Jaran

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

A formal delegation arrived the next morning. Niko had thrown the tent flap back, and Tess saw four women approach Niko where he sat outside: an older woman she vaguely recognized, Vera, Arina, and-she craned her neck to get a better look but she had not been mistaken: it was Yeliana, dressed in a knee-length green tunic with a pair of belled trousers bagging out below, tucked into her soft boots.

To Tess's surprise, it was Arina who stepped forward. "Nikolai Sibirin, we women have decided that it is improper that your patient be so isolated. If you choose the hospitality of this tribe, then we ask her to reside in my tent. As her healer, you will, of course, be given free access."

Niko had already stood. Now he simply bowed his head. "As you wish, Mother Veselov."

Tess tried to move enough to see Arina's mother but the older woman was nowhere in sight. Niko crawled into the tent.

"What did you mean, 'Mother Veselov'?" Tess whispered.

"Arina is etsana now. Didn't I tell you? Her mother died nine days ago and was taken out to the grass these six days past. Ah, but you were-I heard it from Vladimir, who rode messages between us and the tribe until you could be brought here."

"Arina is etsana! I'd have thought Vera would have demanded that honor-"

"Hush, child. They're outside. And you must not underestimate Arina, or her brother."

"Well, I'm sick of this tent."

"Yes, you will be among women. Varia Telyegin is the healer here, and a very fine one, too."

"But you'll still stay with me, Niko."

"Of course, my child. Don't forget to thank Arina, for she must be treated with respect now.''

But upon being eased outside, Tess found her whole position, lying flat on her back and staring up at pretty, petite little Arina, who was younger than herself, to be utterly absurd. "I can't call you 'Mother,' " she blurted.

Arina laughed. "I should hope not, Tess. I'm not even married." Then she blushed suddenly and quickly knelt beside Tess. "Come. You'll be much happier with us. Here, Yeliana, can you take this corner?" Yeliana obeyed, looking too shy to speak.

"I am so glad you are getting better, Tess," said Vera, taking another corner.

Tess smiled vaguely, not trusting her, but Vera looked and sounded sincere enough. Perhaps the shock of almost losing her husband would make her appreciate him more. Varia Telyegin was the fourth, and with Niko trailing meekly behind, they carried her on the blanket through a suddenly empty camp and installed her in what seemed glorious comfort in the outer room of Arina's great tent. The three older women left, leaving Yeliana to tuck pillows behind Tess and arrange her suitably while Niko watched.

"How did you get here?" Tess demanded.

Yeliana glanced up at Niko, then back at Tess. "I ran away. If you could ride with the men, then why shouldn't I do what Vladimir did and go to Bakhalo's jahar-ledest and train? And gain a place for myself in a jahar?''

"How did you come here then?"

"I found the-I found Sibirin, and I rode back here with Vladi. And-" She paled, looking almost scared. "She who was Mother Veselov had just died, and-well, Arina Veselov has only the one brother, and he is married into the Charnov kin, so she hadn't anybody to-" She faltered. When she spoke again her voice had dropped to the barest whisper. "She gifted me her tent, Tess. The one she had when her mother was alive. She says I am to be her sister." Yeliana put a hand to her cheek and wiped away tears. "She trusts me, that I will not break this bond. Even after I broke service with the gods and ran away from the shrine."

"And will you break the bond? To go and train?"

"Never!" She rose and turned to survey Niko, a slight, passionate girl arrayed with an adolescent's fierce loyalty. He smiled at her. "Sibirin. I cannot ask so much of my sister yet, but if in a year, when she is married and perhaps things are more settled, might I ask her about Vladimir? If he is my brother, then wouldn't he be welcome in my tent?"

"Yeliana, I cannot answer that question. I am not an Elder in this tribe, and in any case, Vladimir has a duty to his dyan. And, perhaps, an interest in a girl in the Orzhekov tribe."

"But what woman would want an orphan for a husband?" Yeliana asked.

"If he has made a place for himself, and hers is secure enough, then any woman, I think, who cares for such a man might allow him to mark her. Vladi cannot just mark whom he wishes, after all. Her brothers might well kill him for his trouble."

"Oh," said Yeliana, looking quite as young as she was.

"Yeliana," said Tess. "Could you leave us for a moment?" Yeliana nodded and hurried out. "Niko, why would Arina take her in?''

"Tess, Arina's position is not exactly strong. You must understand that. She is young and unmarried, and she also must contend with a cousin who is, may I say, the kind of relation with whom one's best dealings are done from a position of strength. As etsana, Arina has every right to gift Yeliana into the tribe, as Irena Orzhekov did with you, though many will consider such a gifting rash. As well it might be. But Vera is not well liked, and her only other relation is her father. And her husband, of course. I do not count Vasil because he is no longer welcome here. So Arina has gotten herself another pair of hands, one, incidentally, that will be utterly and personally loyal to her. Don't think Yeliana's life will be easy, though I don't think it will be harsh either."

' 'When is Arina going to marry?'' Tess could not keep a certain roughness from her voice. "Soon, I suppose."

"That, my girl, is none of our business. Do you understand me?''

"Yes, Niko," she said meekly. "When can I walk?"

"You can walk when I say you can and not sooner. But I think you will find your confinement less irksome here. By the way, Tess, I would not let anyone know about the Avenue. Yeliana has been spoken to, as have Konstans and Kirill and Vladi. Arina knows because she must. Otherwise, we won't speak of it until Ilya returns."

"What about Tasha?"

"Tasha does not need warning."

"Why must it be a secret? Are you ashamed?"

Niko laughed. "Ah, I'm beginning to hear that refreshingly brutal tone in your voice again. You must be getting better. We will wait for Ilya's return."

It was all he would say.

The days began to have a certain pattern to them. She was allowed to sit for longer periods of time each day, and while she was awake, there was always someone to sit with her: Yeliana most of all, Arina when she could, other young women; even, surprisingly often, Vera. Tess was forced to admit that Vera could be good company when she chose to be, and for whatever reason, Vera chose to entertain Tess. Occasionally Vladi was allowed into the tent in Yeliana's company, but he rarely had anything to say. Anton Veselov had ridden with Bakhtiian to the coast. Niko was the only other man she saw, until at last, seven days later, the damp weather ceased and she was moved out under the awning, where she was permitted to receive visitors.

Tasha came by, and Petya, and Vladi, and Konstans, and two young riders she did not know very well, who had been with them in the battle. Finally Kirill came by. Arina, seeing who it was, excused herself and reminded Yeliana that there was work to be done elsewhere.

Kirill sat down beside her. He glanced at her sidewise and blushed. "You are looking much better, Tess."

"How is your arm, Kirill?"

He shrugged, but the gesture was awkward and unbalanced. "I have a little movement in my shoulder again but I can feel nothing at all in my right arm. If I could not see it there with my eyes, I would think I had lost it. Niko says perhaps in time it will heal.''

"You must exercise it. Keep moving it."

He glanced at her again, the briefest touch, and looked away. "Over fifty young men have ridden in to camp here over the last eighteen days. Already they speak of Bakhtiian's great ride beginning next spring. Twelve rode in this morning from Bakhalo's jahar-ledest, and they say that Bakhalo himself may bring the rest here. It's good land with enough water and forage and close to khaja lands. So," he paused, looking down at his hands, the picture of modesty, "all these young riders need someone to teach them. And I can't fight."

"Oh, Kirill, I'm sorry."

He lifted his gaze to look directly at her for an impetuous moment, and then wrenched his gaze away. Silence stretched out between them. At last, in a whisper, he spoke. "All I ever wanted was to be a rider. It would have been better if I'd died."

She felt herself pale with fear. She grabbed his good hand. "Never say that, Kirill. Never!"

"We are in camp, Tess. Everyone can see us. I have my reputation to think of. Forgive me."

"There is nothing to be forgiven," she said, but her voice shook and she let go of his hand. "So you will train them." They spoke on in this fashion until the subject was exhausted, and even then Kirill lingered, and they discussed whether Yeliana might teach her to spin so that she might have something to do with her hands. Niko arrived finally and chased Kirill off.

"You must be circumspect in your dealings with unmarried men," he said mildly, watching Kirill walk away.

"I think I'll ask Arina if she has any mending I can do," said Tess, ignoring his rebuke. "When do I get to walk?"

"Tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!"

"Yes. I think twenty days is time enough. If you are not healed inside now, then-well, let me say that differently. I think resting has achieved as much as it can. Now we must work you again."

"Oh, Niko, how kind you are."

"One can only be as kind as one is willing to be ruthless."

"Oh, God." She pressed her hands over her eyes and wiped hard along her cheeks. "That's exactly the kind of thing Yuri always said. I miss him so much."

He knelt beside her and rested a hand on her hair. "As do we all, my child. Juli and I had six children, and three of them died very young. But I carry all of them in my heart, and I always will."

Tess sighed and rested her head against his chest. They sat that way for some time.

But the next morning she felt ridiculously excited, so much so that Arina laughed at her. "You can't run today, you know. Ah, here is Niko."

"Now, Tess," said Niko, "if it hurts badly, you must tell me. Some discomfort I expect."

"Oh, thank you." She grinned. Niko took her on one side, Yeliana, being the taller of the two women, on the other, and they helped her stand up. She felt dizzy. When they let her go, she wondered for a moment if her legs would work, and then she took one step, and a second, and a third and all the way past Arina and pushed through the tent flap to go outside.

"Tess!" Niko said from behind her, but she ignored him. But the bright light hit her like a wash of pain and she staggered. And fell right into Kirill.

He clasped her tight with his good arm, hesitated, and then lowered her to the rug and let her go, stepping back all the way to the edge of the awning. Arina and Niko and Yeliana hurried out of the tent.

"Tess! I told you-"

"Oh, Niko, your face. No, I feel fine. I just lost my balance-" Then she saw that Kirill was looking anywhere but at her, and that Arina was staring at the rug. "I'm sorry, Niko," she finished, suddenly contrite.

"You will walk when and as much as I allow, young woman."

"Yes, Niko."

"Well, then. I'll allow you to walk back into the tent, and I'll see to your wounds. Then we will see." But in the end he let her walk twice more that day, once all the way around the great tent.

"Well, girl," he said that night, sounding satisfied as he examined the knife wound, "you'll keep this scar but I think you'll live."

In five days he allowed her to walk as far as the camp growing up downstream from the Veselov camp, a huddle of small tents belonging to young riders, come to join Bakhtiian. She went there every morning with Yeliana to watch Kirill training the young men. He had learned to compensate a little for his dead arm, but even so, he was clearly never going to fight or ride in a jahar again. He looked to her not so much older as more sober, as if his youth had finally bled away into the grass with the blood he had lost that terrible day. Every morning she walked, and watched, and then walked back to Arina's tent at midday. In the afternoon, she would sit beneath the awning and visitors would come. It embarrassed her, but she learned graciousness. It reminded her of Charles, of the way he received embassies and guests in Jeds, of the way conferences and media and smaller, quieter planning sessions came to him on Odys and Earth. Tasha brought her a pair of fine boots he had made for her. Aleksia Charnov gave her her dead brother's finely wrought dagger. Vera taught her how to lace beads together into headpieces. While Tess practiced this intricate work, Kirill and Arina would sit with her, and the three of them would carry on excruciatingly pleasant and polite conversations until Niko arrived to take her for her late afternoon walk.

' 'How many days has it been?'' Tess asked Niko one fine winter afternoon, with the sun shining high in the sky. It was chilly but not cold.

"Forty-one days. Tess, it is time you let him go-"

A shout came from the direction of the camp. He paused and stared back, and she paused as well. Kirill was walking after them.

He was flushed as he came up to them, and he kept his gaze fixedly on Niko. "Sibirin, there is news. Let me walk with Tess." Something communicated but not spoken passed between the two men.

"With Tess's permission," said Niko.

"Given," said Tess. Niko inclined his head and walked back to camp.

"What news, Kirill?" she asked, suddenly shy. Oh, God. Her heart raced. What if Ilya was back?

"Will you walk with me, Tess?" he asked. He rested his left hand on her elbow, as familiar with her now as he had always been before. She walked with him until they got as far as the river, and no one could see them.

"Do you want to sit down?" His color was high. He did not look at her.

"No, I'm fine." She followed him along the river. Water flowed and eddied along the bank.

"Tess. Tess. I can't say this."

"Kirill, I have always trusted you."

He sighed and stopped dead in his tracks to look directly at her. "I have to marry again, Tess. My mother has no daughters and no nieces to take care of her when she's old. And I only had one child."

"You have a child, Kirill?" She was astonished.

"Yes." He began walking again in silence, as if the subject was too painful to speak of. She waited him out, and at last he spoke again. "Little Jaroslav. His mother's kin took him, of course. I want children, Tess. Arina Veselov wants me." He stopped and turned to her. "I would be an etsana's husband. I can't fight anymore. What else am I to do?"

"Of course you must." Somehow she kept her voice steady. "I think you will be happy with her, Kirill. I like her very much."

"Yes, she has a good heart. But she is not you, Tess. Oh, gods, forgive me. I have no right to say that."

"Kirill, she will treat you better than I ever could." Then, because it was better than crying, she reached out and embraced him, burying her face in his hair.

He held her for a long moment with his one good arm. She felt his right arm, immobile in its sling, pressing against her chest like an inert object. The river ran heedlessly on behind them.

"Will you care, then," he asked softly, "if I love her?"

"Yes, I'll care. Kirill, I want you to love her. I want you to be happy."

He pushed her back. When he grinned, he looked almost like his old self again. "I daresay, my heart, that we will have a quieter life than you and Ilya."

She flushed. "What was your news, Kirill?"

"Didn't I tell you?" he asked innocently, and then he kissed her chastely on the cheek and turned to lead her back to camp. "No, it isn't what you think. Our tribe has come, Tess."

"Our tribe?"

"Yes."

It took her a long moment before his words developed meaning. Our tribe.

"Sonia!" she shrieked, and clapped her hands over her mouth.

"Don't run. Niko will have my other arm if I let you hurt yourself.''

She halted abruptly. "I can't go back. How can I face her?"

"Because of Yuri and Mikhal? Tess, she will need another sister very badly now. And anyway, it was a scout brought the news. They won't be here until tomorrow. Come, Tess. You have more courage than this."

She was terrified suddenly at having to face Sonia after so long. And worse, at having to face Ilya. Forty-one days. Soon enough he would return. All too soon. What could she possibly say to him? He would take every advantage of her; he could not help it. She recalled very clearly now how he had gotten her to acknowledge their marriage: "I promise you, my husband." But with Yuri's death, she felt drained of all the life and all the energy that had ever allowed her to face Bakhtiian on equal terms. Soon enough, going on like this, there would be nothing left of her but ashes.

"I have to go back to Charles," she whispered.

"What?" Kirill asked.

"Nothing." But she mentally kept up the litany as they walked back to camp, cycling round and round: / have to go back to Jeds. I have to go back to Charles. And at each pause, she could hear Yuri's voice: "Why does everything have to be so final, Tess?" Because things are final, Yuri, she said to him. Because people die and I don't want to go through this again. She clutched Kirill's arm more tightly, and he glanced at her, but mercifully he said nothing. She wiped away tears with the back of her hand. Because I'm afraid.

"Gods, Kirill, I can't go back there crying."

"Why not? You're a woman. And you lost your brother. Why shouldn't you cry? It's nothing to be ashamed of."

She smiled through her tears. "My sweet Kirill," she said, and then they came to camp and she relinquished her grip on him. Arina Veselov came to greet them, looking sober but not unhappy, and led Tess back to her tent, repeating the news Kirill had told her. Kirill followed them, but he walked next to Arina now not next to Tess.

The evening dragged on. That night she could not sleep. Morning came too soon, and then, dragging on toward midday, lasted far, far too long.

"Look!" said Yeliana, standing up. "Look there. Wagons."

Tess scrambled to her feet. She could not help it, she ran-as well as she could run-out to the edge of camp and into the grass as the wagons and riders and the bleating flocks crested the rise and trundled down toward them in a cacophonous, chaotic mass. She halted, searching, staring, until-

"Sonia!" Oh, God, she looked the same; pale, maybe; and then they embraced. Tess burst into tears. Sonia burst into tears. They both cried, hanging on each other. Finally, as wagons lurched past them and children squealed with excitement and a horse brushed by so close its tail flicked Sonia's tunic, they separated.

"How did you know?" Tess asked.

"Niko rode out to us last night." Sonia had changed not at all. Her voice, her face, everything-like Yuri in so many ways, and yet utterly and only like herself. Except for the new lines of grief etched under her blue eyes. "He told Mama about-" she faltered-"about Yuri, and Mikhal, and Fedya.''

Fedya. Fedya had died so long ago that to Tess it seemed almost a distant memory. Gods, would Yuri fade like that?

"Tess, what's wrong? You've gotten so thin and so pale. Niko says you almost died. Well, we'll take you to our tent and Mama will fatten you up."

And so, when the Orzhekov tribe set up its camp alongside the Veselov camp, Tess was taken politely but firmly back into Mother Orzhekov's domain. Her tent was set up next to Sonia's. Sonia's children-the baby, Kolia, grown quite tall, and walking-made free with her space and her blankets and her gear, and she ate every night under the awning of Mother Orzhekov's great tent, and took her daily walks to the training ground with Sonia.

"Why does that awful woman come Sonia asked three days after their arrival. can't love him."

"Oh, look, here she comes." They giggled a little and then controlled themselves.

"I do not think the khaja will be able to resist this army," said Vera, settling herself gracefully beside them. Her gaze took in the field but did not seem to dwell for longer than an instant on her own husband where he stood to one side here every day?" "Poor Petya. She with Konstans and a few other young men, watching Kirill talk with an old man.

"That is Kerchaniia Bakhalo, isn't it?" Tess asked.

"Yes," said Vera. "He arrived yesterday, and I'm sure he has sixty young men with him. I hear ten of them are orphans, and one is not only said to have killed his entire tribe with a plague but stolen a horse from the Mirsky tribe as well."

Sonia laughed. "What, and none of the Mirskys caught him and killed him for it? And they always bragging about what fine riders they are? He must be very terrible or else very clever. Which of them is he?''

"How am I to know?" Vera asked. "He is only an orphan, after all. I suppose if any riders from the Mirsky tribe come here, then they'll kill him." Her gaze drifted out to Bakhalo and Kirill, who were consulting with Tasha and two elderly men no longer dressed in the red and black of jahar riders. "Poor Arina." Vera smiled sweetly. "I think she thought Kirill Zvertkov would mark her but now I don't think he will. What do you think, Tess?"

Tess shrugged. "Oh, I suppose he is waiting for his mother to get to know her first."

"I thought he had other interests." Then, evidently tired of this game, Vera rose and excused herself.

"Does Kirill have other interests?" asked Sonia. "Tess, don't look away from me. You're blushing. We haven't talked much about your journey, you know. Only about Yuri and Mikhal-" A pause here, and she went on. "-and Fedya, and I am very glad you and Fedya-but, Tess, I know very well there are things you aren't telling me."

She could not talk about Ilya to Sonia. Not now, not when the only way she had to cope with her fear of his return was to not think of him as hard as she could. But her feelings for Kirill were true enough and still raw enough that they could serve as a smoke screen.

"Tess, I will make no secret now that I had hoped, when you left us, that you and Ilya-well, never mind that. What is it you want to tell me?''

"Kirill and I were lovers. But I can't-I can't marry him, and Arina Veselov has made it known that she wants him as her husband. I like Arina Veselov-"

"But you loved Kirill. Ah, well, he is charming in his own way. I've always preferred quieter men. If it is true that he can never use that arm again, then he's done very well to become an etsana's husband. But if he loves you, Tess, then what is to stop him marking you?"

"He won't mark me. No, we've resolved this between us, Sonia. He'll mark Arina. He's waiting-I don't know. I don't understand, sometimes, how Arina can like me."

"Do you think she ought to hate you for loving Kirill and for Kirill's loving you? Why should she? He'll make her a good husband. And he'll have other lovers. Now Vera, Vera doesn't like you one bit, my sister, and that makes me think-" She halted. On the field, Kirill had turned, and he looked up at them and lifted his good hand to wave.

"Do you think I could?" asked Tess suddenly.

"What, marry him? But women have no choice in marriage, Tess, don't you know that?"

Tess flushed. "Practice saber a little. I'm much better, really."

' 'Dressed in those clothes?''

"I'll ask him." Tess rose. Sonia chuckled and walked down with her. Kirill came to meet them, followed by Kerchaniia Bakhalo.

"Why shouldn't I fight?" Tess asked. "I've already learned a great deal."

"You've learned a little, Tess," said Kirill mildly, though he grinned at Bakhalo. "But you've been very well taught. Why not? That is, Sonia, if you think Mother Orzhekov will approve."

"No," said Tess. "This is my choice. I'm going to fight. And I promise to stop when I get too tired."

"I'll walk you back to your tent," said Sonia.

As they left, Tess turned to her. "You aren't going to try to talk me out of this, are you?"

"No, ought I to? Tess, however much you are jaran, you aren't jaran and you never will be. Why shouldn't you fight if you wish to? But I'd better tell Mama now because I'm sure malicious tongues will see the news gets to her in other ways."

So every morning Tess wore her jahar clothes and her saber and went to the practice field. She had to rest frequently, but other than that, Kirill and Bakhalo made no concessions to her at all. Bakhalo was a dry old stick of a man who was unfailingly unkind to all his students, though scrupulously fair, and Kirill possessed the unlikely ability to treat her with the same cheerful ruthlessness as he did the others: they had been lovers, they had loved, but here on the field he could separate those feelings from his teaching even while Tess struggled to separate them from her learning.

As they paused one day, she to rest, he to survey two of Bakhalo's students fencing, she stood beside him casually and watched as well.

"He's very good," she said of one of the fencers. "He's one of the orphans."

"He's better than Vladimir," said Kirill. "But I won't put them together yet because while this fellow won't take it personally, Vladi will. You get along very well with all these orphans. Or have you taken them under your wing?"

"Kirill, I haven't any wings."

"Tess, you are Bakhtiian's wife. That gives you rather more-very well, I won't say anything further."

"The truth is, that except for Konstans and you and Tadheus, when he comes by, the ones who are orphans are the only ones who don't treat me strangely. The others aren't sure what to make of me, a woman wearing jahar clothes."

"Fairly earned."

"You know that, and those in Bakhtiian's jahar know it, but the rest don't. Aleksi there, and the other orphans, don't care because they're set apart, too."

"Well, it's true most of them treat you stiffly, but for all that, you're doing well. But you mustn't push yourself."

"Kirill, I want to tell you how much I respect that you've been able to teach me-that-" She hesitated. "Everything there's been between us-"

"There is between us," he said quietly.

"There is between us, and you never favor me or bully me."

"Bully you?" He laughed. "My heart, if ever Ilya tries to teach you fighting, he will bully you for fear he'd otherwise favor you."

'Ilya," said Tess, "will never teach me saber." 'What's going on over there? Boys, stop a moment." Kirill turned. "By the gods, how did he manage to ride in here with no more disturbance than that?''

Tess turned.

He stared straight at her. Of course. If there was anyone else on the practice field-and there were a good eighty or so young men out there-they might have been invisible for all he knew. From this distance, she could not tell if he was angry or amused. From this distance, she would know him anywhere. He walked out onto the field toward her, and instantly she saw one change: he was no longer limping. It lent a certain implacable purpose to his stride that had been lacking those weeks when he was injured. Niko walked beside him, and Josef and Tasha, and Anton and Sergei Veselov. But in a moment, Niko veered off to greet Bakhalo, towing Sergei Veselov in his wake, and then Kirill started forward, deserting her, to fall in with Josef and Tasha and Anton Veselov.

Ilya halted in front of her. If I faint, Tess thought, then I don't have to say anything. God, he was beautiful. The midday sun shone strong on his face. His black hair curled slightly at the ends but she could tell from its wave and thickness that he had just cut it, and his beard was neat and impeccably trimmed. He wore a second necklace around the curve of his throat, this one of finely polished black stones strung together. Tess glanced to either side. Most of the young men were staring at them. Bakhtiian broke his gaze from her and surveyed the field. Instantly, they retreated, and a moment later Bakhalo called for an assembly down at the other end of the field. Kirill had vanished.

"Walk with me," ordered Ilya.

Yes, definitely, he was angry. "I beg your pardon?" she asked.

"Will you walk with me, I beg you," he repeated in exactly the same tone of voice. She walked. As soon as they were out of earshot, he began. "Do you suppose I rode all that way only to return to find my wife wearing men's clothes standing out in the middle of the practice field with every unmarried man in camp?"

"You gave me this shirt."

He took ten steps before he answered. "It was fairly earned."

"And some of them are married."

"Arina Veselov isn't married."

"Don't you dare."

"I beg your pardon, Tess. I had no right to say that."

She stopped, emboldened by the softening of his voice. "When did you get here? Where is the jahar?"

"Josef and I, and Sergei and Anton, rode forward scout.

The rest will be here late this afternoon." His face lit suddenly. "And the horses! One hundred and twenty-four. Tess, they are beautiful." His expression changed, watching her, and he lifted a hand to touch her cheek. She stopped breathing. Then he glanced back toward camp. They still stood in full view of the field and of a fair portion of the tents of Veselov's camp. He dropped his hand as swiftly as if she had burned him.

Somewhere she found the ability to start breathing again, but her breaths came uneven and a little ragged.

"And the khepellis?" she asked, speaking quickly to cover her agitation. "Did they get on a ship? There was no problem? And the letter for my brother, and the relic?"

He began to walk again, but she did not move. He halted and came back to her. "Tess, do you want to stand here where everyone can see us?"

"Yes "

"Very well. Here is the letter."

She unrolled it. "But this is from Marco!"

"You know him?"

"Yes, he's part of Charles's-retinue. Ah, he travels a lot. He supervises trade agreements."

"Is that so?"

She flushed and, instead of looking at him, read the letter. Your dear old Uncle Marco, indeed. He had been at Charles's court in Jeds frequently when she was there as a child but he was not precisely the sort of man who enjoys children. Dr. Hierakis and Suzanne Elia Arevalo had spent more time with her than he ever had. Marco explored, and he had come from Earth to explore Rhui in the oldest way known, on foot, by horse, by sea, for Charles but mostly, she suspected, for the adventure. Make of that what you will. She read back through the letter.

"He sent something for me."

Ilya hesitated, then slipped a dagger from his belt and handed it to her. Tess held it in her palm. Such a tiny thing to be so important.

"Well," she said finally, for something to say. "Thank you."

"I told him I would kill him if I ever found out that he hadn't delivered either message or relic."

"Ilya!" She wanted to laugh but he looked so grim that she smoothed the letter out instead. "I feel sure it will get there. And the khepellis?"

"I hope you will forgive me, Tess, but I lied to Lord Ishii. I told him-" His voice shook, "-that you were dead." He stopped. "Tess," he whispered. "I didn't even know, all that time, if when I came back, you would still be alive." The agony in his expression disturbed her so much that she found refuge in staring off toward the camp. Though a number of young men still worked on the practice field, in the camp itself some event had occurred to excite the interest of the tribe. Children ran, screaming and leaping, and adults walked quickly away from the periphery of the camp toward the hidden center.

"Niko took good care of me," she said in a voice not her own. "And anyway, Bakhtiian, as I recall, I promised you that I would live."

"Yes," he said in a steadier voice, "you did. Can you forgive me the lie?"

Startled, she looked up at him. "Of course, I forgive you. You probably saved my life." She faltered.

"You will never grant me anything simply because I am your husband, will you? Nothing, except when you were so ill that it was easier to agree than to argue. Nothing of your own will. Well, you told me yourself you did not want me. I ought to have listened."

"Ilya…" Once, before everything had been shattered by Yuri's death, she would have yelled back at him. Now she simply felt faint. "I have to sit down," she said apologetically.

"Tess! Gods, you're pale." He closed the gap between them and picked her up in his arms. "I'll take you back to my aunt's tent."

"I can walk."

"You will not walk, my wife. You're exhausted and as pale as the winter grass. I think I may be allowed to carry you so far."

It was no use fighting, so she simply lay against him, cradling her head on his shoulder and shutting her eyes. She could not bear to see what kind of stares were surely being directed their way. She heard Niko.

"Ilya! What is wrong?"

"She is exhausted. You've been working her too hard. Is this how you take care of her?''

"She was fine until you came back," said Niko crossly. "But I was coming to get you in any case. You are wanted at your aunt's tent."

Tess kept her eyes clenched shut. He walked with her easily, as if the burden was gratifying to him. She heard a few whispers, a few broken comments, but nothing she could not ignore. For a little stretch, there was silence, as if no one was about. But when he halted, she felt a roiled hush surrounding them, as of many people whose attention was split among several momentous occurrences.

"Nephew." This in Irena Orzhekov's ringing tones. "I hope you will come forward and explain this immodest display. This woman may be your cousin but she is also unmarried."

"Unmarried! She is my wife."

The silence rang more loudly than shouts would have. Tess opened her eyes. Most of the members of the tribes of Orzhekov and Veselov had gathered here before the awning of Mother Orzhekov's tent. Beneath the awning, the two etsanas faced each other, seated respectably on pillows. Blood still wet Arina's cheek, seeping from the cut scored from her cheekbone diagonally down to the line of her jaw. Kirill stood behind her, looking pale but determined. His mother knelt in front of the two women, and whatever discussion Ilya's precipitous entrance had interrupted clearly involved her.

"Your wife?" demanded Mother Orzhekov. "I see no mark, Nephew."

Every gaze was fixed on them. Behind Irena Orzhekov sat her three daughters. Sonia stared transfixed, hands on her cheeks, lips parted, fighting back a grin. Behind Arina Veselov, behind Kirill, sat Vera, and behind her, Yeliana. Vera's face was white, her mouth a thin line.

"Let me down," Tess whispered fiercely.

"Ah, so you have come back to me," he murmured. "You were acting far too meek." He lowered her gently and set her on her feet beside him but he did not relinquish his grip around her waist. It would be undignified to struggle in so public a place and with such an audience. Doubtless he counted on it.

"Niko," he said, "I thought my aunt had been told."

"Bakhtiian, it was not my right to tell."

Ilya glanced at Tess. "With your permission?" he asked, but he did not let go of her. She nodded mutely. "Mother Orzhekov," he said formally. "Terese Soerensen and I rode down the Avenue of the shrine of Morava at sunset. The ceremony was completed. The bond has been sealed. So she is indeed my wife. And I," he added, with a sardonic edge to his voice, "am her husband."

Silence could not contain their audience's astonishment. Exclamations, comments, every kind of noise broke out, and hushed to stillness when Irena Orzhekov rose. Arina sat with complete composure. Kirill, behind her, now looked strangely serene. Sonia had clapped her hands together, delighted. Vera-Vera was gone.

"I will have quiet," said Mother Orzhekov. "I think this assembly has ended. If you agree, Mother Veselov. And you, Elders?" More nods from various aged faces.

She had to say no more. The crowd dispersed quickly and with a great deal of noise.

"Come here, Ilyakoria," said Irena when only the etsanas and their families and five Elders from each tribe remained. She sounded displeased. He looked not the least bit cowed. "You will sit beside me until our business is finished here. Tess, sit with Sonia."

Sonia said nothing when Tess sat down next to her but squeezed her hand.

"Now, Olya Zvertkov, is it truly your wish to bind yourself over into the Veselov tribe?"

These negotiations went on for some time. The two etsanas haggled over tents and pots and how many of which flock ought to go to which tribe in recompense for the loss of Kirill's mother or the gain of Kirill himself. Tess rubbed her eyes and lay her head on Sonia's comforting shoulder, and Sonia put her arm around Tess to hold her steady.

At last they agreed, and Arina rose. Bakhtiian rose as well. "I have not yet released Kirill from my jahar," he said. "And while I claim the right to perform that release in private, I ask that he remain behind now."

The two women nodded, and Arina took her family and her Elders and left. Bakhtiian gave his aunt a curt nod and then walked away to where his tent was pitched some distance behind hers.

"Tess!" whispered Sonia. "Why didn't you tell me! Did Yuri know?"

"Yes."

"Well, the gods' blessing on that. It would have made him happy."

"Everything made Yuri happy," said Tess bitterly, and then she stopped, seeing what Bakhtiian had brought them from his tent. Two blankets, folded neatly, and on top of them, two red shirts, folded with equal neatness. A scrap of sleeve showed on one, a line of Yuri's distinctive embroidery.

"I bring these to you, his sisters." Ilya knelt before his cousins and held out his hands. Kira, the eldest, took them from him with reverence, but instead of turning to Stassia first, she turned to Tess.

"Which will you have, my sister?" she asked.

Tess started to cry silently. She took the topmost shirt gently from the pile and held it hard against her face. The silk was cool and soft. Sonia took the other shirt and cradled it against her chest. She, too, was weeping. Kira and Stassia each took a blanket.

"Because my kinsman Yurinya has neither brother nor father living, I return his saber to you, my aunt.'' He offered it to her.

Tears ran down Irena's face, but her expression remained composed. "You are his nearest male relation. It is yours, now, Ilyakoria."

He shut his eyes for an instant. "Thank you," he murmured, and he simply held it a moment before he remembered where he was. Then he turned to Kirill.

"Perhaps, Zvertkov, you will tell Yuri's sisters, and Mikhal's wife, how they died."

Kirill was very pale but his voice was steady, and the account he gave covered Yuri and Mikhal with so much glory that Tess could hardly believe it was true though she knew it was: that Mikhal had ridden back into the fight instead of riding for help, as he might well have done with no shame-as Petya had; that Yurinya had saved Tess's life. The children had crept up to listen, and Katerina and Ivan clutched their mother, faces solemn. Stassia held little Kolia.

"And were they burned," asked Irena when he had finished, "and released from the burdens of the earth, as was their right?"

Niko and Kirill both looked at Ilya. Tess hid her face in her hands.

"They were given," said Ilya with no expression in his voice, "what they most wished. Now, Aunt, if you will excuse me, I will ask Sibirin and Zvertkov to accompany me while I return what is theirs to Fedya's and Mikhal's families."

Irena inclined her head. "You are excused, Nephew. And Ilya." She paused. Tess looked up. "To marry cousins is dangerous. To marry them in the sight of the gods-well, we shall see. Certainly you have never lacked arrogance. But you have ridden a long way to return here, and with this I can sympathize. For this night, Nephew, my tent is yours." She rose and shook out her skirts, and then turned to address her family. "Come, children. You must take your blankets to your mothers' tents tonight."

Ilya simply stared at his aunt for a moment, as if this gesture bewildered him. But then, then he turned his head smoothly to give Tess so piercing a look that she felt as if they were already alone and she stripped utterly naked, far past such unimportant layers as clothing and skin, down, down to where the wind sweeps fire across the earth itself.

Then he turned and strode away, Niko and Kirill at his heels.