The War Beyond

Book 2: The Hollow Covenant

by Andrea Stewart

Genres: Sword & Sorcery; Epic Fantasy

Synopsis

In this thrilling sequel to the Sunday Times bestseller The Gods Below, loyalties will be tested, long-lost secrets will be revealed, and two sisters will face each other on the battlefield as the war between the gods ignites.
 
Hakara risked her life to find her long-lost sister Rasha, only to lose her all over again. Now she and her Unanointed rebels hunt for the shapeshifter Lithuas, knowing that defeating her would strike a blow to the plans of the tyrant god Kluehnn.
 
 Rasha once longed to be reunited with Hakara. No longer. Now she is a Godkiller and proud to serve Kluehnn’s divine will. Yet she also harbours doubts about Kluehnn’s teachings. When she is sent to destroy Hakara and her allies, Rasha will have to decide where her loyalty truly lies.
 
As the two sisters hurtle towards a bloody reunion, Sheuan continues her shadowy games of intrigue to uncover the secret that killed her father, while her cousin Mullayne seeks the tomb of Tolemne. There, Mull believes he’ll find the answers he desires.

Release date: November 4, 2025

Publisher: Orbit

Print pages: 448

Sample

Langzu – in the wilds

The Shattering had little regard for where people lived, their social ties, the jobs they were working. Some woke to find the earth shaking beneath them. Some slept while it happened, their rooftops collapsing onto their bodies. Houses were cleaved in half, families were separated, the ground opened, and the aether rose from between the cracks.

When the dust finally settled, cities had been leveled, governments thrown into disarray. And all the realms of the world became isolated.

The stars wheeled about in the sky as a bloody corpse covered me like a heavy, fleshy blanket. The only breathing I could hear was mine, which was good, because a moment ago, the beast I’d been fighting had been breathing as well – large, rasping breaths that filled the hot night air.

“Still with us?” Dashu’s face appeared above me. It was spinning too. As I blinked, his features began to align. Bronze skin, gently curved nose, dark eyes, high cheekbones. My gaze focused on the enamel flower hilt of his sword, the white blossoms as delicate as his blade was sharp.

I struggled to sit up, trying to shove the still-warm body off me. Soft, pale flesh gave way beneath my palms, antennae-like filaments brushing against my fingertips. But beneath that was a solid, weighty bulk. “Lithuas? Is she…”

“Escaped,” Dashu said.

The whole entire reason we’d gotten into this fight in the first place. “We need to go after her. Send scouts. Keep her in our sights.” I scanned the surrounding landscape and saw only the remnants of a battle long-since ended. She’d been right there. I remembered the smirk on her face.

He was shaking his head even before I’d finished speaking. “She’s a shapeshifter, Hakara. We tried. She’s long gone. I saw the aspect fall on you. Are you well?”

I sagged and then wiggled a little, mentally cataloging my injuries. “Still among the living. Didn’t pass out this time.”

He held out a hand to me and I took it. The world spun a little more as I righted myself, the earth beneath my feet crunching. Had a fair bit of it covering my clothes too, probably some in my hair.

“Don’t say that like it’s an accomplishment.” Alifra’s voice cut the night. She stood next to Dashu, her russet hair pulled into a bun, blood spattered on her boots. “There’s not as much cause for you to pass out when you’re not acting as our bruiser.”

Reflexively, I touched the patch I’d sewn over my heart. The two crossed swords. I knew what it looked like – as if her words had struck me in a way that pained. Maybe they did. This fight had been my idea, my fault. And we had nothing to show for it except the dead aspect and more injured Unanointed. I let my hand drop, lifting my chin. “We killed one of Kluehnn’s aspects, didn’t we?”

The second one since we’d raided the den at the border of Kashan. What a mess I’d made of things. Some leader I was proving to be.

Should have seen the ambush coming from the very beginning. But when Alifra and I had traveled to a nearby town to contact a woman in the Unanointed’s spy network, I’d spotted Lithuas there in the guise of Mitoran. She’d been at the market, asking after unearthed corestones. Was I supposed to leave her be? She’d used her shapeshifting abilities to take over the Unanointed, to subvert them to her cause and to Kluehnn’s. Using us to find corestones so he could enact restoration.

So I’d followed her, in spite of Alifra’s protests, and then I’d ordered my remaining Unanointed to attack. I could still see the smirk on Lithuas’s face as she’d turned to us on the road, as her gray hair had melted to silver and she’d drawn her sword. And then at a quirk of her finger, an aspect of Kluehnn and three godkillers had come roaring out from between two boulders.

She didn’t need to eliminate us. She only needed to weaken us. The fewer of us there were, the less chance we had of causing trouble. And she’d succeeded.

A figure at the edge of my vision leapt into the sky before my eyes could settle on him, black wings spread. Thassir still followed us, had still joined in the fray when we were in trouble, but I’d not spoken to him since he’d admitted he’d known what Lithuas and Kluehnn were planning. I could still feel his presence in my head, like someone had glued a string there and pulled it until it itched. I knew without asking that he’d been on the ground, waiting, wanting to be sure I wasn’t hurt before he returned to the skies.

As though he had some ownership, some right to me.

He should have told me everything when I’d discovered he was a god. He was the offspring of two of the most powerful elder gods. Which meant he was old, older than the rise and fall of kingdoms. I’d thought that if I ever met such a god, they would be grand, overpowering, like trying to gaze into the brightness of the sun.

Gazing at Thassir was like looking into the depths of a sinkhole.

He’d let Lithuas hide him from Kluehnn’s wrath, agreeing not to interfere with their plans. He’d kept to that terrible bargain, allowing realm after realm to be restored without ever lifting a hand or doing anything to stop it. And everyone had suffered for it.

Dashu wiped his blade clean and then sheathed it. Beyond him and Alifra, I saw three slain godkillers and the surviving Unanointed, already tending to their injured and their dead. Dashu exchanged a glance with Alifra before turning his attention back to me.

“The fight could have been worse for us. But it also could have been better, and we’ve lost two more people. What do you think we should do if we happen upon her again?”

Alifra tucked her small crossbow onto her back. “Will we be ready?”

Bah. I knew what they were getting at. All the subtlety of spitting camels, those two. Thassir could chew through godkillers when he was really into the swing of things, but Lithuas was one of the seven elder gods. You didn’t get much more powerful than that. We needed to kill her to truly cripple Kluehnn’s efforts. And to kill her, we needed to work together.

And that was the problem, wasn’t it? Couldn’t use the god gems if my arbor wasn’t summoning aether for me to breathe in. And if I couldn’t use the god gems, I wasn’t a very good bruiser. Oh, I did my best. I was a mediocre fighter, hovering only a hair above poor by pure strength and determination. I had none of Alifra’s calculating smoothness, none of Dashu’s deadly grace. But I could take a beating and keep going.

I winced as I took a step. Seemed I hadn’t escaped completely unscathed. I was bruised as an overripe piece of fruit bounced off the back of a cart. With the god gems, I could move as quickly as a god, be as strong as one, obtain invulnerability for as long as I could hold my breath. And I could hold my breath a good long time. Even in a fight. It was what I’d trained for. “You want him to act as my arbor again.” They wouldn’t be asking me for this if they knew.

“You have to make a choice,” Dashu said. It was like they were flanking me, cornering me with their words. “Whatever happened between the two of you, you need to either break the bond and choose another arbor or reconcile with him.”

“I don’t like either of those choices.” In truth, I wasn’t sure which was the better one.

“You don’t have to like them,” Alifra snapped. She cast an arm toward the Unanointed, a few of whom were obviously trying to catch snatches of our conversation. “Your team is relying on you, but so are they. You want to lead them? Then lead. You can’t let personal feelings get in the way.”

I looked to the sky. Personal feelings seemed a light way to put it. I shook my head, leaning on my knees. And here I was, keeping Thassir’s identity secret – protecting him. Realms lost. Lives overturned. Could he have stopped all of that? He could have tried. “Ah, fuck it. It’s not just personal feelings.” I checked for listening ears and leaned in. “Thassir doesn’t have an aura, but he’s a god. He’s not an altered. I found out after the orchards. I saw his blood. It shimmered.”

They both stared at me.

“Do you understand why I might not want his help? Do you understand why I do?”

I watched all the implications filter through their minds, wondering if I’d looked as bewildered, betrayed, bereft. Alifra licked her lips. “Did he know about Lithuas?”

“Yes. She knew his parents. She spared him in exchange for him agreeing not to interfere with Kluehnn’s plans.”

I knew what they were thinking; I’d followed this path in my own mind. The gods were dangerous. They were selfish. They’d come to the surface world to take some piece of it for their own. I didn’t trust Kluehnn, but that didn’t mean I trusted the gods he fought against either. And a god who was this old, who’d chosen no side? How trustworthy could he be? He’d saved my life, he’d stood up to Lithuas when none of us had the strength. I couldn’t be sure he would do it again, if given another chance. Would he hesitate when we all needed him the most? As he had for so many years?

Dashu made a small sound of disgust. “Break the bond, Hakara. Find another arbor. He’s a god. We’re the Unanointed because we don’t follow Kluehnn. We don’t follow any god. The altered were once mortal. He never was.”

Alifra stared into the distance. “He knew. And he saved himself. Just think. Lithuas was right there within his reach. One stroke of a blade and he could have slowed restoration, thrown Kluehnn’s plans into chaos. He could have spared so many lives. My daughter…” She stopped, her voice choked with anger.

They were right, both of them. But that was in the past, and I had to consider the future.

“I don’t think he wants followers or wishes harm on us. He avoided us until I roped him into our schemes.”

“Maybe he’s just waiting for the right time,” Dashu said darkly.

“He’s old. Very old,” I said. “Terrible strategist if that’s true.”

Alifra walked away from us, pacing a circle before returning, her breath tight. We both waited as she gathered herself. “He could have helped people, but he chose to help himself instead. We may not know if he wants power, but we do know he’s a coward. Worst case, we’re letting a viper into our nest. Best case, we’re letting in someone who could abandon us at any moment but who could also be of immense help.”

“I don’t think he’s a viper,” I said softly, reluctantly.

Dashu looked between us both. “I can’t say I’m so sure.”

Alifra flexed her fists. I knew the feeling. Wished I could punch the big winged man myself. But he had saved us, in the end. She didn’t meet Dashu’s eyes when she spoke. “Aqqila has so many stories about the gods, and not all of them are bad. Didn’t Irael give that orator chance after chance when everyone else had given up on her? She became a queen. You tell me that one all the time.” Wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince Dashu or herself.

He crossed his arms. “So you would welcome him back in spite of his lies. You’re fine with him being magically linked to Hakara and always knowing where we are.”

“I didn’t say that.” Alifra gave him an exasperated look. “Wouldn’t be placing bets on his loyalty to us outweighing his loyalty to her. Not when they’re face to face again. But he’s useful.”

I hefted my bloody spear, the one I’d driven into the eye of Kluehnn’s aspect. Felt a little bit less alone, seeing my struggle reflected in them. “Now you see where I’m at. We need him, but we can’t trust him. Any help he chooses to give us right now, I haven’t asked him for.” I remembered the way we moved together, the way he always seemed to know where I was going, how he drew the aether right to where I needed it.

There was a part of me that wished he’d make the first move instead of lingering at the edges as though afraid of my reproach. If only he’d say the words that would make me understand, that would help me forgive him.

I didn’t know what those words were. If they existed at all.

Dashu tapped the enamel hilt of his sword, his jaw set as he looked to the skies. “Talk to him. Decide what we can trust him with. Our choices are not good and Lithuas is still out there.”

I sighed. “I’ll talk to him once we find a spot to rest.”

I left them there as I moved through the Unanointed, doing my best to offer reassuring, encouraging words. What would Utricht have said? He’d been my arbor before Thassir, and had always seemed to know what to say. He’d made me feel comfortable after only a few days, and that was feat enough as it was. I wasn’t him, but the Unanointed seemed to appreciate my words. Our ranks were diminished even more now. Seventeen after this fight.

We stopped at the edge of a stunted grove of trees and set up the tents. I could feel Alifra and Dashu’s eyes on me, four sharp little prods that pushed me to keep my word. Thassir landed just out of view when the last fire was down to embers. And I was still awake, and I wasn’t a coward, so I set my jaw, took a lantern, and went to the edge of camp.

Looking at him directly, this close, was a shock. He didn’t look any different from the last time we’d spoken, and maybe I’d built him up in my head to be more frightening. He stood on the fringes, twenty paces away from the last tent on the perimeter, his large black wings tucked around his body, his mouth in a permanent frown. He was carrying his own pack of supplies, though he had no blanket or bedroll. Not like he needed them with his wings and this unexpected heat. A few small spatterings of rain were all we’d seen of the end of summer.

I found my gaze drawn involuntarily to his mouth. Generous, but not overly so, the gentle curves I’d once thought I’d seen tip into a smile. Those selfsame lips had pressed to mine back in Kluehnn’s den, had breathed aether from beyond the third aerocline into my lungs. The soft touch of them, the fire that had joined the one already burning through my veins. The feel of his hands at my back and my neck, gentle and firm. He’d kissed me, and I’d kissed him right back. I’d wanted him, with a desperation that had surprised me.

Then again, I’d been dying and halfway out of my mind. Everything had looked hazy, draped in gold, Thassir’s sword somehow engulfed in silver flames.

Now I wasn’t dying, and nothing between us felt right. “I need your help scouting the way to the mines.”

Thassir was wearing the arbor patch Dashu had made him in the same spot I wore my bruiser one, mirrored, like we were two different views of the same person. He lifted a foot like he was going to take a step closer, and then decided better of it. “I can do that. Hakara…”

I closed my eyes, as though that would somehow shield me against his words. I wasn’t sure why hearing him say my name felt like a shard of glass between my ribs. Always with the accents in the right places. How could I have missed it? The gods seemed to know – every language and who spoke which. “Don’t… don’t give me platitudes. What you did was wrong. Or what you didn’t do, really.”

“Yes.”

I let out a little breath, glad at least that he’d not moved on to excuses. I wasn’t sure I could have borne that. But where did we go from here? I wasn’t sure. “You should have told me. You should have told me everything.”

His voice was a velvet whisper. “Are you sure?”

What would I have done, if he had? I’d have turned from him. I wouldn’t have had his help in the den. But I’d deserved the truth from him. I’d known he was a god and I’d been willing to let that go. I’d been willing to get past it. But this? Doing nothing while Lithuas schemed? “I don’t know.”

I opened my eyes and stared into his, wishing we could communicate silently, the way Alifra and Dashu seemed to. I needed so much more from him, but I could sense he wanted something from me too, something I was unable to give, and we stood there like two islands across a stretch of ocean. No way to bridge the gap.

“I can find Lithuas for you, if you want me to. I can’t explain why, but we – she…” He stopped, leaning his head back as if he could tip the words back down his throat. “If I’m near to her when she uses magic, when she shifts, I can sense her.” He stretched it out to me like a peace offering.

I lifted my hands. I had no godkilling blade, nor a god’s powers to kill another god. “Would you kill her, if we found her?”

Thassir stayed silent, and when he finally spoke, his voice was a low rumble. “All you have to do is ask.”

All the fear came crashing in. I wasn’t meant for this, being a leader, being needed by so many people. I’d never made wise decisions; I’d only ever made decisions I’d thought would lead me back to Rasha. I licked my lips, my mouth dry. “We should break the bond.”

“If that’s what you want,” he said, his voice even.

Some treacherous part of me didn’t want that at all. Some treacherous part of me wondered what it would be like if I stretched out a hand, if I led him to my tent, to my bed. I wondered if he would let me. The world was going to shit, why not try? Would I think about his eyes and the press of his mouth while he was moving inside me, or would I think about the way he’d stood aside and let countless people be slaughtered?

And then what? Would it be like it was with Altani, my old mining partner? Just two broken people trying to use small moments to deny bigger problems? What was the point?

I reached for him anyways, because what was I if not a fool who never learned her lesson? To my surprise, he flinched back. It gutted something inside me, a spoon plunging in and scraping away, leaving a hollow, painful sensation.

I swallowed, trying to push past the feeling, to pretend it hadn’t happened. “Get us to the mining camp tomorrow. Get us there safely. And then find me Lithuas.”

Langzu – the sinkhole mines west of Ruzhi

Sinkhole miners can often be found playing cards and smoking bung-rou on their off time. It’s a sweet-smelling, pungent herb that gives a person a feeling of floating, of well-being, though it can leave a nasty headache in its wake. Yes, overuse of it does lead to death, and it decreases the lung capacity of divers, which can also lead to death, but there is such a high fatality rate among miners for just doing the job itself that many of them see this as adding a feather to a brick on the scales of mortality.

I didn’t know where else to hide them.

The familiar smells from the mining tents wafted toward me – the smoke, the latrine ditch, the metallic scent of freshly turned earth. Heat shimmered the air over the tents, cloth melting into the golden grass of the hills beyond. The camp was in a midday lull, few people out and about, which suited my purposes perfectly. The sinkhole mines closer to the Kashani border hadn’t been as productive lately, and most miners, including Guarin, had moved on to this new field west of Ruzhi.

I could feel the tug of Thassir’s presence in my mind, and with it, another tug, desperate and fearful, pulling me onward. I couldn’t find and sneak up on Lithuas with all the Unanointed in tow, injured and tired. And I needed to find her. Quickly, before she got too far away and Thassir was no longer able to track her.

I’d never asked Guarin for anything; I’d prided myself on that. I’d taken every sour word he’d ever thrown at me, shooting back my own rejoinders, working twice as hard as anyone else on the crew. Even when I’d only been a child, I’d set my jaw and risen to every challenge he’d set me. I hadn’t felt I had any other choice.

Now here I was, ready to ask favors. That was how hard up I was. Couldn’t do it for myself, but maybe I could do it for others.

We were hidden behind a cluster of speckled boulders, their surfaces hot to the touch. A lizard stared back at me from a crack, head tilted, the sun too bright for even his liking. I glanced back at my ragtag band of Unanointed. “All of you stay here. I’ll come back if it’s safe to approach.”

Thassir ruffled his feathers, his expression dark.

“What?” I gave him a long look. “What do you think is going to be more conspicuous – me walking in there by myself, or me walking in there with a giant winged altered? You stay here. These are my people, nothing’s going to happen to me.”

I straightened my belt, my gem pouch conspicuously light, and ducked out from behind the boulders, making for the road. I’d been partially truthful. Sure, sinkhole miners were my people, but that meant they were like me, which meant they were a distrustful, twitchy lot.

Still, it was a shock to walk into a mining camp again, to recognize Guarin’s tent, to see people I knew milling about. And when I darted past them, head down, and pushed aside the tent flap, it was an even greater shock to see Guarin sitting on a cushion at his table, looking the same as when I’d left him.

It shouldn’t have surprised me. I hadn’t even been away that long. Was I expecting him to have grown a beard, his eyebrows sprouting new white hairs, his back stooped and worn? But so much had changed for me. I’d stepped away from this camp and into a completely different life, one where I’d learned my sister didn’t need or want rescuing from me and where I’d tested myself against Kluehnn and bound myself to a god.

Didn’t feel like I quite knew myself yet, but felt like I was starting down a path to understanding.

“Hakara?” The cup in his hand dropped from senseless fingers, and he swore as the hot tea pooled in his lap. He glanced up as he wiped hopelessly at his crotch, making sure I was still there and he hadn’t imagined it.

My eyes felt hot, my throat itchy. I was… crying? And I couldn’t bear the thought. I hated Guarin. He’d always stood in my way.

But then he was rising from his cushion, looking like he’d pissed his pants but not caring. His thick hands gripped my shoulders. Not quite a hug. Never that from him. “You’re alive? I thought… they took you. The godkillers.”

I wiped my tears away with the heel of my hand, hoping he took it for wiping the dust from my eyes. “They did. Or they tried to. But then I fell in with someone worse.” My tongue felt like a leaden weight in my mouth, but I needed to say it. “You… it wasn’t you that stopped me from getting to my sister. It was never your fault.” It was the closest I could come to apologizing. I supposed we were alike in that manner.

His palms were warm weights on my shoulders, keeping me grounded. The look he gave me was half curious, half pitying. “You found her. Rasha.”

“I did. She’s alive.” I wasn’t sure what more to say. She wasn’t here with me. She never would be. She’d chosen a path that led away from me and I’d chosen a path that led away from her. She had told me, in no uncertain terms, that she blamed me for not coming for her. And I’d forgiven myself for that, for being just a child, for being weak and unbearably human. But she couldn’t forgive me, and I still wasn’t sure how to handle that. “It’s fine. She’s alive. I’m alive. That’s what matters.” He was still holding me. I pushed his hands away. I had Lithuas to think about now. I had the Unanointed to think about.

A brow lifted, wrinkling his bald pate. “Is it really?”

“Of course it is.”

He stood there in silence for a while, his gaze boring into me. “So… you spend half your life trying to find your sister, you find her, she doesn’t want you, and that’s all fine with you?” He let out a disbelieving huff. “You’ve always been like this.”

It was easier to feel angry than sad or out of sorts. Anger was an anchor, because when you were angry, at least you were sure you were right about something. “Been like what?”

“Unable to face things. Just running past them. Look at what you’ve blamed me for, year after year.”

Wished I could fit my hands around his stout, thick neck. “You think I’m a coward.” The air in here was marginally cooler, but the words burned coming up my throat.

“What? No. I think you’re a fool. That’s different.”

Figured, that we could only be at peace with one another for the span of twenty breaths. I put up my hands and he flinched. I lowered them. “I didn’t come here to fight.”

“Could have fooled me.”

I forced my breathing to slow. “I’m here to ask for your help.” Gods, how I wished I wasn’t here for that. Here to humble myself before this man who had saved my life but in doing so lost me a sister. “I need your help.”

His eyes narrowed, his chest heaving. “You said you’d fallen in with someone worse than godkillers. Who in all of Langzu is worse than godkillers?” His eyebrows shot up as he found the answer to his own question. “Oh. That would make sense for you, wouldn’t it? Should have spotted it as soon as you waltzed into my tent.”

“What in all the realms do you mean by that?”

“You’ve always looked for fights to pick, so why not throw your lot in with the group that’s picked the biggest fight in all of existence? Going up against the one true god. Kluehnn help me, that’s it, isn’t it? You’re not dead. You’re just as close to it as you can get. One of the Unanointed.”

It was my turn to grip Guarin by the shoulders. “Keep it quiet. We raided a den. It went poorly for both sides. I can explain, but right now, I need a place to stash my fighters. We were betrayed at the highest level, so we can’t use any of the safe houses. We have to find a new one. And this is the only place I could think of to come.”

He closed his eyes, briefly, as though searching for some internal strength. “Your fighters. You’re their leader now, aren’t you?”

“Best they could do, pity for them.” I waited as he gathered himself, trying to appear casual, like this didn’t matter at all, when it was everything to me. It was all I had left.

His beady-eyed gaze found mine. We stared at one another until he put a hand to his forehead and rubbed the lines away. “How many of ’em?”

I let out a breath. He was considering it, and I knew if I pressed, he’d agree. The first barrier had been crossed. “Nineteen. That’s all that’s left of the force we took on the raid. It’s a fresh sinkhole field, maybe you can—”

Guarin held up a forestalling hand. “Don’t tell me how to run things.” His lips pursed. “We can absorb that number. Not enough crews working these sinkholes, and the dens have been pressing the Sovereign for more money to be allocated to mining.” A tap of finger to chin. “They’d have to mine every so often to keep up appearances. It’s not safe work.”

“Neither is fighting against Kluehnn.”

“And they can attend to those duties and to these?”

I did some mental calculations, went over who we had left, who might be a good diver and who would be good at setting. “We’re still regrouping. They just need some downtime until I can find them another place to go.”

“And you?”

I shook my head. “I have someone else to chase.” Lithuas, bright in the forefront of my mind.

“They can’t stay here forever. I’ll have no problem turning them out if they prove too much trouble or if they stay too long.”

“That’s fine. I’m fine with that.” Always kicking my problems down the road. Not that I had another choice.

A whiff of a breeze and a beam of light as the tent flap opened again. I whirled, expecting a miner, my heart jumping at the thought that it might be Altani, my old partner. Instead, Alifra popped inside. She wasn’t supposed to be here.

“Is there trouble?”

She eyed me. “Maybe. Heard part of your conversation. I couldn’t help but notice your count of people we needed to leave here. And that it included Dashu and me.”

I blew out a disbelieving breath. “You’re checking in on me? When I specifically told you to wait?”

“And you’re planning to take Thassir – only Thassir – who can I remind you we just decided was not trustworthy, and go chasing after a god?”

Guarin’s face was either melting or withering, every feature laden with furrows. I held up my hand. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.” I mean, honestly, it was worse than it sounded, but he didn’t need to know that. Alifra had her hands on her hips, her mouth pressed into a discerning frown. I was reminded, suddenly, of my Maman.

I pushed past my initial urge to dodge that sharp-eyed gaze. “You can’t come with me. The spy network. We’ve only just started reconnecting it, and you’re the best person we have to manage it.”

“And Dashu?”

My lips fumbled. “I don’t know. I suppose I thought of you two as…” As what? One person? I wasn’t sure how to finish that sentence, or how to define them.

Evidently she wasn’t sure either, because spots of color darkened her dusky cheeks. “Someone else can manage the messages and the network.” She must have been real thrown off by my comment, because there was no wry rejoinder following.

“Who? Who have we got left that can do that? They’ve got to be able to manage people, to read and to write.”

I think we all realized it at the same time, our gazes drifting to Guarin just as he lifted his hands, as though his palms could prove a physical barrier against our words. “I can take in your people and hide them, but manage your spy network? Absolutely not.” Sweat beaded on his upper lip, made h