Page 60 of The Summer Pass

Vanu pushed his sleeve back into place, but he didn’t move his hand from Lill’s lap. Lill went back to holding it. They were sitting close together on the steps now, knees almost touching.

“Been a lot of horseshit nonsense happened since you left,” Vanu whispered wryly.

“Yes. I know about some of it. I know you’re commanding Prince Artayarasha’s personal guard, in addition to your own army—but the prince himself has been captured by the defenders of Tagra Degra.”

Vanu raised his eyebrows. “How long were you spying on my camp?”

“Just the one night. But I’m … ”

“You’re very good. I know.”

Lill shook his head. “I can’t boast of my skill any longer. I was captured.”

“Happens to the best of us. Way I heard it, you got captured because people were keen to advertise your services.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true. I was found out because Barda advertised my services, yes, but I could still have evaded capture—and should have. I let myself get overtired. After what happened in your camp … ” He’d been trying to outrun his own thoughts. “It was foolish of me. And when I thought your family had set the guards on me, I suppose I gave up a little.”

Vanu made a sympathetic noise and squeezed Lill’s hand gently.

“They didn’t mean to do that.”

“I know. I saw Susami tell you what happened.”

“Did you? Wondered if you were awake for that. They’ve all been telling you they’re sorry and the like?”

“They have.”

“Good.”

Lill disentangled his fingers from Vanu’s reluctantly. He wanted Vanu to sign. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“Where did I get that scratch? In a skirmish outside the gates here, trying to stop Prince A getting snatched.” He’d given Artayarasha a name sign: “prince” with the hand-language letter A attached. “Now you’re going to want to know what I was doing fighting alongside the king of Zash’s brother.”

“If—if you want to tell me.”

“I’m always happy to tell you things.” There was a hint of reproach in that. “I happened to save Prince A’s daughter from drowning. It was pure chance. Not that I saved her—I’m a good swimmer—but that the girl I saved was his daughter. So he was in my debt, and when I heard that Gurti and my girls were in danger, I thought it was worth asking for his help.”

That was not at all anything Lill could have guessed, but it was very Vanu, somehow. Just trading on his personal courage and heroism to get things done.

“And he put his guard at your disposal? In spite of the thing with the dead boar in the forest?”

“You heard about that, hey? Yeah, he did. He loves his daughter. Takes his debts seriously. I like him.

“We came up from the Tawa Valley together, riding in advance of our troops. Prince A went to Pantaresh—that’s the general who’s camped outside—to find out if he’d taken my people prisoner down in Manáshta. It’s Gurti’s home village, and they were on their way there for a family thing of hers and because they thought it would be safe.” He shook his head bitterly. “I shouldn’t have let them go, but … Anyway. Pantaresh wouldn’t tell Prince A who his prisoners were—definitely wouldn’t hand them over. Seems he doesn’t like Prince A and doesn’t care who knows it. Zashian court politics or some shit. Then a raiding party came down from Tagra Degra while we were still at Pantaresh’s camp. I wasn’t going to kill the men defending my own fortress, so I was no help, and they grabbed Prince A.”

“Why?” Lill seized on the illogic of that. “He’s not part of the main force—if the court politics are so bad that General Pantaresh wouldn’t even tell him who his captives are, Artayarasha is no kind of hostage.”

“I know. But Darma’s men don’t, that’s the problem. And they’re not stopping to think. They’re fucking besieged, king’s army and Sukiyan mercenaries at their gate, and they’re still thinking like mountain raiders, grabbing the guy with the biggest earrings like they’re gonna get rich off the ransom.”

Lill winced. “That’s unfortunate.”

“That’s what it’s like up here. Nobody’s read a book of strategy or thought beyond their own family’s glory. I thought things were changing—I thought Darma understood that if we’re to stand up against Zash, we have to change. I guess I’ve been wrong about him a few times.”

“You were generous with him, from what I hear, and he betrayed you repeatedly.”

“Some would say I’m too trusting.”

“I wouldn’t say that.”