“Warlord,” Snowfall said, nodding her head.
“I needed to find you.” Simus stepped closer. “To see—”
“I lost,” Snowfall said abruptly.
“I know,” Simus said. “Where did she score on you?”
Snowfall touched her left cheek.
Simus stepped closer again to look.
“She’s good,” Snowfall said, but there was a hint of grudge in her respect.
“There’s no scar.” Simus made it a question.
“I used bloodmoss,” Snowfall said. She looked at him closely. “You are well?”
“Well enough,” Simus said. He took a deep breath. “I had to come find you,” he heard himself babble. “To see if...” Simus stopped himself.
“Well, you have found me.” Snowfall gestured to the baskets of dried dung that surrounded her. “At my duties.”
“We are watching her,” Pive piped up. She trotted closer to the two of them. “We told her she has to find the driest bits for a good fire.”
Snowfall’s mouth quirked ever so slightly. “Yes, they did,” she said.
Simus just stared at Snowfall.
The sun was higher now, and for some reason Simus could see clearly. Clearer. Snowfall was all the more beautiful, standing before him, surrounded by baskets of dried dung.
Her eyes were clear and quiet, but he could read her shame. Her curls danced in the light, framing her face.
The pounding in his heart, the need within his soul...by all the elements above and below, he finally saw the truth.
It wasn’t just her beauty, it was her, all of her, that he wanted. Needed. Her strength, her courage, her—
Snowfall tilted her head. “Shouldn’t you be at the raising of the Council tent?”
Joy filled his mind and heart. Simus started to laugh, at himself, at the skies, at his own stupidity, laughing until the horses, the children, the gurtles were all staring at him with concern.
“Warlord?” Snowfall asked slowly, as they all, the horses, the children, the gurtles, all stared at him like his wits had been taken by the winds.
And still he laughed at his own blindness, and the realization that filled his heart.
“Warlord, are you well?” Snowfall asked. She glanced toward the thea tents. “I could fetch Hanstau. I think he is with Haya—”
“I love you,” Simus said.
Chapter Thirty-One
Once again Amyu found herself pressed against a wall within the Council Chamber of Water’s Fall. This time she stood behind Archpriest Iian’s chair, her arms filled with his books and scrolls. She’d offered to aid him, and the Warprize had smiled and nodded. But Amyu had another purpose for this morning meeting and she quivered to tell it. But not now. Not yet.
The room was stifling with clusters of candles burning on the table and mantle. The large tapestry of the winged horse-eagle hung heavy against the wall, still and silent. As if waiting.
Amyu forced herself to look away, and still herself to patience.
Warlord Keir stood at the head of the table, never content to just sit. The Warprize sat beside him, her face tight and anxious. The Lords of the realm, and those that served, were crammed in tight, some seated, others standing along the walls.
“What do you mean, gone?” Keir asked.
