Page 106 of All the Wandering Light

Lusha murmured something. Her eyes were opening, and almost at the same time she began pushing herself up on one elbow.

“Lusha!” I threw my arms around her neck. “Not so fast—you were hurt.”

She gave me a look so sharp and familiar that I almost began to cry again. She sat up straight, pushing me away. “What happened?”

I shook my head. “I wouldn’t know where to start.”

“Esha is dead.” River’s voice was wondering. “The Fifth Army has arrived, and the witches are retreating. That’s as good a place as any.”

Ragtooth settled beside me, and I wrapped him in my arms. He struggled, but halfheartedly.

“Kamzin.” River’s grip tightened. “Look.”

I followed his gaze. Through my tear-hazed vision, the sky seemed bright—too bright. The stars were dancing. My head ached as I tried to take it in—the battle we had fought, the city smoking below me, all the wandering light in the sky above.

“What is that?”

River smiled. “Shooting stars.”

Thirty-Three

THE SKY WAS darkening. The golden glow of sunset was hidden by the trees that surrounded our small campsite, a few hundred yards off the main road to the Arya Mountains.

I shivered—my back, turned toward the campfire, was warm; the rest of me was chilled. I looked forward to leaving the forest behind and returning to the expansive views and blazing stars of Azmiri, perched halfway into the sky. After a week in the palace, I’d had enough of feeling confined. The novelty of servants and fine clothes had quickly worn off, and I had often found myself pulling on my worn, familiar boots and escaping to the emperor’s gardens, where you could at least see the sky. I turned, yearning for Tem’s familiar presence.

But Tem wasn’t there. Tem was with the two royal shamans in our escort, setting up the wards for the night. And after taking us through Sasani Forest, he would return to the Three Cities.

It hurt to think that I was leaving Tem behind. I wondered if it would ever stop hurting.

The Shamans’ Council had offered to admit him as a novice. It was a lowly position, junior even to the apprentices, and said more about the snobbishness of the royal shamans toward someone of Tem’s upbringing than it did about his abilities. But, in a year, Tem would be able to take the Trials, and after that, there was no doubt in my mind that he would progress rapidly through his studies.

Tem seemed happy. And it wasn’t that we weren’t going to see each other again—of course we would. But I would no longer see him every day, no longer lie next to him in the grass as the stars appeared, his clothes smelling of rope and yak wool. He wouldn’t bend his head over some dreaded assignment from Chirri, explaining the theory in his quiet voice. He wouldn’t open the door of his father’s hut when I knocked, his face breaking into a broad smile, as if my presence, after all our years of friendship, was still unexpected.

As if drawn by my thoughts, Tem stepped out of the trees. The kinnika were looped around his wrist, and he wore the plain brown chuba of a novice shaman.

“Need some help?” I said, keeping my voice bland.

“Um . . .” Tem paused, and then he noticed I was smiling. He chuckled, saying, “You could hold the light.”

I nodded, whistling for one of the dragons. I placed the beast on my shoulder, and we splashed across the stream. Tem paused and murmured the incantation. After he finished, we moved on.

“I thought you were assisting Dechen?” I said, naming the petite shaman wreathed in so many glittering pendants she clinked when she walked.

Tem sighed. “She was using a silver talisman to set the wards. When I suggested plain bronze, she sent me to tend to the fire.”

“The quality of the Three Cities shamans never ceases to surprise me,” I said.

“They’re not all like that. But too many are.” Tem let out a long breath. “All they’ve known is peace. What do you need with protection spells when you live in the Three Cities, surrounded by the emperor’s soldiers? Jewels and flashy tricks will win you more esteem. They’ll have to get used to doing things differently now that the witches’ powers are unbound.”

We moved downstream, stopping by a ring of boulders. There Tem set another anchor for the spell, murmuring the shamanic words with careless ease.

“You can help with that,” I said. “You know better than anyone what they’re facing.”

“I’m not sure they’ll listen to me. I’m only a novice. And”—he paused—“I have to be careful.”

I didn’t need to ask what he meant. Tem’s position was a dangerous one. Though the emperor had granted permission for him to train with his shamans, Tem was under strict orders not to reveal his parentage. There were those who would try to kill him if they found out. Witches were even more hated and feared among ordinary citizens of the Empire than they had been before. Even if there were no more attacks, that was unlikely to change any time soon.

“Has he spoken to you?” I said.