"Nasim?"
"Dead." She grimaced. "According to Vaden, they'll all be dead before he's through."
"It's safer," Tarik said.
"I know." But she didn't want to think about it. She was exhausted. Her legs felt unsteady as she moved toward her tent.
Kadar was there, his hand beneath her elbow.
"I don't need--"
"Hush. Yes, you do. It's all right to need someone. God knows, I need you."
He was right, she did need him. It was time she accepted that need. She let herself lean against him as he helped her to the tent.
It was dark when she woke, and Kadar was sitting cross-legged on the ground beside her pallet. It was like the night after she had come to Tarik's villa, she thought drowsily. No, not really. Kadar had been strange and forbidding then, and there was nothing threatening about him tonight.
He smiled down at her. "You slept deeply. It's almost dawn. Do you feel better?"
"I think so. I had dreams."
"Nightmares?"
She nodded. "Nasim. He was a terrible man. He deserved to die. Why should he plague my sleep?"
"He shouldn't. The dreams will go away."
She shivered. "I hope so." She sat up and brushed her hair back from her face. "Has Vaden returned?"
"Over an hour ago."
"And?"
"There will be no one returning to Maysef."
"What about the Dark Star ?"
"It's docked near Rome. It seems we have a ship to take us home to Montdhu. Of course, we'll have to get a new crew."
"Home."
"You do want to go home?"
"Yes." Montdhu. She longed to see it again with aching intensity. She wanted to leave these foreign shores and go back to all that was familiar and beloved. "Don't you?"
He nodded. "But I have a decision to make."
"The grail? Why should you have to care for it? Let Tarik and Layla do it."
"Perhaps." He smiled. "But I'm feeling a small tugging of responsibility."
And he might still choose to do it. "Why should you? You had no choice about taking Eshe."
He became still. "What did Layla tell you?"
"Everything you should have told me." She tossed aside the cover. "Now, go get me some food. I need to wash and eat before I talk of such matters."
He stood up and pulled her to her feet. "We don't have to talk at all. There's time."
