To the sound of Tinashe’s eerie howling, the three young canini began their long trot north, the ugly red sun sneaking below the cloud cover to tilt longer and longer shadows on their right. Mashtuk led the way, forging a path through terrain grown heavy with saturated earth, and Zélie took the last place. Between them, Eugenie did her best to match their pace.
In the Chief’s warmed private rooms in the middle of the Settlement’s High City, Talis sat watching Valkirra as she prepared to meet with the young tribesman. Valkirra was uneasy. She sat at her carved worktable and shuffled the scrolls lying upon it. As she rearranged the singing screen on her tabletop for the third time, she glanced up to find Talis watching her.
‘What is it? Why do you look at me like that?’
‘You seem uncomfor
