Free Duskfall by Christopher B. Husberg Page B

who were good, intelligent, capable. But she had other reasons to hate them. Grudges that would not be forgotten.
    “
Voke
me if you have any trouble,” Kali said, fingering the voidstone in her pocket. “I’ll do the same. Otherwise, meet back here at second watch.”
    Nash nodded, rubbing the bridge of his nose. Kali sighed inwardly, but walked over to him. She placed her hands on his temples, rubbing gently.
    “We have our orders,” she said.
    “I know. That’s what bothers me.”
    “I’m sorry,” she said, and she truly was. Almost sorry enough to regret trying to start an argument. “If you like, we can—”
    “No,” Nash said, too sharply. Kali felt his hands on hers. “No,” he said again. “I’ll be all right. We have work to do.”
    “Very well,” Kali said, holding his gaze. Then she leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
    “Take care of yourself,” Nash said as she turned and walked away. He would follow momentarily. Best not to be seen together.
    “Always,” Kali said.

7
Outside Cineste
    “Y OU THINK I’ D APPRECIATE the sun,” Lian said, “but I don’t. Everyone who knows anything about the north knows that clear skies make for colder days than cloudy ones.”
    It was almost noon, and the sun shone high in a rare blue winter sky. Winter and Lian had finally reached Cineste. The snow had been thick and constant the past few days. White drifts shone on rooftops, balconies, and walls. The city itself sparkled like a jewel.
    Shivering, Winter pulled her cloak more tightly around her.
    “The cold bites through you on days like this,” Lian said, pulling his hat down to cover as much of his ears as possible. “Ignores layers of wool and fur and sinks into your bones.”
    Winter couldn’t disagree. It was freezing. But she didn’t say anything. She had hardly spoken since they left Pranna. The more Lian talked—and Lian could talk a lot—the more she was aware of her own silence.
    She felt guilty about it, but not enough to break it.
    Lian shouldered his pack as they walked down the gentle slope towards the city. “Been a spell since I’ve been to Cineste. More than a year, maybe two. I think the last time…”
    Winter smiled, though her focus was on the city before them. Lian was just speaking for speaking’s sake, and while she didn’t much care to listen to it, she appreciated what he was doing on principle. Lian blathering on was better than the alternative.
    She just couldn’t bring herself to say much when there wasn’t something that needed saying. She worried what would come out if she did.
    “We need to decide what to do next,” Winter said, interrupting Lian. “I’m not sure where Knot would be. Maybe an inn, maybe with someone he knows. Or he may have just passed through on his way to Roden.”
    “To
Roden
?”
    “It’s the most likely place he’d go. We found him in the Gulf of Nahl. The attackers at… the attackers had Rodenese accents. It makes sense.”
    Lian looked at her, one eyebrow raised. “We’ll address the insanity of two tiellans strolling into Roden later. For now, go back to the part about you not knowing what we’re doing next.”
    Winter shrugged. “Told you I didn’t know what I was doing.”
    “Not sure you ever
did
say that—”
    “Lian. Arguing won’t help.”
    “Sorry. It’s good to hear your voice. Even if we’re arguing.”
    Winter thought about apologizing. The idea certainly crossed her mind. That was something, wasn’t it?
    “Won’t be much daylight left when we get to the city,” she said. “We’ll need to work quickly. We should sweep all the inns we can find, first.”
    “Right,” Lian said. “We’ll just walk up to every human inn we see and ask after our forgetful human friend, whose name might be Knot, might be Lathe or whatever it was those men called him, might be something else entirely, who could probably kill them in the time it takes to blink. I’m sure they’ll appreciate two
elves
asking