Yusuf came by a few minutes later to tell Hina that they hadn't found anything, and that they would be proceeding towards Modmin in the morning. The authorities would have to send out search parties once they arrived—it wasn't something the caravan was equipped to handle.

The losses of Kai and Ellia were tragedies, but they couldn't afford to delay the caravan any longer. They had to keep moving.

Hina would have been furious about that if they hadn't found the letter, but now. Now it was for the best.

Better that the caravan-guards didn't get involved with Gerda or The Grove. Better that they didn't find out anything more.

Hina didn't sleep much that night. She spent hours tossing and turning, thinking about what she could have done differently. Could she have prevented Kai from being taken if she'd insisted on him coming with them to the site? She supposed not, not unless they'd taken him inside. In fact, it might have been easier for Gerda if Kai had been alone outside the temple while they explored.

The caravan was the safest place that she could have left him, and that woman had taken him anyway. Had been able to manage it without anyone noticing. Except Ellia, she supposed. She wondered if Ellia had seen anything. If only they could wake her up and ask her.

But it didn't work like that.

If there was a working that could wake the dead, Hina didn't know it. Hadn't seen any hints of it. Though she was starting to realise that there were a lot of things she didn't know.

She sighed and rolled over on her blanket, tried to find a comfortable position.

The only thing that Hina could think of that might have helped was if she was stronger. Strong enough that people couldn't mess with her. Strong enough that she could protect the people she cared about. Strong enough that people like Gerda and Alik and Bruce and all of the others would steer clear, rather than risking her wrath.

She could feel it simmering within her chest, the anger. They'd taken from her. Taken someone she cared about.

But she wasn't strong. Not yet.

And the best thing that she could think of to do—the only thing she could think of was to work on getting stronger.

So, when Hina gave up on sleeping, her mind turned to practice. She cycled until her well was full, then ran through the workings that she knew, summoning the patterns one after another so that the images would remain fresh within her mind. And then she practiced casting.

She started with the barrier. She traced a small circle with her finger in the dirt beside her blanket, the working came together as she summoned and dismissed the signs in careful sequence.

Hina moved on to the light working. The patterns fought her when she empowered them—more than they had in the temple, like they could sense her distress, the dark thoughts bubbling under the surface. She could feel the twisted lines struggling to break free and do—what? She didn't know what the pattern wanted, only that she couldn't allow it. And she knew how to deal with them now. She flexed her will and the twisting, writhing movements stilled.

The working snapped together and she directed the light outwards through the palm of her hand, down into the dirt. Her hand glowed a little through the blanket, but it was barely noticeable. She released it and the light winked out.

She repeated the two workings that she knew several times. The process grew easier with each repetition, but she stopped before she was too tired to continue.

Last was her ambit. Hina pressed out at the edges of her ambit until she could feel her will straining—nearly at the limit of what she could bear. She was so close to being able to attempt a third compression—and from there, maybe she could try the sigil again. Maybe.

She rolled over and lay on her back, eyes tracing the stars above. A deep weariness spread through her limbs. Her eyes closed. Sleep found her.

* * *

Mid-morning, Hina saw a rider in the distance, heading towards them from the direction of Modmin. The tall shadow resolved into a human figure on the back of some sort of beast—a creature that was lean where the pack beasts were broad. It bounded along the road at high speed.

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A loud two-noted whistle went out from the head of the caravan, and Bean echoed the sound of it from her shoulder, getting smiling looks from the people around them. The wagons slowed and then rolled to a stop.

From the railing at the front of their wagon, Hina couldn't see much of what happened. Their wagon was towards the end of the caravan—too far back. The guard on duty at the front of the wagon gave her a glance and a smile. "Don't worry, someone will come by to tell us all about it," he said. "When we break for lunch, if not sooner."

The wagons were back on their way within minutes, and the rider moved past them, circling wide around as they passed. A tall woman in a rich green cloak. The top of her head as she perched there on the back of her mount would have nearly reached the tops of the wagons, if she'd come closer.

Her mount was a fearsome thing, huge and dog-faced, with a black bushy tail.

Bounding along on its back, she was out of sight down the road and around behind a hill before the wagons had moved on more than a hundred metres.

"Any idea who that was?" Hina asked the guard, a bearded fellow whose name she didn't know—the one who had shown them up on the wagon the night before, when Olivia had found the letter.

"That was a messenger from the city," he said. "You can tell by the green cloak. Cap'n'll have stopped her to get news from the next town, if he can."

"I wonder where she's off to now," Hina said.

"Probably to Blandmanch, or further still," he said. "They move about a lot, those messengers. And leave us in their dust as they go."

Hina watched the road for a while, but the rider didn't come back. There was no sign of anything else heading towards them from Modmin, either. She went back to her seat, wondering what story the messenger had brought. And if they'd hear it, like the guard had said.

"Any idea what that was?" Olivia asked as Hina sat down.

"The guard thinks it was a messenger from Om Qalar," Hina said. "They'll tell us whatever they learned later."

The tension in Hina's chest didn't fade.

* * *

When they rolled to a stop for the midday rest, one of the guards—Marc—climbed up the ladder before anyone had gotten down from the top of the wagon. He sat down next to Olivia. "You kids hear the news yet?" he asked. He was barely any older than they were.

"No," said Olivia. "We saw the rider, but nobody had told us anything."

"The young miss was in a hurry—like you'd expect, I suppose—didn't want to say to chat. But she says there's trouble in Modmin," he said. "Guards are in a tizzy, questioning everyone who enters or exits the city. She herself says she got stopped twice. And in her city livery, too."

"What are they looking for?" Hina asked. Dread seeped down into her gut and sat there like a cold stone that grew heavier with every passing moment.

"Some kind of murderer, apparently. Happened up north, in some nothing town. They've got word from up high that whoever did it is headed to Modmin of all places. They're delaying all honest travellers until the culprit is caught. Sounds like bullshit, but nobody asked me."

"Seems like a lot of bother," Olivia said, frowning.

"You're telling me. But we've gotta be going in anyway—just don't be surprised if it's well after dark before we get inside the walls. Might even get a two night stop, if we're lucky."

"Did she say anything about the murderer?" Hina asked. "Who they are?"

"Nah. I'm sure the guards at the gate will tell you all about it when we get there. Something to look forward to, eh?" he said.

* * *

"I'm going to stretch my legs before we get moving again," Hina said to Olivia with a pointed look. Her heart lurched in her chest. "Want to come?"

"Of course."

Hina put her bag on and climbed down the ladder. She walked up the road a bit. The caravan was still stopped for lunch, and other passengers were wandering about the roadside, so she didn't stand out too much.

"You think they're looking for you?" Olivia asked when they were further out of earshot.

"Even if they're looking for someone else, I can't take the risk of going in there."

"But what about the plan?"

"I don't know. But I can't go in there. I... I guess I'll just have to walk, and ask around at the next town. If you want to come with me, you're welcome, but I... I don't expect anything."

"We need to get help," Olivia said, ignoring most of that. "I don't think we can do this alone."

"What else can I do?" Hina asked. "I don't think it's worth the risk to try to sneak into Modmin. Even if we go in without the caravan, it's too risky."

"Okay, what about this? I'll go to Modmin and go to the shrine by myself, and we can meet up further down the road."

Some of the tension in Hina's chest eased. "You'd do that? Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Olivia said. "Do you know the way?"

"Of course," Hina said. "I'll just... circle around the city. We'll meet where the road to Almewich branches off? I remember the map—there's a fork. I'll camp out of sight of the road, on the north side."

"Very well. I'll see you there tomorrow, then."

"I'll wait two days," Hina said. "If you don't find me, I'll meet you in the city. We'll have classes together, I guess." After she found Kai. Somehow. She tried not to think too hard about how she would do that without Olivia's help, or that of her family connections.

Olivia didn't respond to that. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Uh. I think so? I have food for about a week. Do I need money to get into the city? I have about six quarter-crowns, will that be enough?"

"Better to have more, in case you need it," Olivia said. "I'll give you some." She rummaged through her satchel and pulled out a little purse. "Here."

Hina took it without hesitation.

Olivia hugged her tightly. "Be careful. I'll see you in no time."

"Thank you. I will," Hina said, squeezing the shorter girl briefly. "I'd better go before anyone notices."

And then Hina turned away, and she was alone for the first time in a long time. She walked away from the road to the south, into the rocks and the scrub.

On her shoulder, Bean chirped.

Not quite completely alone.