"I don't know yet," he said.
And it was the third time he'd said that, and each time it landed differently, and this time it landed like something that wasn't about directions at all.
I looked back at the fountain.
"Alright," I said.
"Alright?"
"I'm not going anywhere." I looked at him sideways. "For now."
Something that looked a lot like approval flashed across his face. Gone before I could examine it too closely.
He opened his mouth to say something.
"Well." The voice came from behind us. Unhurried. Almost amused. "Isn’t this cozy?"
I’d heard Vorn's voice only a handful of times, and the dark changed its quality. But I sensed the change in the air around us, the way it shifted as we felt the danger, and the square suddenly felt smaller than it had a moment ago.
I turned to face him.
Vorn stood at the square's entrance. Not alone — two of his people flanked him, sharing the same careful, cold-practiced stillness — but he was the one looking at us, with the expression of a man who had traveled a considerable distance for this very moment and found it worth the effort.
"Vorn." My voice came out steadier than I felt. "You're a long way south."
"That makes two of us, Amarya," he said. He looked at Nicco. The look had a quality, not threatening, not even unfriendly. Just assessing. The way you assess something you've been thinking about for a long time, finally seeing it up close, and realizing your opinion of it hasn’t changed. "Mercenary," he said, with something in his tone I couldn’t name.
"Vorn," Nicco said. His voice was entirely flat. His hands hung loose at his sides, which meant nothing because they were always loose at his sides before they weren't.
"You move fast," Vorn said, still looking at Nicco as he walked closer. "For a man with no specific urgency."
"I have urgency," Nicco said. "I'm just quiet about it."
Vorn almost smiled. "I noticed." He looked at me then. "Amarya. It’s time to go. We have unfinished business."
"We don't," I said and felt myself move closer to Nicco without conscious thought. "I found your pass. I brought you to where you needed to be. The arrangement is done."
"The arrangement was that I'd let you go." He tilted his head slightly. "I haven’t let you go yet."
I felt Nicco shift beside me, just a small movement as he prepared himself. Because even without looking at him, I knew he was ready to fight.
"Vorn." I kept my voice even. "My job for you is finished. Whatever you think you need me for, find another trailfinder. There are others."
"Not like you." He looked at me with those steady pale eyes. "You know that."
"Vorn." I heard the plea in my voice. "You don’t need me. You found me here. You can track better than I ever could!”
He was not to be moved. “You know why I need you.”
I almost stepped back. “You of all people should understand why I can’t.”
Something shifted in his expression. Recognition. "I do," he said. And he meant it. I could hear that he meant it. "But what you carry affects more than just you. You know that now. Thiece told you."
"Thiece told me to know it myself first."
"And do you?"
The question landed in the square and sat there. Nicco was very still beside me.
