showed it to Windblown, who had edged up behind him. The pebble was so light, yet infinitely heavy. He gazed at it so long that he memorized each line and mark, each of its hues and scratches. He didn’t put it away until Lord Baldric returned to the front of the room, held up his empty bag, and pronounced, “A night of sleep, then as always, on the morrow, we do the work of Stones.”
Aron lowered his pebble at last, then slipped it into the pouch tied to his belt. It was the only stone he possessed, where Stormbreaker and Snakekiller and Windblown probably had fifteen, even twenty.
Yet none of their stones bore the etched runes announcing the name of Canus the Bandit. That honor and burden was Aron’s, and Aron’s alone. Just the thought of it set his heart to a fast race and sent a jangle of fear through his entire body.
He had been given a fresh chance to prove his abilities, to himself if no one else. If he could complete this hunt, Aron knew he would believe that he should be wearing the robes Stormbreaker had given him.
Snakekiller put her hand on her brother’s elbow as the group of gathered guild members began to disperse. “Come. Let’s return to the Den. We have much planning and packing to do.”
As they left the House of the Judged, she said, “Aron, I’ve asked Raaf to ready your talon on the morning. Tek will be going with us, if you’re amenable—though Raaf and Zed will remain behind with Windblown to help in Triune’s defense.”
Aron glanced over at Windblown, who gave no indication of emotion about his assignment. Aron felt a twist of oddness that Windblown wouldn’t be traveling with him, though his discomfort at being separated from Zed and Raaf was no surprise at all. Was he, Aron, taking Windblown’s place next to Stormbreaker—or was Stone simply dividing its High Masters, as Stormbreaker had indicated earlier?
Moments later, Aron sensed Iko walking along behind them, joined so completely with the darkness that Aron couldn’t even see him. This prompted Aron to ask Snakekiller a very important question. “Can Sabor fly talons?”
“Yes,” she said, “though I can’t say the talons enjoy it. We have some elixir that will ease Tek for her journey, and we’ll mix it in her goat meat on the road, the day the Sabor take us into the skies.”
Aron couldn’t quite imagine his big talon sweeping through the air. Though Tek had grown to her full size with the feed and tending available at Triune, her wings had remained pitiful and tiny. They would never support her weight, even in a quick battle-leap. This charge into the heart of a war would be her only opportunity to fly, and he hoped she might be awake enough to realize that, and enjoy it if she could.
Zed and Raaf joined Aron and his companions at the door of the Den, and Raaf immediately began chattering about all he had done to prepare them for their departure. Zed whispered his question to Aron, about which stone he had drawn, then went wide-eyed when he heard the answer.
Raaf, however, was oblivious to this. Aron realized that the boy seemed to think they were heading out on some great adventure, not making themselves bait and targets for three different hostile dynast armies.
By the time they reached Dari’s door, Aron’s ears were as tired as his mind. He led the column, with Stormbreaker behind him, trying not to think about the first time he had come to this door, running and foolish.
And naked.
He shook his head at that humiliating memory as he knocked on Dari’s door, which was slightly ajar. When she didn’t answer, he pushed the door open and walked inside to call out to her—
But she was there.
Right there in front of her hearth, locked in Nic’s arms, kissing him as if the world might end before morning.
Heat flashed through Aron. Anger, embarrassment, surprise—he couldn’t sort the emotions fast enough. Behind him, Stormbreaker’s silence seemed to expand and take on menace.
At Raaf’s laughing squeal, Nic and Dari broke apart, and Dari’s hand drifted to her chest as she saw the crowd at the entrance to her room.
“I—I’m sorry.” She sounded breathless, then looked frustrated as her gaze moved from Aron to Stormbreaker, and back to Aron. “I was going to talk to both of you, but there hasn’t been time, and it’s been so sudden, these feelings. I didn’t know—I mean,