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cover the frantic pounding of my heart.
    The guard moves on around the wall. I close my eyes and thank Mother Asis, then wonder if she would approve of what I am doing.
    My run with Kaiya through the Cloister to the western wall, the night sky blackening every minute, convinces me that Mother Asis must have heard my prayer. Guards are everywhere, but between my detailed knowledge of their posts and our own blind luck, we make it.
    When the guards on the wall are at the farthest point of their walk, I hurry Kaiya up the ladder. We kneel in shadows at the top, the rough stone digging into our flesh.
    "We must jump," I whisper. "There is no other way."
    Fear lines the girl’s face as she thinks of the height of the wall, but acceptance hardens in her eyes. I take her hands, lower her as far as I can, and drop her. There's a muffled thump, but she does not cry out. Good girl .
    I jump myself, clenching my teeth at the bone-jarring landing. My ankles and knees ache as I stumble forward, leading Kaiya swiftly into the forest, then on to where I last saw her father looking up at me.
    What if he is no longer here? What if he has gone? My eyes rove up and down the wall, searching.
    There—a shadow in the dark. His head is bowed; his hands are curled into fists. His quiet but ferocious dedication to his purpose—to his daughter—moves me again.
    "Father," Kaiya cries softly from the cover of the trees.
    He stiffens but to his credit only turns and walks toward us. To the guards who must be watching from the wall, he might have given up.
    I leave a hand on my knife, but I needn’t have bothered. He takes his daughter in his arms and cradles her to his chest, handling her as if she was something precious, priceless. He smooths her hair and murmurs her name, the accent of their people strong in his voice. I do not know what he says, but his words are gentle and loving. Kaiya weeps.
    When he looks to me, I am surprised there's no hatred or judgment on his face. Only gratitude.
    "Thank you."
    "Go quickly," I say around the wedge in my throat. "Cross the Restless as soon as you can and travel through the forest on that side. They will search for her; you must hurry.”
    They run, holding hands tightly. I watch as they weave through the trees, until the night swallows the sight and sound of them.

10.
    It is not a simple thing to get back over the wall without being seen, but I do. I limp home, my fingers raw and bleeding and my feet cramping painfully from the climb. I wash my hands, arms, and face in the basin and pour out the blood-tinged water.
    Grateful Adar is not yet home, I crawl in bed as apprehension claws through me. I did what my heart dictated, but what price will I pay for listening to such a weak, inconstant advisor?
    Hours seem to pass. The heat and fumes of the Eternal Flames create a shroud over the Cloister.
    Sometime before mid-dark an alarm is raised. The Teachers must have checked on the girls and discovered Kaiya missing.
    Sisters run through the compound, pounding on doors and calling, but they do not come to ours. It belongs to Adar—our leader—why would the girl be here? The search goes on through the night.
    I lie on my bed until the sun climbs with golden limbs over the eastern wall. Then I move to the window well to watch and to wait.
    As she does every morning, the  Sister who minds the wasps makes her ponderous way up the hill to their enclosure to perform her precarious tasks. She must be one of the oldest of us, but still she toils every day for the good of the Cloister. For the good of us all.
    I thought to do the same, but now—
    Someone raps hard on our door. Enveloped in shadow, she enters without being invited.
    Golnar .
    I imagine triumph seething beneath the expressionless mask on her face. My hands refuse to stop trembling. She comes forward and takes one, studying it. My skin no longer bleeds, but fresh cuts and scrapes mar my fingers and palm.
    "Did you not hear the