She picked out a Peacock witch-tooth from the bag, then scooted over. Tavin took the kindled tooth from her with a ghost of a flinch.
“How are you doing?” he asked. At Fie’s puzzled look, he ducked his head. “The first time I took a life, I threw up. On the corpse, in fact.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Don’t you Hawks have some high-minded rule about respecting the dead?”
“This may shock you, but it turns out Hawks don’t always follow our own rules,” Tavin said, dry. His eyes followed her as she swept the glamour over his face. “But I was trained to kill people and I still felt awful. Are you all right?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted, cursing in her head. She knew it was best to finish the glamour and be done with it, but her wretched tongue kept wagging anyway. “My job’s to cut throats, so what does it matter? I’ll get all right by it. Someday.”
He started to answer, just as her fingers trailed to that wretched distracting freckle by the corner of his mouth. They both froze a breath too long.
“I think I should teach you to use a sword,” Tavin blurted.
Fie jerked her hand away before it made a fool of her. “What?”
“Everyone needs a hobby.” He rubbed the back of his neck, as if trying to scrape together another jest. “And an appalling number of Saborians seem to have picked ‘murdering Crows’ for theirs.” Tavin pointed to Pa’s broken sword. “I guarantee fewer people would try to stiff you on viatik if they thought you could use that for more than mercy.”
“You’ve seen how your kind feel about Crows carrying swords. How do you reckon the Hawks’ll like Crows knowing how to use them?”
“I’m not teaching all the Crows, I’m teaching you. And if we get Jas on the throne, the Hawks will be so busy escorting your people around that they might see the wisdom of teaching them, too.”
She pursed her lips. He could have offered this anytime in the last fortnight. Anytime before now. He hadn’t. This had naught to do with hobbies. “You don’t think we can outrun the Vultures?”
Tavin looked to the prince, guilt flashing through his face. Jasimir was still on the far side of the pond. “I should know better than to try slipping anything past you. I don’t know when we’ll cross them again. But it’s still a long way to the Marovar, with or without roads. And after today…” He faltered. “I just—I want you to be able to protect yourself.”
And the pieces fell together for Fie. This wasn’t wholly about the Vultures either. It was also about the Sparrow crooning death threats, and it was about the crowd who’d cheered him on. “I’m carrying enough Phoenix teeth to burn us a road clear to the Marovar and back. You know why I let that scummer yell as he pleased?” she asked. Tavin shook his head. “Because he wanted an excuse to do worse. That’s the game, get it? They’ve naught to lose by playing with us. And there’s no way for us to win.”
“So you let them talk and cut your losses.” He shook his head again. “That’s … You shouldn’t have to live like that.”
“Aye. And that’s why I asked for Hawks.” She staggered to her feet, ignoring the ache of weary muscles and the warning clamor of her own head. “But until I get them, I suppose it’s worth knowing how to use a sword.”
What was she playing at? Pa’s tooth rolled in her fingers. Crows weren’t allowed steel.
Nor were they allowed fire teeth and abandoned roads. She’d taken on both to keep the Covenant oath, and if it helped get them to Trikovoi in one piece, she’d take up a sword, too.
Tavin stood, then looked about. Alarm shot through his face. “Where’s Jas?”
Fie twisted. The prince’s shadow had vanished from the pond.
“Right here.” Jasimir emerged at the other side of the fire, pot and bowl in hand. “What’s the matter?”
Tavin ran a hand over his face. “Nothing. It’s fine. I’m teaching Fie to use a sword, if you want to help.”
The prince looked from Tavin to her then, tallying up a sore kind of sum. He sat, slow. “I’ll … keep a lookout.” He glanced up. “Since we are being hunted by Vultures. In case anyone forgot.”
Tavin forced out an uneasy laugh. “If only.” He gestured to a patch of level ground a few paces away. “Let’s be clear of the