As the evening wound down in the garrison, the watch rotated. Jamal was on assignment for the next four hours. That left Nev in the room with Tarik. After just a brief conversation, Tarik rolled over in his bunk and was quiet. Nev curled under the blanket. Nighttime in the Burning was far colder than it was at this time of year in Perathea. It was such a bizarre contrast to the extreme heat of the day. Too many thoughts raged through his head to make sleep easy even if he had been warmer. He tried to listen to the slow, even snuffles of the soldier across the room, hoping the rhythm would coax him to sleep. It didn’t.
At some point, a small oil lamp light appeared in the doorway. Jamal. Nev felt relieved. It was probably ridiculous to feel that way, but Jamal’s presence immediately felt l
