“Haldir is coming?” Evander hadn’t been expecting this.
“What of it?” Samara demanded, her voice ringing.
“I’m sorry,” Evander said, enunciating carefully. His tongue felt heavy. “You can’t come.”
Samara’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“You’ll just get in the way. If Haldir is coming, I won’t need you.”
“But you promised …”
“It’s decided, Samara. You’re not coming.”
Samara’s eyes filled with furious tears. She turned to Valenna, as if hoping for support, but Valenna just offered a sympathetic wince. Samara inhaled sharply, like she wanted to shout, and stormed away, bumping Valenna’s shoulder as she went.
Once she was gone, Evander rested his arm on the stall door and pressed his forehead against it.
“Why are you antagonizing that child?” Valenna asked. “All the Cobblepine trainees hate you, and you’re a perfectly lovely person. You could show them more of your better nature.”
“I’m not letting her come,” Evander said without lifting his head, “because Haldir has had incidents with young underkeepers before, and I don’t want to risk it.”
“Then why does he still work here?”
“Because no one believes the underkeepers except me, and I don’t have the authority to fire him. The last time a young female trainee came with us, I had to drug Haldir with drowserjaw so I could get some sleep without worrying about him straying into her room in the night. By the time we returned, I was so exhausted from trying to push him in front of passing carts that I swore I’d never go on another expedition with him unless it was only the two of us.Then I can murder him without any witnesses.”
“You’re joking about that, I hope,” she said. “The murder part.”
“I hope so too. I’m not sure.”
Valenna considered this, then added, “Still, you could find a kinder way of putting her off.”
“I haven’t the energy to save her life kindly,” he mumbled.
“Does anyone here know about your condition?” Valenna asked.
Evander shook his head.
“Vander!” she exclaimed. “People need to know! You need to take time off when you’re like this!”
“I came here because no one knows. It would be counter-productive to tell them.”
“You can’t be riding around Allagesh in this state.”
Evander straightened, gritting his teeth. He would push through the pain, like he always did. He was stronger than this, and he would overcome it.
“I got you something,” Valenna said, holding out her hand. “So we don’t bring you back from the plains in a box.”
In her palm rested a small tin cylinder, one-third full of a creamy white substance resembling flour.
“Wyvern bone powder?” he asked. “Where did you get this?”
“I sold my soul to Roz,” she replied, handing him a tin mug. “I’ve already mixed it into your tea with cream.”
Evander’s heart fluttered. She remembered everything. Even how he liked his tea.He took the mug and slid down the wall to sit on the floor. The floor pitched, and he feared he might pass out before the potion could take effect. After three struggling sips, the throbbing diminished. By the time he’d drained the cup, what had been blinding pain faded to a dull ache.
Valenna watched him as he drank, thoughtful and concerned. He didn’t like it when people worried over him—but Valenna was the exception.
His vision sharp again, he noticed that she was wearing trousers and a tailored waistcoat under a tweed jacket. “I thought you were staying a few days,” he said with a pang of disappointment.
