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“No. They’ve decided that case. The hearing is about the road and its tolls.”

She nods, but doesn’t turn back from the ledge.

“Would you like me to leave you with the letter?” I ask.

I look at the place beside her ledge where I sat while she wrote to Asha. I wait for her to ask me to settle there again.

She turns.

“For a little while. I need to write to Asha.”

I stand and move toward the door.

“Daurek.”

I look back. She’s still beside the ledge, holding the pen she hasn’t dipped.

“I’ll see you at dinner.”

“Yes.”

I leave her with the pen. In the corridor I stop to work out how much of the day remains before sunset. There is work to do in the cultivation; by the time I have walked there and back, she will have finished the letter.

That afternoon I take the northern path past the wall of old roots enclosing the Deep Ilden.

A seam opens in the bark as I approach. Beyond it lies the grove where my people make their bond. I have never brought anyone there for that purpose.

Vai would stop at the entrance to look up, as she did at the fallen tree. I can picture her following the roots with her hand, asking where they lead. I would take her as far as she wanted to go. She might want only to look, and I would still have that morning with her.

The seam widens.

“Close,” I tell the roots.

The roots settle together slowly. I stand close enough to see the light narrow behind them, then turn toward the cultivation.

Reivaka meets me when I return to the Heartwood. The bank papers for Vai’s travel money and six months’ living expenses are ready, and Ziku has made another run to the trade station with our acceptance of Edrin’s date.

I read the terms and sign. She takes the sheets and gives me a shorter note.

“Karev asks for safe conduct. Surevai wants to discuss the job with Vai before the hearing.”

I read the request, although she has told me everything it says. Surevai could sit with her at a table like this and offer a life in which she never has to wait for the trees to move. She might find him easier to understand.

“Send it to Vai. If she wants to meet him, we’ll arrange it.”

Reivaka folds the note. “Have you told her what you want?”

“Yes.”

“Then let her answer.”

I put down the pen. The hall is beginning to fill for dinner.

I go to dinner before Vai arrives. Ziku is already at the table, trying to persuade the cook that the smaller bowl contains the better portion.

I take my usual chair.

The place beside it is empty. I move the bread within her reach and wait.