The shepherds had built a fire and Axis sank down before it, shaking both from the pain in his shoulder and from the aftermath of the fight. Isaiah had extracted Inardle from the shrubbery, and now helped her to sit beside Axis.

“Isaiah,” Axis said. “How . . . what are you doing here?”

“Let me see to your wounds first, Axis, then we can talk,” Isaiah said.

“Don’t bother with her,” Axis said as Isaiah bent closer over Inardle. “She can heal herself.”

Isaiah gave him an odd look at that. “Inardle is —”

“She can heal herself,” Axis said again, his tone harder. “Waste no pity on her.” He looked at Inardle, huddled into herself, her wings and one arm covered in blood, and despised her. Was she going to use this trick on Isaiah, now?

“Normally I could,” Inardle said, “but those arrows were poisoned, Axis. They wanted to make sure they killed me. The arrows were tipped with senzial, a poison made from a fungus grown on rocks in the high mountains. It negates any ability a Lealfast has to heal themselves.”

Axis grunted, not believing her. He wanted to get Isaiah alone, that he might fully convey the depth of treachery of which Inardle was capable.

“The poison won’t affect you in any significant way,” Inardle said, and Axis grunted again.

“But it will kill me within the day,” Inardle finished, softly.

Axis did not respond.

“Perhaps —” Isaiah said, looking between the two of them at this exchange, then said nothing more as one of the shepherds came up with bowls of herbs steeped in warm water and clean rags so that he could clean the pair’s wounds.

“The Lealfast will come back,” Axis said. “You’ll need to keep an eye out —”

“The Lealfast are dead,” Isaiah said, gently lifting out one of Inardle’s wings, despite her moans, so that the shepherd might attend to its wounds.

“Dead?” Axis said.

Isaiah nodded to the west, and Axis rose so he could see.

There, some distance from the camp and to one side of the flock of sheep, lay a pile of several Lealfast bodies. Four of Isaiah’s men were dragging further corpses over to the pile and gathering faggots so they could burn them.

“They were invisible!” Axis said. “How did you . . . ”

Isaiah’s twinkling eyes caught Axis’ at that moment, and Axis stared. “You have your power back?”

“Every last wonderful piece of it,” Isaiah said. “You know that Ishbel and Maxel succeeded at DarkGlass Mountain?”

Axis nodded as he sat down once more.

“Well, the River Lhyl runs again,” said Isaiah, “and so also does my power. The One’s defeat freed both of us. You shall need to be polite to me again.”

Axis laughed softly. “You could see the Lealfast.”

“Yes. I used your friend eagle . . . he has been anxious about you, Axis. Anyway, I saw them, and took my bow and my arrow, and directed my men to do likewise, and I allowed them to see with my eyes the vision I received from the eagle, and so the Lealfast died.”

“And you are here because .”

“I could feel you approach. I left the army early this morning to intercept you. And thank the gods I did, eh?”

“At least this god I shall thank indeed,” Axis said. “You saved my life, Isaiah. Thank you.”

“As you did your best to save Inardle’s,” Isaiah said, finally letting her wing go as the shepherd finished. He sank down before the fire, crossing his legs and looking between the two of them. “There is a story to be told, I think.”

“And much news to tell you,” Axis said, then winced as the shepherd began to clean his shoulder.

“Then we shall eat and rest, and in the doing you may tell me,” Isaiah said, and as he spoke one of his men set a burning faggot to the funeral pyre of the Lealfast and it burst into flame.