep.

"It was my fault," he continued, even though we hadn't asked. "I had my back to the Deorans so I could turn the crank. The moment we had it high enough and Tandrin burst in, I turned to watch him. That's when it happened." His chest rose with a deep breath. He was staring at Jalor, but his eyes looked glazed over and I doubted he was actually seeing his knight. At least not the version of him lying in bed. "Jalor's sword was caught in a Deoran's armour, and another soldier was swinging for my head. I was still holding the crank. I couldn't get my sword up in time to block it. Jalor couldn't get his either. It almost happened in slow motion. I watched Jalor drop his sword and throw himself in front of me. Then he was down, screaming. I got my sword out and killed the soldier before I looked down at him. His arm wasn't gone, but I could tell right away that it couldn't be saved. So I..."

Another pause. He unconsciously tapped the Zianesa pendant through his tunic. "I hacked it off. I had to. That was when he stopped screaming. I tied your ribbon above the cut to try to slow down the bleeding, but I had no idea if it would actually work. Then Mandell scooped him up and I followed along. He saved my life."

Tannix blinked and looked up, first at me, then at Mayah. "He lost his arm to save my life. There is absolutely nothing he has to be ashamed of. And when he's ready, I agree with what Finn told you. Ask him to marry you and become Lord East Draulin. Once we're back home, I'll give him his proper honorary discharge. He'll be a spectacular Lord East Draulin. But..." Tannix smiled. "He's going to hate having his own guards."

Mayah laughed briefly. "Yes, I suppose he probably will. Thank you, Tannix. You saved him, too."

Tannix nodded, his expression serious again. "I think you're going to save him too, Mayah. He'll need you. Now... I'm going to borrow Finn, if you're done with him."

"Of course."

As I got up to follow Tannix out, Mayah turned back to Jalor. I hurried to catch up with Tannix as he ducked through the tent door.

"Where are we going?" I asked. "Do you have to go back to the castle?"

"No." Tannix waved at nothing, like he was dismissing my words. "Not right now. They don't need me anymore. I finally convinced Tandrin that I'll be more useful stationed in East Draulin. Mayah doesn't need my help, but it's a decent excuse. Besides, if we're in East Draulin, we might be able to ease Jalor into the idea of becoming Lord East Draulin."

"So Tandrin and Queen Navire will stay here?"

"For another month or so, I'd guess. Once Valkiros is more confident, and there are good Ziannan and Navirian ambassadors in place. Then they'll get to go home."

I knew Evrik was trailing after us at a distance, but I still wasn't sure where we were going. Tannix was leading me towards the desert, past the larger tents for the important men and women, then past the smaller groups of tents. "Where are we going?" I asked again.

"You'll see," Tannix said unhelpfully. "So, we're going to head back with Roland in a day or two, after a quick ceremony for Valkiros. Tandrin is actually quite jealous. He received a letter from Esmeranda today. Actually, I think this is part of why he agreed to let me go. I'll be closer to Zianna in case she needs support."

"Support?" I asked before letting myself think about what he had said. "Oh! She's had the baby?"

"Babies." Tannix flashed me a grin. "Twins. The girl, Esmarina, is the eldest. And Esmeranda named the boy Eddrael, after both of his grandfathers. Esmegara has apparently been a huge help, taking over duties when Esmeranda can't and defending her against scrutiny."

"People should be happy she had twins, instead of worrying about Tandrin not being married to her yet."

Tannix scoffed. "If only. He's going to go from these endless discussions to endless discussions about his daughter being a legitimate heir to the throne. But if anyone can handle that, Tandrin and Esmeranda can. Besides, it'll be hard for the more reluctant nobles to really hate him now that he's allied with Queen Navire and King Deorun. We're here."

Here was the crest of a sand dune, just past the last few tents of the camp. I glanced over my shoulder to see Evrik had stopped at the bottom of the hill. Tannix sat down, and I settled beside him. In front of us there was nothing but sand all the way to the horizon. The sun was already on its slow descent.

Zianna was somewhere beyond that horizon.

I rested my chin on my arms, and my arms on my knees, and stared towards home. "How long are we going to be in East Draulin?"

"I don't know. It'll depend on how long it takes things to happen, really."

"And then West Draulin?"

"Maybe." Tannix put an arm over my shoulders and I leaned into him. "Or maybe Zianna. Tandrin might want me there with him. And we'll be able to visit your family."

I smiled. "We'll?"

"Castin said I'm part of the family, I think that means I get to visit," Tannix said. "Besides, I'd like to see how much Gale has grown. And how much control Baisan has over the lower city."

I shot him a glance. "You're not worried about him, are you?"

"Baisan? No. In fact, I told Tandrin about what he's been doing, and he was just as impressed as I am. I think Tandrin wants to discuss some ideas with him once things have settled down."

"What kind of ideas?"

"Well, one of his bigger ideas is restoring the temple in the upper city. But he has other ideas. Like abolishing the need for passes to get through the lower city gate."

I liked both of those ideas. "And he wants to talk to Baisan about them?"

"Tandrin wants to make sure his ideas actually help, and Baisan knows what people need. I think they'll make a good team."

"They will." I laughed at the idea of Tandrin's huge knight, Eppson, knocking on Baisan's door. No matter how the invitation was given, it was going to be a surprise. A good one. "It's a good idea. This, the babies, going home—seems like you're full of good news."

"Well, I'm purposefully avoiding the bad news," Tannix pointed out.

"Like Kalvahi?" I guessed.

"There is no news about Kalvahi. But I hate to admit that I'm not really concerned, because if he tries to move against Valkiros I think Kassia will handle him. I'd rather not think about that right now, anyway. Look." He gestured at the desert in front of us. "I've wanted to show you this since the first night I saw it."

The sun was dipping beneath the horizon, and the sky was turning into the beautiful orange that I loved. The sand picked up the colour and glowed nearly as brightly. Everything looked warm, as if Rouis himself was walking across the desert with the sun on his back. As the sun continued to lower, the sky shifted to dark purple and blue. The sand became black against the last bright rays from the sun.

Cool wind blew across the desert and I shivered, then snuggled more closely against Tannix side. We had been quiet for a long time. "That was beautiful," I whispered.

"Every time I saw a sunset, I thought of you," Tannix said. "And then I would see the moon."

I looked up. The full moon hung low in the sky. Now that the sun was gone, the moon had a chance to cast its own white light across the desert.

"I thought about how the moon is Anniva, and I asked her to keep us all healthy. But mostly the moon reminded me of that night in West Draulin. The thought of getting back to you kept me going."

He leaned in, and I turned to meet his lips with my own.