One

Ealstan was still shaky on his feet. The young Forthwegian gaugedhow sick he’d been by how long he was taking to get better. He also gauged howsick he’d been by the medicine with which Vanai had helped him break his fever.

When his wits came back, he scolded her: “You went out. Youshouldn’t have done that. You shouldn’t have taken the chance. The Algarviansmight have grabbed you and . . .” He didn’t want to go on.

Vanai glared at him. Her gray-blue eyes flashed. People saidKaunians didn’t get so excited as Forthwegians. Living with Vanai had proved toEalstan that people didn’t know what they were talking about. “What should Ihave done?” she demanded. “Stayed here and watched you die and then tried to goout?”

“I wasn’t going to die.” But Ealstan’s comeback wasn’t sopersuasive as he would have wanted, even to himself. He couldn’t remember thelast time he’d been so sick. When he looked at himself in the mirror, he sawhow the flesh had melted from his swarthy, hook-nosed face. Circles almost asdark as his eyes lay under them.

“Anyhow, it worked out all right,” Vanai said. “I went out, Ifound an apothecary, I got what you needed, and I came back. Nothing elsehappened.”

“No?” Ealstan said, and now she had trouble meeting his gaze. Hepointed at her. “What was it? How bad was it?”

“Nothing else happened,” she repeated, and slamming doors andfalling bars were in her voice. A long time before, when they’d first got toknow each other, he’d decided he would be wise not to ask her what she’d gonethrough in Oyngestun. This was liable to be another time when trying to forcetruth from her would do more harm than good.