Jaran

CHAPTER NINETEEN

At the fork, Bakhtiian dismounted and rested his leg, his back against the thick-grained red rock, his bad knee propped upon the peeling trunk of the dead shrub. His breathing was shallow, but after a bit he mounted by himself and they went on. They emerged onto the plateau unexpectedly, rounding a corner into the midst of short, yellow grass. Behind rose the mountains. On the other three sides, only sky.

Tess turned to smile at Bakhtiian, blushing when she found his eyes on her. If he could still pass for an attractive man in her eyes after the past four days, as disheveled and worn as he was, with lines of pain enduring around his eyes and mouth, then she had only herself to blame. She remembered the feel of his face brushing her hair, his arm tightening around her-he had been asleep.

Kriye shied. Tess, calming him, felt hardly any transition from one state to the next as he settled.

"You're becoming a good rider," said Bakhtiian.

"Thank you."

"You have a hand for them. Your little mare is fond of you." He glanced back at Myshla as they rode out onto the plateau. His left hand gripped the pommel, white-knuckled. "She's a beautiful animal. Are you fond of her?"

Tess was inordinately fond of Myshla, a fondness intensified by Myshla's recognition that she, Tess, was her particular friend. But Tess thought of Jeds and looked away. "I am not in the habit," she said evenly, "of becoming fond of things I will shortly have to part from."

Silence, except for the constant drag of wind in grass.

"I understand you very well," said Bakhtiian finally.

There was no more conversation. Late in the afternoon they agreed to camp, halting at a brush-lined stream.

"It's much milder tonight," said Tess as she unsaddled Kriye.

"Yes. Here are your blankets."

She did not sleep very well, but perhaps that was because the ground was hard. She woke at dawn, stiff. Bakhtiian was already awake, saddling Kriye, forced to stand very curiously in order to favor his injured leg.

"I'll saddle the horses," said Tess, rolling up her blankets. He did not answer. She made a face at his back and went to wash in the stream. When she got back, he had saddled her remount as well. They mounted without speaking and rode on. Soon afterward they found a pyramid of flat-sided rocks, a khoen, at the crest of a rise.

"That's ours!"

Bakhtiian merely nodded. At midday they spotted a rider in red and black atop a far rise, and the rider saw them. It was Kirill. He cantered up and pulled his horse around to walk with theirs.

"I rescue you again, my heart." He winked at her and flamboyantly blew her a kiss. Kriye waltzed away from the sudden movement, but Tess reined him back.

"You're a shocking flirt," she said, laughing.

"Your manners, Kirill," said Bakhtiian. "Where are the others?"

Kirill grinned slyly at Tess and pulled his chin: old graybeard. Tess giggled.

"Well?"

"Against the hills," said Kirill hastily. "How did you hurt your leg?''

Bakhtiian briefly described the nature and getting of the injury.

"Oh. So it was an injury. We thought-" He faltered. Tess, twisting one of her bracelets, stared at her wrist. Bakhtiian turned his head to stare directly at the younger man. "Ah, yes," Kirill finished quickly. "We thought you had gotten into trouble."

"I don't know what else would have kept us out in such weather," said Bakhtiian.

Kirill caught Tess's eye and mouthed the words, "I do."

Tess coughed, hiding her laughter, and then gave Kirill an abbreviated version of the last several days. Kirill engaged her in a lively discussion of how best to keep unconscious men on horses. Bakhtiian remained majestically silent.

"But Kirill, even tied to the saddle- Look! There it is!" She broke away from her two companions, Kriye stretching out into a gallop. The men gathered in the camp scattered, laughing, at her precipitous entrance. She rode almost through the camp before she got Kriye stopped. At first she was besieged by the curious, but Yuri finally escorted her away so that she could wash and change. Later, she walked with Yuri up the narrow valley at the mouth of which they were camped.

Tess took in a breath of cool air and pushed a branch away from her face. The sun shone overhead, though it was not a particularly warm day. "You wouldn't know, with the weather as it is now, that we almost froze to death up there.''

"The worst of the storm went round us, but it was cold, and it rained. We had five fires. Tess." He stopped at the foot of a shallow escarpment. Tufts of coarse grass dangled from its lip above his head. "How did you manage not to freeze to death? I had your tent. Ilya mentioned a fire, but…"

She blushed. "We managed," she said stiffly.

Yuri grinned. "How like Ilya you sound, Sister. He said exactly the same thing, and in much the same voice. Do you know, when you didn't come in that first night, we all assumed that the two of you had-"

"Don't be a fool, Yuri. Bakhtiian was injured."

"I rather liked the idea myself."

"Then you can learn to dislike it." She stepped sharply away from him, but the loose gravel, damp from rain, slipped away from under her feet. She slid down, one leg out, and had to throw an arm back to catch herself. Poised ungracefully on all fours, almost like some crustacean, she lowered herself to sit on the ground. Her frown dissolved and she laughed. "Gods, I've been in a bad temper these past few days. Listen, Yuri. If you tell anyone else, I'll skin you alive."

"I won't!" He collapsed backward to sit beside her.

"We had to share the blankets and the cloak."

"Oh," said Yuri wisely, "you slept together for warmth.

That probably did save you. I suppose, with his knee like that, you couldn't have-"

"Yuri!"

"I'm just teasing."

"Then stop teasing."

"Why? Was it that uncomfortable?"

"It was too damned comfortable!" She glanced around, suddenly conscious of the cool quiet of the afternoon and the heated loudness of her voice. There was a pause, as if to let her words dissipate into the calm.

"Do you know what I think?" said Yuri finally.

"I won't."

"Your words say you do not want him, but everything else, your face and your tone and the way you put your words together, says that you do."

"No."

"You lay with Fedya."

"Fedya never demanded anything. We shared-what we wanted to share, nothing more than that. More like friends than like lovers."

"Why can't you do that with Ilya?"

"Yuri, do you really suppose that it would be that easy with Ilya?"

He regarded her thoughtfully. "I don't know, Tess. It depends on what Ilya wants."

And what if Ilya decided that he wanted Jeds? But she could not say it aloud for fear of hurting Yuri's feelings. "It depends on what / want, and I don't want him. Don't look at me like that. Yes, I'll admit I find him attractive. I'll even admit he annoys me frequently, which I suppose is a bad sign. But all other things aside-I'm leaving."

He laid a hand on her arm. "I'd forgotten."

She scooped up a handful of pebbles and let them dribble in ones and twos through her fingers. They landed on the other stones in a shower of snaps. "I have to return to Jeds."

"Do you want to?"

She stared at the ground. A single, fine strand of her hair was wound among the pebbles like a snake. "I have a duty to my brother. He must be worrying about me. He doesn't know where I am. I have to go back. Oh, let's talk about something else."

"We were talking about you and Ilya before."

"Were we? You see, I've already forgotten. Yuri, Fedya loved his wife, and yet I always felt that it was somehow shameful that he did. Don't jaran believe in love?"

"Fedya never gave up his grief, Tess. There is a difference. Of course jaran love. Niko and his wife are as devoted as the rain and the grass. Mikhal loves Sonia."

"What about Sonia?"

"Frankly, I think the attachment is stronger on his side. Oh, she's fond enough of him, and happy, but when she was younger, before Mikhal marked her, I think she lost her heart to a rider from another tribe."

"Why didn't he marry her?"

"I heard that two years later he went off with the arenabekh. Some men dislike women that much. Some men love only other men. Some-I don't know why the others go. I'd never willingly give up the chance to marry.''

"Why, Yuri, do you have anyone in mind?" To her surprise, he blushed. "You do! Who is it?"

With terribly casual nonchalance, he palmed a rock and flipped it up into the brush above them. The buzz of an unseen insect stopped, resuming a moment later. "Well. Maybe. Perhaps I'll mark Konstantina Sakhalin."

"Konstantina Sakhalin! I didn't know you'd fallen in love with her. And in such a short time."

"In love with her? I like her well enough-" He flushed again and could not disguise a satisfied smile. "But, Tess, surely you understand that it would be a good connection for our tribes. Not that I'm so valuable of myself, not like Sevyan and Pavel."

"Why do you call them valuable? I thought they were important because they're married to Kira and Stassia. They don't ride in jahar."

"Tess!" Yuri blinked, looking astounded. "How can you say so? They're smiths, and very fine ones, too, for being-well, Sevyan's only forty, and Pavel's about Ilya's age. Mama was overjoyed when Mother Raevsky told her that Sevyan Lensky was interested in Kira. And it was sheer luck that his brother had also taken to the craft and that he and Stassi-" He chuckled. "I was only six but I still remember how Mama and Mother Raevsky and the Elders of both tribes haggled for ten days over the wedding portions. Uncle Yakhov was wild when Mother Raevsky demanded the prize ram from the herds and half the female lambs from the next season. And the rest, which I can't recall now. But, of course, he saw that Sevyan and Pavel were worth it, when we only had old Vadim Gorelik for smithing, and he never better than a middling smith anyway. And then it helped him in the end, because when Mikhal fell in love with Sonia-oh, years later, of course-Mama simply looked the other way when Misha went to mark her, though he'd nothing really special to bring to the etsana's tent. No craft, and though he's got a good hand for the lute, he wasn't gifted by the gods for music like Fedya was. And he's not a remarkably handsome man either.''

"But he's very good-natured."

"Yes."

"But then, Yuri, I don't mean to sound-"

He laughed. "Why should Mother Sakhalin agree to me? Because I'm Bakhtiian's cousin. And my mother is etsana. Konstantina will be etsana someday, and I know exactly what is to be expected of an etsana's husband."

"Wouldn't Ilya be the best choice to marry an etsana?"

"Ilya?" He chuckled. "Ilya is exactly the last man any etsana would want to marry. She doesn't want a husband who will put himself forward, or who will quarrel with whichever cousin or nephew is dyan of her tribe's jahar. So you see, I am perfect." He preened a little, to make his point.

Tess laughed and draped an arm around his shoulders. "I always knew you were perfect, Yuri. But then who will Bakhtiian marry, if not an etsana's daughter?"

"I thought you said you weren't interested in him."

"I'm curious, damn you."

"Tess, Tess, no need to be snappish. How should I know, anyway? Why do you want to know?''

"Well, for one thing, he can't have children unless he's married, can he? He might have gotten a child on some woman but he wouldn't be considered its father."

"Yes, I remember in Jeds I was surprised how great a fuss those barbarians made over which man got which child on which woman. I only ever had one father, Tess."

' 'What if an unmarried girl gets pregnant, or if a child's mother dies?''

Yuri regarded her quizzically. "A child always stays with its mother, or with her kin if its mother dies. And, of course, you know about the herb girls use so they don't get pregnant. Only married women have children."

"Well, then, what about Vladimir? Didn't his mother have any kin to take him in?"

Yuri shook his head. "His parents were priests."

"They're dead?"

"No, given in service to the gods. Those few jaran who take the white robe break all ties with the tribes. A little like the arenabekh, but for different reasons. There are priests at the shrine of Morava. And they're both men and women, so, of course, sometimes there are children."

"But without kin. How did he come to ride in your jahar?"

"We found him at jahar-ledest. In Jeds you would call them schools, I suppose. There is one here in the west, and one in the east, where young men can train."

"You told me about them once." Above them, a few clouds floated like calm fish in untroubled waters. "Bakh-tiian mentioned one once. Doesn't he know the man who trains there?"

"Kerchaniia Bakhalo. He rode with Ilya's father."

"Why do you have these 'schools'? The jaran wander."

"Oh, the influence of khaja, I suppose. Bakhalo made the first one, some twenty years back. I learned more there about fighting than I ever learned in the tribe because it's all you have to think about. Like the arenabekh, but temporary, thank the gods. You'd like it, Tess. Bakhalo has about forty young men at a time. He lives by a town near the coast. That put me off at first, to live in one place, but I'd just been in Jeds and, anyway, we lived in tents. The townspeople there are happy because with the jaran there the pirates don't bother them. It's a strange arrangement, but it works. I was never any good at saber until I went there."

"Why not?"

"I never bothered." He sighed ostentatiously. "That didn't make me any more popular among the girls. They like a boy who can flash his blade."

"I'll bet."

"Or one who has a reputation, like Ilya. They dangle like so much plump fruit in front of him, but really, when I think of it, he rarely picks from that tree."

"Why do you think he doesn't?"

"Are you sure you're not a little bit in love with him?"

A wind stirred through the brush. Twigs scraped softly against rock. "I think you should make up to him."

"And be left dangling like the rest of the ripe, or overripe, fruit? No thank you."

"Perhaps I chose an unfortunate expression."

"Very unfortunate."

"But, Tess, think of the rest of us. Haven't you ever noticed that the more Ilya denies himself, the worse of a mood he gets in? Niko once told me that he'd never known Ilya to sleep through the night except when he was with a woman."

She flushed scarlet. "Yuri! No."

He grinned, enjoying her discomfiture. "You're just stubborn."

"No, I'm protecting myself. He's very attractive."

"Then why don't you-" He broke off, laughing, to hug her. ' 'It's much better having you for a sister than a lover, because I get you forever as a sister."

"Unless I kill you first."

"Tess," he scolded, "you'd never manage without me. Who got you through that first ten days? Who saddled Myshla for you and brought you food?"

"Definitely a brother. Only a sibling would hold that over my head." She hugged him suddenly and fiercely. "Yuri, I-" She broke off.

He pushed her back. "What's wrong? Don't cry!"

"My brother is so much older than me. I always wanted another brother, one close in age, so we could share-" She hesitated, went on awkwardly. "One I could love right here, next to my heart, instead of from far away.''

Yuri's whole expression transformed, as if his heart, long buried, now shone from his face. Then, unaccountably, he lowered his eyes to stare at his hands. "I love you, too, Tess," he said in a low voice, as if afraid the admission would offend her.

"Well, you might at least look at me when you say it!" she demanded, suddenly embarrassed, and then she laughed because he was as flushed as she was.

"Of course, you know what this means." He looked up at her with a sly grin.

"What what means?"

"Siblings are bound by the oldest of customs to protect one another, even if it means death."

"Very well, Yuri. If Bakhtiian ever begins to scold you, I'll come to your rescue."

"It needn't go that far," said Yuri quickly. They both grinned and got up to return to camp, brushing dirt and withered blades of grass from their clothing. "We were worried though, Tess. Especially when that storm blew down and you hadn't gotten back yet." They walked slowly along the escarpment, boots scuffing through damp grass, content for the moment in each other's company.

"I'm surprised Niko didn't send Josef to look for us."

"He would have in another three nights."

"Yuri, we could have been dead by then."

"But Ilya left us a message that we shouldn't wait. How were we to know what that meant?"

Tess stopped, suddenly suspicious. "What did you think it meant?" Yuri knelt abruptly, turning his face away from her, and busied himself brushing imaginary grass from his boots. "Look at me. Why nine nights?"

He straightened, his flush fading to a slight pink tint along his high cheekbones. "It's just superstition."

"Yes, and?"

The flush rose a little high, creeping up to his ears, but he met her gaze. "I don't want to talk about it," he finished, his tone edged.

"You thought we- Never mind. I know what you thought. Everyone else evidently thought the same thing."

He smiled slightly, conciliatorily. "At least give us credit for thinking, Tess."

"Oh, Yuri," she said in disgust, "I'm hungry. Isn't there something hot to eat?"

Yuri's gaze shifted past her toward the camp. "The stew must be ready by now. I'll go check. I pitched your tent over there-" He nodded toward the opposite bluff. "All your gear is there."

"Thank you, Yuri. What would I possibly do without you?"

He gave her a sidewise look. "I'm used to older sisters, always ordering a man around and telling him what to do."

"Oh, go away," she said, as much with humor as with pique, and he grinned, happy to annoy her, and left.

She strolled slowly toward the opposite bluff, glad to be alone with her own thoughts. On a whim, she walked over to the four white tents of the Chapalii. None of them were outside, that she could see, so she simply stood for a moment and watched. Even in this weak sunlight, the white fabric of the tents shimmered, as if light was woven in with it. And perhaps it was-she knew there was more than cloth in their weaving. All plain white but for the lettering at their peaks that marked one as a lord's tent, one as a merchant's, and the other two for the lowly stewards. Even disguised, as they were in a fashion for this journey, they still must mark their rank for themselves.

The flap on the merchant's tent swept aside and Garii emerged, looking straight at her, as if he knew she was standing there. "Lady Terese! You have returned!" Colors flushed his face in a blur before he controlled himself and his skin faded to a neutral pallor. He bowed. "I beg your greatest indulgence for my outburst, Lady Terese. Only, I feared for you-" He broke off abruptly.

Ishii pushed out of his own tent and examined first Garii and then, bowing punctiliously, Tess. "Lady Terese. Please permit me to express how gratified I am to see you restored to our party. I hope there was no trouble."

Caught out, she thought fast. "Indeed, Cha Ishii, I accept your felicitations. I thought to inquire if you and your party have suffered through this difficult cold weather, knowing as I do that you are better adapted to heat.''

"Your concern honors us." He inclined his head. Garii stood stiffly to one side, silent. "Indeed, we have been forced to remain within our tents for the most part of these past days, but as I understand that we will reach the shrine of Morava soon, we are able to endure such trials knowing that they will come to an end and that we shall return to more hospitable environments." He looked pointedly at Garii. Garii, caught looking at Tess, bowed abruptly and subserviently, and retreated into his tent.

"I feel sure," said Tess to cover the awkward silence, "that you anticipate with pleasure such a change in your circumstances."

"You are discerning, Lady Terese. I only wish all those of my party had so much discrimination as yourself, but I fear that low birth or unstable family often contributes to a lack of discretion or even to poor judgment." He bowed.

That he was warning her was clear. Unsure what to reply, she chose, like Garii, retreat. "You may return to your duties, Cha Ishii."

He bowed with exactly the correct measure of humility and pride, and went back into his tent.

She forced herself to get out of earshot before she allowed herself to swear, a single word, just to express her frustration. And she was then greeted by the sight of Bakhtiian, sitting on the lip of his tent, which some fool had pitched not thirty paces from her own. A leather pouch cradled his injured knee. He was very white-faced, talking-or arguing-with Niko while diligently keeping his attention on the shirt he was mending. Tess averted her gaze and passed them. In a moment, she felt someone come up behind her. It was Niko.

"Tess."

Tess did not stop until she reached her tent. Then she turned. ' 'What do you want?''

"I do not appreciate being the recipient of your ill humor, my girl, having done nothing to deserve it."

"I'm sorry, Niko."

"You ought to be. Now what happened?"

"What happened where?"

"Tess, having just played this scene with Ilyakoria, I have no patience to repeat it with you."

"He hurt his knee. We had a very difficult six days getting back to you."

"All this is evident to the discerning man. Doubtless the days would not have been so trying if Bakhtiian did not think he has to endure twice what another man can." He rested his hand on her shoulder, a light touch but firm, so that she knew he meant her to look at him. He watched her intently, his eyes very bright against the weathered tan of his face. ' 'Or would they have been? Do you know anything about this, young woman?"

"If I do, it's nothing I set out to do," she exclaimed, shaking loose from his hand.

Niko smiled. The wrinkles of old laughter showed at the corners of his eyes. "That answers my question. I won't trouble you further." He left.

"Why is everyone so annoying today?" Tess muttered. She ducked into her tent, but she had to rummage around for a bit, cursing under her breath, before she found her bowl.

Coming out of her tent, she saw Kirill walking toward her, his light step and red-gold hair making him seem like a shaft of barely controlled energy in the quiet of the afternoon. She hurried toward the fire.

"Tess!" he called.

"Damn," she said under her breath, but she halted.

"We should make all the women wear jahar dress. I've never seen such an appealing sight as you in red and black.'' She was thankful that they were so far from the main fire, and yet, truthfully, was happy to see him. His easygoing humor sparked in the air between them as he came up to her. Her gaze drifted briefly to one side. Bakhtiian's tent was no farther than twenty paces away now. His eyes had lifted from his shirt, although his hands kept to an even stitch, thread a thin line between his fingers. Kirill stopped two paces from her. Though his eyes were full of laughter, his expression was serious. "None of the men," he finished, "looks half so good."

"That depends on who is looking at them, Kirill," she replied, attempting dignity. "I prefer a man in red and black to a woman any time."

"Tess." He smiled. He had a sweet, charming smile, the kind that made it impossible to resist his impudence or even to hold it against him. "You never told me."

"You never asked." Absurdly, she felt herself drawn into the game. Whatever else Kirill might be, he was exceptionally easy to flirt with. "Which is exactly the kind of behavior any jaran woman would expect from a well-mannered man." She moved to circle him but he kept getting in her way.

"But you aren't jaran, my heart."

"Kirill!" The source and, more particularly, the tone surprised them both. Kirill paled slightly; he turned. Bakhtiian still sat by his tent, but his hands no longer worked at his half-mended shirt. His face was devoid of expression. "It is assumed that the men in my jahar have both manners and reputation. Take care that you don't lose your share in all three."

Kirill colored. "This is a private conversation."

"Conducted in so public a place and at such a level? It would in any case be doubly offensive if it were private."

Kirill crimsoned. He deliberately put a hand on the hilt of his saber. Bakhtiian merely watched him. Kirill paused, and Tess could see his expression change as he decided on something.

"Kirill," she began in a low voice, but he was not even aware of her.

He drew his saber. "Not if she were my wife."

If Bakhtiian had been pale before, he went dead white now. He threw the shirt down and began to push up to his feet.

"Sit down!" snapped Tess. She took a step toward Bakhtiian. Kirill's hand was clutched so tightly around the hilt that his tendons stood out. "Kirill. Put that thing away."

"No," said Kirill, still looking at Bakhtiian.

Bakhtiian had frozen, half up, looking as ungainly as he ever could. Eyes on Kirill, he slowly lowered himself back down. His arms stayed poised by his belt.

"Kirill," said Tess reasonably, moving to face the younger man, "Maryeshka Kolenin kicked you in a vulnerable spot once. I have a knife and a saber."

For a moment he still stared past her. When his eyes shifted to her, the line of his mouth softened abruptly. He sheathed his blade, a dull shick, and laughed. "And I taught you how to use them."

"That's better."

"I never meant to use it."

"That's good."

"I'm not really running after you as shamelessly as it may at times appear.''

"Aren't you?"

He grinned, and added a judicious appendix. "But if you ever get cold some evening…"

"If I get cold some evening, I'll borrow an extra blanket."

"Tess! Aren't I good-looking?"

"A man is only as handsome as his reputation, Kirill." He laughed. Tess glanced at Ilya. He had gone back to his mending. If his lips were pressed together in disapproval, his hands, at least, suffered from no unsteadiness. "Come here."

Kirill followed her out past the tents. Shadows spread out over this end of camp as the sun sank below the heights. Two of the riders, seated at one tent, sharpened their sabers. The harsh sound grated on her nerves, but she managed a polite reply to their greeting. When she could no longer hear the sound, she and Kirill had walked well beyond the camp, back up into the vale in the same direction-though not as far-as she and Yuri had come. It was very still, not even the noise of insects could be heard. She halted and rounded on him.

"Now. Just whose benefit was that display for? Mine, yours, or Bakhtiian's? I don't like being placed in that position. ''

"Listen, Tess." Kirill's hair had the color of burnished gold in the shadow. "It's true enough that I oughtn't to have made that scene, and I apologize to you most sincerely." Then, as if this earnestness had exhausted his supply, he offered her a sweetly mischievous grin. She could see faint laughter lines at his eyes. "I really just wanted to get a reaction from Ilyakoria."

"You can do that without me. You do it all the time."

He looked away from her. There was a muteness in the vale, almost a lull, as if the world was caught between day and night and could not quite forsake the one or gain the other. "I was fond of my wife before she died. But she thought she was in love with Bakhtiian." He lifted his gaze to her, pale lashes fringing the steady blue of his eyes. "They all do, don't you see? But you-you took Fedya! We were all waiting to see which one you would choose-well, I beg your pardon, but it's only the truth, Tess."

"I suppose," she said coolly, "that you even had a few wagers running on which one it would be, and how soon."

Kirill fought to suppress a grin and failed. "Well, Tess, one woman and twenty-seven men-I don't count the pilgrims, you understand-what do you expect? But no one expected Fedya."

"Yuri might have," she muttered.

"Yuri refused to wager."

"Good for Yuri," she said, and then she laughed. "Gods, how lowering. Did everyone know?"

"Tess, we're not stupid. Or blind." He smiled very sweetly, and she reflected that he was, after all, a good looking man, and well aware of it. "After all, my heart, some of us might have entertained hope for ourselves."

"Don't even try to kiss me, Kirill. I'm not in the mood."

Color infused his cheeks. "But, Tess-"

"What does all this have to do with Bakhtiian anyway? Or was everyone wagering on him?"

"Don't blame me. I didn't wager on him." He grew serious suddenly. "But the odds were overwhelmingly in his favor.''

"Oh, Lord," Tess sighed.

"I've never seen a woman so impervious to Bakhtiian," he went on, "and certainly never an attractive woman, and every man, every man in the world, looks twice at the woman who doesn't look twice at him."

"So you wanted to show Bakhtiian that I was more interested in you than in him."

"Well." He straightened a sleeve that already lay perfectly in place and brushed a nonexistent strand of hair away from his cheek. "Yes."

Tess considered Kirill. He smiled, recognizing her scrutiny for what it was and, with that careless confidence that was a large part of his charm, not fearing her judgment. Yes, he would be very easy to take as a lover. And Bakhtiian would be furious. She laughed, knowing that to take him as a lover just to anger Bakhtiian was not only unfair to Kirill but all too revealing about how she might actually feel about Ilya.

"I hope," he said, a little on his dignity now, "that I am not that easy to laugh at."

"Why do you resent him? I can understand about your wife, but still, Yuri says that he rarely takes any woman up on her offer.''

"That's true. It's no wonder he's so foul-tempered all the time. It isn't really about my wife." He considered her in his turn, but now as if deciding whether to really confide in her. "I'm only five years younger than he is. We grew up together, and I remember him as a child. He changed. At first, when he came back from Jheds, it was easy to believe in what he dreamed of. But he kept changing. He got harder and colder, and he shut out all of those who had once been his friends and companions until all he saw was the vision that leads him. Oh, I still believe in it. Never doubt that. But Bakhtiian is not the same man he was. I remember that day when he stood up in front of the assembled Elders of twenty tribes and told them that the path they had chosen for the tribes was the wrong one. Of course, they immediately agreed with him, and apologized, because he's always right."

"Yes, he is always right, isn't he? He has to be. I think you're the only one who understands."

"No, you're the only one who understands. Not even Niko-but I won't say a word against Sibirin. When you decided to come with us, Tess, I waited. I knew Ilya would run you into the ground and send you back to the tribe, but, by the gods, you kept riding. It had been years since I last saw him bested like that." He stood very still. The last light caught red streaks in his hair, like tiny fires in gold. "And I've been waiting ever since."

"Waiting for what?"

"He doesn't like to lose. And if there's anything I hate, it's a person who can't concede even one race, even if the other rider took the course fairly and rode the better race that one time. What does it matter anyway? One race?"

She stared at him as if his whole character had been illuminated for her in that instant. "Bakhtiian couldn't be who he is if it didn't matter to him," she replied, realizing it herself as she spoke.

"I suppose I feel sorry for him in a way. He'll always miss the best part of life for trying to grab hold of what's out of his reach."

Tess felt a sudden flood of warmth for Kirill, who trusted her enough now to reveal so much of his soul to her. "What is the best part of life, Kirill?" she asked softly.

He shrugged and looked suddenly and incongruously diffident.

She almost laughed, because without knowing it, he had chosen in that instant the surest way of winning her over. Instead, she placed her hands, palms open, on his chest, looking up into his face. His eyes were a deep, rich blue, like the late afternoon sky reflected in water. Solemn, his face had a kind of repose that suited his features unexpectedly better than the quicksilver smiles that usually characterized him. "I think it's going to be cold tonight." She kissed him on the mouth.

Quite abruptly, he flushed pink, and he lowered his gaze from hers. "Tess," he murmured. He glanced at her, and she saw to her great satisfaction that he was both surprised and elated.

"Well," she said, stepping back from him, "I'm hungry. Aren't we going to eat?"

He laughed. "How like a woman. Yes, Tasha made stew."

They walked back together. She felt disgustingly pleased with herself and would not have cared for the world if everyone knew-but Kirill acted with the greatest discretion, not sitting with her, not treating her any differently than he ever did, so that when she parted with Yuri to go to her tent, Yuri did not even suspect.

Sitting on her blankets, listening to the mellow howl of the wind while she took off her boots, shivering a little, she began to wonder if he had changed his mind. But there was a sudden, quiet scuff outside and then he tumbled in, laughing under his breath. She was so surprised she grabbed him, and he, quick to take advantage, embraced her and buried his face in her neck.

"Ah, gods," he murmured into her hair, "that damned Bakhtiian is still awake. What a canny piece of tracking it took to get in here unseen.''

She began to laugh, because his excitement was infectious, and because he was very warm and very close.

"Shh, Tess." He laid a finger on her lips. "This is a small camp. Do you want everyone to know?"

"Won't they know soon enough anyway?" she asked, feeling a surge of recklessness, now that she had made her choice.

She felt him grin against her cheek. "I'll wager you, my heart. How many days-no, nights-do you think we can keep this a secret?"

"What will the stakes be?"

"Why, kisses, of course."

"Just kisses? Surely we can risk higher stakes than that."

"Then name your stakes. By the way, here, I brought an extra blanket for you to borrow. It is a cold night, after all."

"You're smug tonight, Kirill."

"Don't I have every reason to be?"

She did not bother to reply, at least not in words.