Someone nudged him then. He looked up from his thoughts to find Liselle standing at his elbow. There was an apology in her eyes.
“It’s all right,” he told her. “I understand.”
“That is good,” Lathwi said, “for we must go. Taziem’s mountain grows no nearer.”
Without another word, she started to walk away. It was then that Pawl noticed that she was weaponless.
“Wait,” he blurted. At the same time, he undid the ties which bound the sheath to his hunting knife to his thigh. “I want you to have this.”
She eyed him suspiciously, then took the blade from his outstretched hand and unsheathed it. It was better balanced than her lost not-claw; its edge was keener, too. She didn’t understand why he’d want to part with it. But as unaccustomed as she was to the giving of gifts, she was in no way a
