The days on the boat settled into a comfortable rhythm. Owen began to find his river legs, though he still stumbled more often than he was used to. He was learning his way around as well, and needed a guide less often. 

As he relaxed, he got to know the crew and his fellow passengers. Otto and Meander checked on him and Kaz frequently, now that Kaz had revealed their identities. Otto was gruff, yet kind. He didn’t talk much, but Owen quickly realized that when he did speak, he was well worth listening to. The rest of the crew clearly respected him for his directness and wisdom. 

Meander, on the other hand, was jovial and funny. His booming laugh floating across the deck was such a frequent sound that it had nearly become a part of the landscape. His sense of humor was decidedly irreverent; between him and Ember, Owen had never blushed so much in his life. Owen also realized that underneath his gregarious personality was an unexpected gentleness and vulnerability. He would catch Owen and Kaz alone to check on them. And once he confessed to Owen that he preferred to make people laugh so he didn’t have to spend too much with his own silence. 

Cascade was just as friendly and curious as she had been from the first moment. Thankfully, Owen discovered that she was just as happy to chatter about herself. He made a point of answering her questions briefly, then turning the back on her. He learned that she was from a large family, with two brothers and a sister back in Ticlanac. Cascade also missed her sister. 

Owen came to appreciate Oreeya and Reef tremendously. They both followed Ember’s lead and described everything to him. Reef continued to help him solve practical difficulties, while Oreeya offered to teach him to tie knots. Although at first he was skeptical, he was willing, and she proved to be a patient and able teacher. When the water was calm, they would sit side-by-side in the sunshine fingers tracing bits of rope. Oreeya also agreed to let Owen help her cook, once she found out that he knew a thing or two about spices. He found her calm, steady presence comforting in the current turbulence of his life. 

Ember and Chel continued to intrigue him, and not only because of the cryptic warnings he and Kaz had received. He was struck by how different they were, and yet how well they seemed to know one another. They communicated in a sort of personal shorthand that made eavesdropping - always a talent of his - less than useful. Sentence fragments and subtle sounds and significant silence that Kaz told him were filled by gestures and expressions. 

He tried to get to know each of them individually, but without much success. Chel was vague and reserved, dropping just enough hints about obscure spiritual knowledge for Owen to be convinced that she had some sort of specialized education, though he couldn’t begin to guess anything more specific. 

Owen had mixed feelings about Ember. On the one hand, she was always helping him out, and her descriptions were so detailed that they made him feel as though he had personally explored every inch of the landscape all around. She was funny and warm and friendly. 

But Ember was also very good at avoiding questions, though she hid it better than Chel, with jokes and smooth sidesteps and questions of her own. She was so forward and raunchy that Owen soon became intensely nervous every time he talked to her. He never knew when she would make some comment that would fly over his head, leaving her chortling at his mystification. Sometimes he thought she did this on purpose to put him on edge, and he resented being used for her amusement. He also noticed that she showered Kaz with praise and compliments, and that Kaz seemed to enjoy the attention. When he reminded her that they should be keeping their distance from the other passengers, Kaz said that she was just trying to be polite when everyone was together as a group. It wasn’t like she was seeking out Ember’s company. 

It was true that everyone gathered together only once a day, and he and Kaz attempted to avoid Ember and Chel the rest of the time. Breakfast and lunch were loose affairs, with everyone eating at different times and breaking off into little groups. Ember often made it a point to join him and Kaz, making it difficult for them to talk in private. Even though this strengthened Owen’s suspicion that Ember must be working for Vidar, Kaz said that it would make her suspicious if they asked her not to join them. So Owen battled through his own complicated feelings about the woman and smiled through the jokes she made at his expense. 

In those days, he also came to know Kaz better. Even with Ember and various members of the crew joining them for meals, there was still plenty of free time on the boat. Under the guise of walking Devlin, who was used to more open space, the two of them would walk circuits around the deck, talking. 

Sometimes they discussed their situation, although neither received any new information in those first few days. There was only so much speculation they could do before Kaz would get so angry that Owen could feel lightning humming under her skin even without the amplification Ch’usaj brought to his senses. So he would change the subject. 

They talked about music and the elements, about how Owen had grown up with Orlando’s healing practice and Maria’s steady support. He told her how, four years ago, his father had set off for Ticlanac and returned with Devlin, already trained to guide the blind by specialists in the city. 

“Devlin changed my life,” Owen had said. “I don’t know what I would do without him.” They spent the rest of that walk talking about Devlin and all the ways he made Owen’s life easier. 

He eventually plucked up the courage to ask Kaz about her life before the coup, reassuring her that she didn’t have to tell him if it was too painful. She did tell him, hesitantly at first, and then with the same passion she brought to everything she did. 

Owen began to piece together her history, to understand how this remarkable and unlikely woman had created herself. [the role of the ñust’a in the empire]. Kaz never accepted the polished and poised life of a ñust’a, convinced that there was more to life than marriage and fertility. She was always much more interested in what her younger brother was learning. 

At first Blaze would teach her in secret, and Kaz was punished and lectured many times for her rebellion. But eventually some of Blaze’s peers and teachers found out what a flair she had for the fighting arts. Owen learned, with shock, that it was actually Vidar’s father that went directly to the sun king on her behalf, asking that she be allowed to train with the boys. 

Such a request had never been made before. The Sapan’s advisors and his wives alike spoke out against the possibility. But the Sapan respected Vidar’s father. He suggested a compromise. Officially, Kaz would continue her lessons with the other ñust’a, but if she chose to take on further training in her free time, she was not to be punished. 

“I basically had free reign after that,” said Kaz. “At first they tried to punish me for missing lessons. But my father told them to let me do as I liked.” 

Since she wasn’t allowed to officially join the boys, she would ‘sneak in’ during practice times. At first, the instructors pretended not to notice her. But eventually they began to give her feedback, and then to openly train her during those moments. 

During official class time, Kaz would run off to the city. She made friends with fisherman, learning to sail and fish. She hung out in the marketplace, observing the traders and merchants. She even had a brief romance once. All of them, friends and acquaintances alike, always found out who she was sooner and later, and would hold her at arms length once they knew her identity. 

“No one would dare hurt me,” she said. “It would be like trying to hurt one of the elements. But they always treated me differently after they found out. Didn’t talk as freely. That’s why I don’t know much about how people really feel about the empire. Because no one would tell me. One of the only good things about this whole awful situation is that everyone treats me like just another person. That’s all I ever really wanted. And now that I have it, I wish I didn’t.”

Kaz lapsed into silence as they continued their walk. Owen found himself thinking about what she had said. People sometimes treated him differently, like he was stupid rather than blind. But the ones that mattered had always interacted iwth him like he was, like Kaz had said, just another person. What would it have been like to never have had that sense of normalcy? 

“It sounds like you were close with your brother,” he ventured.

“Yeah,” said Kaz. “Blaze was the only one who treated me like I wasn’t made of glass or some exotic trained animal. Well, almost the only one.”

“Who else?” prompted Owen. 

The silencc stretched for so long that Owen knew he had touched a sore spot. He was about to take back the question she she spoke. 

“Vidar,” she said quietly. “I didn’t treat him like dirt, even though he had been chosen by Ch’usaj. He’s several years older than I am, and a brilliant student. So he would teach me in private. We would go tracking and hunting in the mountains together, just the two of us. We were friends. That’s why it hurt so much when…”

Owen didn’t need her to finish the sentence. 

“I’m so sorry Kaz,” he said. “I thought what he did was horrible before. This makes it even worse.”

“I keep asking myself how I could have missed the signs. I knew he could be harsh, even cruel. But I thought that’s what would make him a great general someday. Now I know he never cared about me. He probably nver cared about anyone in his entire life. How could I have been so stupid?”

Owen reached out, and she found his hand. “Kaz,” he said. “You couldn’t possibly have known. Maybe you can see the clues now. But no one could have predicted such an act of cruelty. Please don’t blame yourself, ok?”

She squeezed his hand. “Thanks, Owen,” she said. “You’re right. It’s not my fault. I just...I thought I knew him, that’s all.” 

Owen pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry,” was all he could think to say. Devlin leaned against their legs, tail wagging. They stood like that for a long moment, just breathing together. 

“Thanks Owen,” said Kaz, gently pulling away. “I’m glad to have you as a friend. It’s almost dinner time. We should get ready.” 

Owen knew that there wasn’t really much getting ready necessary for dinners here. But he also understood. She would want to compose herself before laughing with everyone else. As she walked off, he felt a flush of pleasure that this remarkable woman considered him a friend. 

~

That evening after dinner Kaz pulled him aside. 

“Hey, Owen. I’ve been thinking. You know how i asked if we could sing together sometime?” 

Owen nodded. “Do you want to do that now?”

“I kinda do, yeah,” she said. 

“Ok,” said Owen. “Where should we do this?”

“Over here.” Kaz took his hand and led him to one of the benches that lined the edges of the boat. They had anchored for the night, so the deck was steadier than during the day. Owen thought they were by the prow. 

“So, uh, how do we do this?” asked Kaz as they sat. Devlin tucked his muzzle over Owen’s leg. 

“Well, I suppose we could start with a song you know.” He stroked the dog’s ears. 

“I’d honestly rather not.” Owen had never seen anyone grimace, but he’d had the expression described to him, and that was about what Kaz’s voice was doing now. He fought down a grin. 

“Ok, not something you know,” he said, holding up his hands in mock surrender. “How about htis. It’s a sort of game my mother would play with me while I was still learning how to sing. I’ll sing a little bit of melody and you sing something back. You can start by echoing me, then once you’re more comfortable you make up your own in response.”

“Alright, I suppose I can do that.”

“Great,” said Owen. 

He sang a simple melody, just three notes. Kaz copied him. He sang a new combination. Again she echoed him. She had a light, clear voice, a little breathy with hesitation. It took several rounds for her to break from his melody, finishing the phrase on an upward note, rather than a downward one. 

Owen grinned, adding a new twist. Kaz changed it again. Back and forth they went, the melody ebbing and flowing between them, becoming more complex with each pass. Ch’usaj awoke, along with the new awareness. With this magnification, he realized that Chukulla was there too, flickering under Kaz’s skin much more gently than he had ever felt him. This puzzled Own, since he’d only ever felt Chukulla arise when Kaz was angry. But he was too intent on the music to ponder further. 

As the melody grew and morphed, Owen heard the hesitation in Kaz’s voice start to melt. Her inprovisations, though still simple, grew boler. The tone was less breathy, more free. Owen felt as though his heart was reaching out to embrace the sound of her confidence. The strength of her lightning was growing as well. 

Adn then Owen knew, as he always did, that this melody was nearing its end. His notes began to slow, and Kaz eased hers to match. Finally, he sang four notes descending into stillness.