Jamin put one arm around Kuaya's shoulders and led her forward. Sergeant Dahaka growled at the other two women to stay with him. While Qishtea did his best to appear fearless, Jamin noted the way his eyes kept darting to the enormous five-cubit-tall lizard and the two women who huddled closer to him for protection than to each other.
"Are you well, cousin?" Qishtea asked Kuaya. His eyes wrinkled with concern. The even-tempered Kuaya was well-liked. It had been her abduction which had finally compelled Qishtea's father to send archers to Assur to train beneath Mikhail.
"The Amorites," Kuaya said. She stopped and glanced at Jamin, unsure if she was allowed to speak. Qishtea looked to him as well, his eyes narrowed like a raptor about to pounce upon his prey.
"Speak freely," Jamin said. "E
