"Let him go," said Sileph. He whispered to Enna, "For you."
Arrows lowered, and the man mounted and galloped safely away.
Chapter 15
The company rode back in silence in the quickly dying light. Enna tried vainly to meet eyes with Razo, to see if he understood or if he condemned her. Her thoughts were blazoned with the harrowing image of the Bayern man with an arrow in his chest, but that eased when her sense of heat returned. That empty place in Enna's chest relaxed, and she was conscious again of the stallion's heat, the riders all around, and, most of all, of Sileph's arm around her waist.
On arriving back at the Eylbold camp, Sileph grabbed Enna's arm and walked her quickly to her tent. His eyes looked over everything they passed without seeming to see anything, and his lips tightened and twitched. He ordered the tent guards to remove themselves a few paces and followed her into the tent.
He held her before him by her shoulders to look at her face, then ran his hands along her arms to take her hands. "That was marvelous. Did it feel good?"
Enna blinked twice and frowned. "Yes," she said like a question.
Sileph smiled. The result was shocking. His eyes brightened, the creases around his mouth expanded, his jaw widened. Enna felt her insides chill nervously.
He laughed, lifted her by her waist, and turned her around. "Of course it did. You are amazing."
Enna stumbled as he set her down, and she tried to pry his hands off her waist. Her stomach still made her feel as though she were spinning.
"For weeks, weeks that seem like years, I have been longing to watch you burn, Enna. It is what you were made to do."
"Well, I don't know why you have. I'm not forgetting that a Bayern man died today. . . . " Her argument sounded lame to her own ears.
"Never mind that." He looked into her eyes with such focus that Enna felt herself flush. "Ever since I saw you walking through the woods of Eylbold, I have thought of you relentlessly."
"Oh, please." Her voice cracked a little. She encouraged her indignation to flare up, angry at herself that this was exactly what she wanted to hear.
"I have wanted you to be with me," he said. "I knew how we would be together, didn't you? You must feel something."
He grabbed both her hands between his, and she pulled them loose.
"Still you resist," he said.
Outside she could hear a call from a sentry, and an answering cry, and the crackling of a near fire. She felt shut out from that world, as though in that tent only she and Sileph existed. She looked down at her hands and saw that they were still, which surprised her, as she felt both excited and afraid.
"You're trying to trick me somehow," she said. "I shouldn't've talked so much. I should've remembered what I am here. We're enemies."
"Why? Why are we enemies?" He paced in his familiar way, and in his earnestness some of the stoic Captain Sileph pushed into his voice. "You have told me yourself, there is nothing for you in Bayern. Your family is dead, your queen does not trust you, your friends are assassins, and that Bayern spy might ride home and report you burn for Tira."
Enna let her head bow and saw again that fleeing scout, the blazing house, and herself before it, no knife to her back, no arrow aimed at her chest while she burned.
"Oh," she said, and felt a funereal weight sink her chest. "I burn for Tira."
"We are not enemies," he said. "You need not be a prisoner here, not now. Tiedan wanted you to teach me the fire, and he would have counted that a proof of loyalty. No matter that you couldn't. What you did today, that is our answer. Burn for Tira. Help me end this war quickly. And then . . . "
His voice softened, losing its tones of exultations, melting down to woo her with the sounds. He held her hand in his, rubbing his thumb against her palm. "And then you and I return to Tira, honored warriors. I will buy you a large house in Ingridan. You will command a circle of servants, and at need we will serve the king in securing the country against foe and calamity."
He took her other hand. She did not pull it away.
"This house," she said, "it'd have plenty of hearths?"
He laughed and smoothed the hair from her brow. She remembered his doing that before, during the drugged days, but she had never felt much about it then. His eyes moved over her hair, her cheeks, her eyes, her lips. One hand shifted to the small of her back, the other held the back of her head, his thumb caressing her cheek.
"Hearths and wood," he said, still smiling. He leaned in closer to her, his voice softening to a whisper. "We'll keep a hay field just for you to burn. And sticks, and straw, and tents, all the tents you want . . . "
He kissed her lips. Her eyes closed for a moment, and she thought of nothing but the volume of her heartbeats banging around inside her head. Her hands trembled now in earnest. She hesitated, then wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Part of her was still hesitating. She thought of Sileph's advice on how to burn as Leifer had—surrender. She took that advice now, but not to make fires. She let go of fears and just let herself feel. Enna was in love with Sileph all week. It was a relief to give up the struggle against him. They dined by his fire and walked together through the camp, smirking at how everyone else still saw them as master and prisoner. He was often gone, serving Tiedan and seeing to war matters, and Enna sat alone in her tent and missed him.
"There was no need for the king's-tongue after all," said Sileph when he returned.
"Without it, I'd've burned you all out of your boots."
Sileph laughed and kissed her hand.
"And Razo and Finn—they can go free?" said Enna.
"Soon," he said.
And they continued to ride out. The first time with a bound-and-gagged Finn, but on subsequent missions with no hostage at all. She burned another house north of Eylbold, and this time Enna had Sileph make certain no one was inside. The next day she burned two wagons full of supplies hidden in the cleavage of two hills. Then another house. When it proved to be a Bayern outpost and a spy ran out, she screamed, "Surrender! Surrender!" before he could try to flee and be downed by an arrow.
She was growing used to the pattern, the long, breathtaking rides, the open sky, the thrill of the fire, Sileph behind her on the horse, Sileph beside her as she burned. And when she questioned if what she did was right, he was there to assure her and comfort her and allow her to keep burning.
Then Sileph was gone for two days. Enna paced in the tent, lighting bits of straw and blowing them out again. She could hear a lot of activity in the camp. More soldiers arrived from the south. Weapons were sharpened, wagons loaded with supplies. Around the fires at night, the noise was boisterous and excited. Enna lay on her side, watched the firelight spark through the tent cracks, and fell asleep wishing to join the camp.
It was dark when she awoke, the tent walls a night silver from the watch fires' glow, the camp quieted to a drowsy murmur. Someone was in the tent. She started, thinking of the hard-fingered soldier, then realizing that this time she could scorch him where he stood. Then, again, she remembered that if she burned, Razo and Finn died.
"Who's there?"
"Sileph." He knelt beside her. "Did I wake you? Oh, your skin is cold." He smoothed her blanket over her, tucking it around her sides.
"What is it?" asked Enna.
Sileph sighed. "It is time to march. My company joins a small army going east at dawn to see to another Bayern town. You are coming with me."
"To burn?"
"Yes. It is time to burn as you were meant to, Enna, end the war and be done with it. You are our hope."
Enna curled up on her side. "All right," she said sleepily.
She closed her eyes and breathed slowly. Sileph stayed beside her, touching her hair, and she did not respond, acting as though she slept. She wanted him to leave so she could decide what to do. It was too hard to think clearly with him so close. End the war swiftly. Yes, that sounded good, but she could not burn people. She wanted to cling to this rule and hoped it would somehow sav
e her. Sileph stroked her hair, and Enna exhaled softly.
She found herself thinking of another time in a tent when she pretended to sleep, Finn beside her, his hands curled on his chest. All I ever wanted was to be close to you. They were so different, those two boys. Of her, Sileph wanted so much more than just to be close.
After a time, Sileph carefully lifted his hand from her head and whispered, "Are you sleeping?"
Enna did not answer. She heard Sileph stand and slip out of the tent. Immediately she opened her eyes, folded her arms, and smirked at the tent flap. He did not know her so well after all if he thought she could sleep on this night. Before her thoughts could begin to untangle the decision before her, a quiet conversation in the distance stirred her curiosity. She sat up to listen.
"There he is, our sharpest arrow."
"Captain Tiedan," Sileph said with respect.
"And the . . . ?" said Tiedan.
"Sleeping," said Sileph.
They're talking about me, Enna thought. She crawled across the tent and peered through the flap.
"Your Pol came to me a month ago with some doubts," said Tiedan, "thought you were attached to the girl, thought you would not make her burn for us. I told him I would give you some space and wait, and my instincts were correct."
"Yes, sir."
"Your troops are ready for the morning march?"
"Yes, sir, we leave at dawn."
"Good. Make as much of a ruckus as you can. Burn farms along the way. If your plan works, my own troops will be marching in two days." Enna could see Tiedan press his lips together and look at Sileph carefully. "The war is not yet won, but I believe some congratulations are due. I doubted your idea at first, but I see now that your every design, from building the gallows as bait, to the king's-tongue, to using her little friends, has been a decisive success. I think you will not long remain a fifty captain."
Sileph nodded once. "I thank you, sir."
Then Tiedan stepped in closer and whispered earnest words. Enna did not catch them, but she had already heard enough.
It was a relief when dawn came. Enna was tired of hating and cursing herself and pounding the cold ground. A shard of sunlight jabbed through the tent crack. Enna stood, waiting. Sileph entered, handsome, excited, ignorant.
"You are up? Good. It is time. . . . "
Enna crossed the tent and punched him in the jaw.
Sileph grabbed her wrists. "What are you . . . Are you crazy?"
"You lying son of a goat. I should burn you." Enna bared her teeth at him. It had felt good to hit him. Very good.
"What are you talking about?" he said, shaking her.
"All the time about Tiedan: Tiedan insists on the king's-tongue; Tiedan holds your friends as hostages; Tiedan wants you to burn. Perhaps you should tell Tiedan what he's doing, then, because he certainly seemed to think it was all you last night."
Sileph stared at her a moment, his lips parted. He blinked and tried to resume his air of confidence. "I don't know what you mean."
"Oh, stop it, Sileph," she said, pulling her arms loose and pushing him a step back. "You've been lying to me since I was unconscious. I'm a prisoner because of you and only you. You said you let that Bayern scout go free for me. Ha! You probably let him go so he'd tell Bayern I'm burning and I couldn't return."
" I-"
"Hurry, quick, think of another lie."
Sileph rubbed his brow roughly. He shook his head, staring at the ground.
"I'm sorry," he said lamely.
"Mmm-hmm," she said, unimpressed, sounding to herself like her mother when the children had been naughty.
"Have you never lied, Enna?" She started to argue back, and he raised a silencing hand. "Just listen to me for a moment, all right?"
Enna shut her mouth emphatically and glared.
"Thank you," he said. "I have lied. I have lied and tricked and done everything I could think of to get you into this camp and keep you here. This is the part that you can believe—I want you here. With me. Now that you know that, nothing else should matter. You are still coming with me, Enna. Today. Now. We are burning together and we are ending this war, and then when we are in our big house in Ingridan you can harangue me in front of all the servants about my lying days."
He smiled at her, his sweetest, handsomest smile, and reached out to take her hand. "Come on, Enna," he said gently.
She slapped his hand away and laughed. "You are goat kin if you think that's all it would take. I'm not going, not now, and if you tie me and take me I will burn, I swear it, but wherever I please."
Sileph stared at her with such surprise, Enna wondered if anyone had ever said no to him before.
"Captain Sileph," came a call from outside, "the troops are ready to march."
"In a moment," he yelled back angrily.
Enna glowered. "Go on, Captain, your army's waiting."
Sileph tightened his jaw. His face was red. "You will change your mind. When battle after battle the war does not end, and your precious Bayern stubbornly resists, willing to be wiped out entirely rather than surrender, then you will know you could stop it, decisively, beautifully. You will want the war over then, and you will come to me."
He hesitated at the door, as if still expecting her to change her mind and go with him right then. She folded her arms.
"I am not letting you go, Enna. I will be back for you, and you will come."
He swept the tent flap out of his way and was gone.
Enna slumped down on the ground and cursed herself richly. She had acted boldly, but she felt torn up, split like a log. Her heart was hammering out a rhythm in her skull, and her stomach felt iced over. She was the greatest fool of all.
Chapter 16
Enna was uprooted. She could not stay, but she had nowhere to go. She would not burn for Sileph, and she could not burn against him in Eylbold for fear of hurting Razo and Finn. Never had she felt so imprisoned.
Leifer was dead. She had no more family, and the impatient nature of the fire that was a part of her now would never allow her to return to the slow, quiet life of the Forest. One night she had dreamed of the Forest reduced to steaming black stumps.
And what of Isi? She had tried to kill the queen. Enna had not thought that word before—kill. And now she had set fire to Bayern outposts and witnessed the death of at least one of their scouts. If she returned, she might be jailed or even executed for treason. How could she explain? No, she could never go back.
Razo and Finn. Perhaps when the war was over, she could agree to go to Tira with Sileph on condition of Razo's and Finn's release. The desire to burn rose blazing in her chest like a cough, and she choked it down. It worsened after Sileph's departure, and Enna wondered if without an enemy to burn, without targets like the gallows or Bayern outposts, if the fire would slowly consume her instead. Maybe, she thought bleakly, when Sileph came back from his current mission, she might agree help him end the war. She shook her head at how quickly she had changed from being tormented by desires to burn Tira to a willingness to burn Bayern. Just like Leifer. Perhaps Isi's warning had been right after all.
Two days after Sileph had ridden east with a small army, Enna heard a second army depart Eylbold. The camp was quieter after that and her evening stew a little thinner. As night softened the camp, several soldiers built a fire near the tent, and through her tent crack Enna watched the flames and their hot, twisting colors. She found herself daydreaming of Ingridan, Sileph's city of white arches and houses and bridges spanning blue rivers, and of being a Tiran warrior, a fearsome and famous woman.
From just beyond the fire, the tones of a Tiran woman caught her attention. All the Eylbold women she had seen were Bayern, and, curious, Enna eavesdropped on her conversation with some soldiers about her ride up from Folcmar and passing news of the war. In addition to some message from Folcmar, the woman brought several skins of wine that she passed around. Enna could hear the sounds of drinking, and the laughter and conversation took on a slightly higher p
itch.
"They sent you carrying messages alone from Folcmar?" said a soldier.
"Now, sir, why should I be afraid to ride through my own country?" There was a pause. "Is this not Tiran land?"
Several soldiers laughed. "Indeed, lady, it is, and will remain so."
Enna felt irritated by their talk, and she was tired of waiting. She burst out of the tent and was immediately stopped by her two guards' crossed spears.
"Back inside," said the larger one.
"Sileph said I could join the camp," Enna lied.
"The captain said to keep you hidden away until he returned, witch. Back in."
"Ooh, is that the fire-witch?"
Enna met eyes with the Tiran woman and could not stop her mouth from widening into a silent gasp. It was Isi.
Enna almost did not recognize her in the Tiran clothing and speaking with a Tiran accent. But she knew her. And she clutched at her stomach to keep herself from crying out. Isi's yellow hair was uncovered and cut to her shoulders in the fashion of a laborer.
"Yes, that is the fire-witch, our own little Bayern demon," said a soldier with some disdain. He prodded Enna back inside by a spear tip. She sat down by the flap and watched through the gap.
"I have never seen a fire-witch before," said Isi in her perfect accent. That had always been her talent, Enna remembered. When Isi had first come to Bayern, she had imitated the Forest accent to hide her identity, and she could distinguish different bird sounds and repeat their words so perfectly, a crow thought she was another crow—or, apparently, a Tiran another Tiran. "May I go in and talk to her?"
"No, not a chance. This is no ordinary prisoner. This is our captain's special pet."
Enna winced at the word, and she saw Isi raise her eyebrows.
"Is that so? Would this be Captain Sileph, then? A great leader. He has his way with words, does he not?"
Some of the soldiers snickered.
"I heard a tale once," said Isi, "of the gifts of languages. Do you know it? How in faraway places, there are people who can speak with birds or horses or rain, and some when they speak to other people have the unnatural power to persuade, their every word a kind of magic? Once in Ingridan I heard Sileph speak and wondered if he had not just walked out of that old tale."