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if he were a child and felt his pain as if it were his own.
    Ananais had come not to kill him but to die at his hand. And he knew why the giant blamed him. On the day the order to disband the Dragon had been served, Ananais had gathered the men, ready to march on Drenan and depose Ceska. Tenaka and the Dragon gan, Baris, had defused the situation, reminding the men that they had lived and fought for democracy. Thus, the revolution was over before it had begun.
    And now the Dragon was destroyed, the land was in ruins, and terror stalked the Drenai.
    Ananais had been right.
    Renya watched silently until the sobbing ceased, then she stood and walked to the two men, pausing to add fuel to the dying fire. Ananais glanced up and saw her, then scrabbled for his mask.
    She moved to his side, kneeling by him, then gently touched the hands that held the mask in place. Curling her fingers around his hands, she pulled the mask clear, her dark eyes fixed only to the giant’s own.
    As the ruined face came into view, Ananais closed his eyes and bowed his head. Renya leaned forward and kissed his brow, then his scarred cheek. His eyes opened.
    “Why?” he whispered.
    “We all have scars,” she said. “Better by far for them to be worn on the outside.” She rose and returned to her bed.
    “Who is she?” asked Ananais.
    “She is hunted by Ceska,” Tenaka told him.
    “Aren’t we all?” the giant commented, replacing his mask.
    “Yes, but we will surprise him,” said Tenaka.
    “That would be nice.”
    “Trust me, my friend. I mean to bring him down.”
    “Alone?”
    Tenaka grinned. “Am I still alone?”
    “No! Do you have a plan?”
    “Not yet.”
    “Good. I thought perhaps the two of us were going to surround Drenan!”
    “It might come to that. How many of the Dragon still live?”
    “Precious few. Most followed the call. I would have done so, too, had it reached me in time. Decado still lives.”
    “That is good news,” said Tenaka.
    “Not really. He has become a monk.”
    “A
monk
? Decado? He lived to kill.”
    “Not anymore. Are you thinking of gathering an army?”
    “No, it would do no good against the Joinings. They are too strong, too fast—too everything.”
    “They can be beaten,” said Ananais.
    “Not by men.”
    “I defeated one.”
    “You?”
    “Yes. After we disbanded, I tried farming. It didn’t work out. I had heavy debts, and Ceska had opened the arenas for combat games, so I became a gladiator. I thought I would have maybe three fights and earn enough to settle my debts. But I enjoyed the life, you know? I fought under another name, but Ceska found out who I was. At least, that’s what I assume. I was due to fight a man named Treus, but when the gates opened, there stood a Joining. Gods, he must have been eight feet tall.
    “But I beat him. By all the demons in hell, I beat him!”
    “How?”
    “I had to let him come in close and think he had won. Then I gutted him with my knife.”
    “That was an awful risk,” said Tenaka.
    “Yes.”
    “But you got away with it?”
    “Not quite,” Ananais answered. “He tore off my face.”
    “I really thought I could kill you, you know?” Ananais said as they sat together by the fire. “I really believed it. I hated you. The more I saw the nation suffer, the more you came into my mind. I felt cheated, as if all I had ever lived for had been ruined. And when the Joining … when I was injured … I lost my mind. My courage. Everything.”
    Tenaka sat silently, his heart heavy. Ananais had been a vain man but gifted with humor that was always self-mocking; it took the edge from his vanity. And he had been handsome, adored by the ladies. Tenaka did not interrupt him. He had the feeling that a long, long time had passed since Ananais had sat in company. The words flowed like a torrent, but always the giant returned to his hatred of the Nadir prince.
    “I knew it was irrational, but I couldn’t help it, and when I found the bodies at the