Chapter 5: An Old Argument“Wait, wait!” Tarquin hollered, running from the healer’s house.
Ainya, Prea, and Five were in the center of the village, Ainya already mounted on Southwind, watching with amusement as Tarquin slipped and skidded his way over to them. Five didn’t have a horse. He was standing barefooted in the snow with the hood of Prea’s cloak up, his arms crossed with his hands under his armpits. Five was squinting in the light and shivering like an abandoned kitten.
“I’m glad you could make it.” Prea’s smile was only slightly admonishing. “I’m sure our shields were happy to wait for you.”
“Sorry,” Tarquin wheezed as he stopped next to Southwind. “Here.” He reached up to pass a piece of broken pottery to Ainya. The rough side had a thick smear of his still-drying blood. “It’s
