Sun beats down on my back along with the rest of the audience come to watch the wranglers wrestle with the jillabird. Currently, the bird crouches protectively over its food, head lowered almost to the ground, and hissing at the wildlings. Jai sits cross-legged, tilting her head in time with the jillabird.

  Kio nearly gets their arm caught in the bird’s beak when they try to touch it. They groan and sag against the fence, arms keeping them semi-upright. “How the fuck did you fly that thing, Jai?”

  “A little unwillingly on her part.” Jai’s face pinches. “I think it broke what little trust we had…” After a moment, Jai stands and brushes the sand off. “Let her eat. We’ll try again tomorrow.”

  My distraction gone, I grab my stolen spear and take out my simmering frustration on the air. Shards of sun pattern the sand under the covered area we use for sparring, the holes in the fabric remnants of stray spearpoints. I learned to fight

  in a different place, but under the same copper fabric. But thinking about that fans my frustration more than I’d like, and burns my fingertips like acid.

  I yelp when I spin around. Jai stands at the end of my spear, holding a plate of food. “Ritz said you were out here. Something about Ihlan ruining your plans?”

  I lower my weapon and nod to the food. “You didn’t need to do that.”

  Jai shrugs. “I came to tell you we’re giving the new wildlings a proper welcome tonight. Music. Dancing. Food that’s not purely for nutrition.” She throws a nutra-ball at my head.

  I catch it. “Do you think they’re going to feel like celebrating?”

  “Might take their minds off things.” She plays with a stray curl, looking away. “Take everyone’s minds off…” She puts the plate in my hand and takes my spear arm, dragging back into camp. “Even yours. Besides, I want to do it before we leave.”

  “Leave?”

  Jai nods. “Ihlan and Keir think it’s time to move farther out into the desert again. We only came this far in for the jillabird and now that we have her…” She grabs her arms, glancing towards the forest. “Well, the more dunes between us and the soldiers the better.”

  By that evening, we’ve scrapped together some non-rehydrated food, a few ramshackle instruments held together by Hels’ tech, and lit a circle in the center of camp.

  Lights from Kio’s lightning mix with the ones hanging on the outsides of shelters, the whole place a blend of purple and yellow-orange-white. For once, the food—a cameldeer, courtesy of some weapon-savvy wranglers—lacks a chemical tinge. Wildlings take turns playing instruments, swapping out when someone wants a break from dancing or playing.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  I sit against the weapon’s shelter, arms crossed, watching everyone else dance.

  At some point in the night, Jai finds me. “You’re not still pouting because we didn’t let you go kidnaping soldiers, are you?”

  I slouch further down the wall. “No.”

  Jai giggles and I grin in spite of myself.

  But it fades. “I was hoping to grab the commander from the battalion we got the bird from.”

  “Why?”

  I look off to the side. What the commander said about the empress swarms around my thoughts like sandmites on a rotting plant. Since when does the empress single out wildlings?

  “Xen? Is something wrong?” Jai takes a seat next to me, tilting her head to the side with a gentle smile. “I might not be a runner, but you know you can talk to me.”

  “Yeah, I know.”

  “So, what is it?”

  I hold her gaze, but say nothing. Eventually, I nod towards the lit area. “You should go dance.”

  Jai stands and offers her hand. “Only if you come with me.”

  My stomach does the thing it does when I drop from Getlas. “If you insist, my dear.”

  Jai pulls me among the pairs and groups dancing together, and the wildlings dancing wildly on their own. Heavy breathing runs under the music like an underground stream. The music is metallic and augmented, but the breathing is a real drum made of wood and hide. Like from the stories, of a time when we had the resources and knowledge to make such things.

  A time from thousands of years ago. Did wildlings dance like this then, too?

  As Jai dances, I fill up the empty space her movements leave. She steps back, I step forward. She bends down, I reach my arms over top of her. She lunges, I sidestep so we face each other. Jai takes my arm and bends back, almost pulling me over with her, before straightening again. Where she’s flexible and rootless, I’m fast and reactive.

  “Are you really not going to tell me what’s bothering you?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  Her eyes shine. “Aha! So there is something.”

  I stammer, “What—No, I meant no, there is nothing.”

  She leans over top of me and I have to bend backwards out of the way, reaching down a hand to catch myself. “Come on. I want to know.”

  “You don’t need to worry about it.”

  With a quiet sigh, she pulls me up.

  “I thought tonight was supposed to be about celebrating,” I say. “Taking our minds off of problems.”

  “Oh.” Jai’s face falls. “I didn’t realize—”

  “No, no, no, I mean it—” I hold my hands out and shake my head. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Just,” I offer my hand and grin, “shut up and dance with me.”

  She brightens again and I relax. “If you insist.”

  After the dancing slows and the music quiets until only a few wildlings dance to nothing, Jai finally lets me go.

  I collapse backwards, panting. “You win.”

  She laughs. “I win what?”

  “I don’t know, but you win.”

  Jai giggles and lies down next to me. Her chest rises and falls rapidly. The lights turn off, leaving only Kio’s lightning, and then even that fades as they slide down a light-post, cross their arms and fall asleep.

  More wildlings do the same, lying down around the dance area and drifting off. The circle’s the complete opposite of the one we made the other day.

  “Are you going back to your shelter?” I ask.

  “Are you?”

  Stars fade as the first hints of sun tease their coming presence. “Nah.”

  “Then I won’t either.” Jai yawns and leans her head against my shoulder. “Night, Xen.”

  “Night.” I spend more time watching her fall asleep than trying to do the same. Letting out a long breath, I close my eyes. Thanks for the dance.