Winter Be My Shield by Jo Spurrier

But don’t let them out of sight — your healer will throw them away if she gets the chance.’
    Isidro weighed the charms in his hand and then slowly tucked them away again. ‘She means well,’ he said. ‘She spent half her life in Mesentreia — she couldn’t help but pick up some of their ways.’Mesentreians hated mages and their craft even more than the Ricalani priests did. Even as he said it, Isidro found himself thinking of the witch-stones Kasimi had been carrying. She must have found the charms herself — no one could have told her they were hidden in his packs. Perhaps she was like him, sensitive to the energies trapped in the stones. He thought of the red stones and the matching burns encircling her wrists. Clearly, she was no stranger to mage-craft and yet she didn’t have the usual abhorrence for it, despite the way it had been used against her.
    â€˜You took a great risk, running like you did,’ Isidro said. ‘You could have died in the storm. You would have died if Cam hadn’t found you. What was so bad that you risked death to flee it?’
    She turned his way, her chin set in a firm and stubborn line. ‘I thought you people already decided I was the concubine of some Mesentreian lord, making a desperate bid for freedom — at least, that’s what Eloba told me.’
    â€˜I understand that was the leading theory … but I’m not sure it’s the truth. I don’t see why a concubine would wear a uniform of the royal household. Let’s see, you know enough of the king’s matters to know the Duke was given enchantments to wear — and enough to recognise these as the same sort of stone. How did you find them? They can’t have been easy to spot in my packs if Rhia thought they’d been thrown away already.’
    He couldn’t read her face beneath the bandage, but Kasimi stiffened with sudden tension and closed her mouth with a snap.
    â€˜Never mind,’ he said. ‘I don’t mean to pry, I’m just so cursed bored. No doubt you have good reason to keep your secrets. But can you tell me anything of what’s happening in the west? I haven’t heard any news since before …’ He trailed off, glancing down at his splinted arm. ‘Well, for weeks, and Cam and the others don’t tell me anything they think would make me worry.’
    She laughed, a brief, humourless sound that seemed born more of nerves than anything else. ‘I heard about you,’ she said. ‘Back in the king’s camp. I’m glad you survived; it’s heartening to know Kell and the king aren’t as all-powerful as they’d have us believe.’
    Isidro glanced down at the splints again. Glad, are you? he thought. I’m not, at times. What tales had spread through the camp of his days of torment? He winced at the thought of it, but then Kasimi went on, giving him something to focus on and drive those unwelcome memories away.
    â€˜The fighting has probably begun by now. The Akharians were close when I left, digging in on the far side of the river valley. They have control of the Bear Lands — a few made it out, but most are slaves now, heading to the markets in Akhara.’
    â€˜How many men do the Slavers have?’
    She shook her head. ‘No idea. I never saw them and the men I overheard didn’t say. But I think it’s a lot. More than the king has, maybe.’
    â€˜The numbers don’t matter as much if he has the advantage of terrain,’ Isidro said. ‘The pass where the river cuts through the ranges is good ground — I’d say Severian could hold it for years, if it weren’t for the mages. Can you tell me anything of them?’
    â€˜Not much. From what I heard, the king isn’t worried. Kell and his cursed apprentice are sure they can deal with them … the ones marching south, that is. The ones who head