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from those who wish him ill, and whether Tino is among them. I know from experience that being an outsider can be hard. Strange that I should no longer feel an outsider here, but only now, when I know for certain I won’t stay.

CHAPTER 4
    The jigger clatters over a rough joint in the line, jolting my forehead against the window. I roll my neck to loosen its kinks and gaze out at the shifting landscape. We’ve already passed the dead lake. It won’t be long before we begin our clanking descent to the ocean.
    Around me, children rustle and shift. Hetti’s story has spread outwards in ripples of fear. There’s no real indication that the Paras plan another assault, but for some, the threat is enough.
    “Truso takes it so hard,” Saice had told me, after a third family announced they were returning to Vidya. “And we can’t afford to lose our work crews at the busiest time of the season, not after last year’s poor harvest.”
    “You can’t blame people for being afraid.”
    “Not for being afraid,” Saice had agreed. “For not standing up for what we believe in. For not standing by Vidya.”
    The child opposite me clambers onto the seat to peer from the window and I reach a hand to steady him. His mother, busy with her baby, glances briefly towards me, stress showing in the lines and shadows of her face. I can’t reproach her, or the others, for wanting to feel safe.
    Jofeia slides into a nearby seat, laying her crossbow on her knees as she twists to face me. “I’ll be glad to see Vidya,” she says. “It’s nearly four months since I’ve been back.”
    I’m not sure I share her enthusiasm: I’ve an argument with Amar awaiting me.
    “Do you think the para will pull through?” Jofeia asks.
    “His name is Flet,” I say. “It was a risk moving him from Summertops so soon, but with Saice caring for him he has a fair chance. He’s a fighter at least.” Her grunt makes me regret my choice of words. If he’d been stable enough I’d have suggested transferring him back to Vidya. At least there the label of ‘para’ would be a little less damning.
    “It’s not his fault that he grew up in a community we disapprove of.”
    Jofeia looks unconvinced. I wonder how many at Home Farm share her opinion, and whether Flet will come to regret making himself an outcast.
    “Are you on leave once we get to Vidya?” I ask, to change the subject.
    She shakes her head. “I’m assigned to the jigger line for the next week, but I should get a couple of nights in the city between runs. If things stay quiet for the next few days, Brenon plans to head back to Vidya to meet with the governors.”
    “Perhaps he’ll be able to convince Hetti to go with him.” The girl had refused to leave Ebony Hill without Flet.
    “We’ll go together when he’s well,” she’d said.
    “But your mother,” Saice had argued.
    Hetti had been adamant, her fixation making me wonder how she’d cope if Flet dies. Saice had been prosaic. “She’s tougher than she looks — she wouldn’t have made it this far if she wasn’t. In my experience, Ness, people are either resilient or they’re not.” Her words had carried a weight of resignation about them. Over the past year, Saice has had to deal with the aftermath of the attack. Like Truso, she doesn’t carry the burden lightly.
    “So have you thought about joining Scouts?” Jofeia asks, tugging me back to the present.
    Spiny weeds spill from a fold of hill towards the track, their yellow blossoms bright as beads. “I haven’t yet made a decision.”
    “I prefer it to Decon,” she says. “Bigger challenges.”
    I prefer my challenges to be peaceable, but I don’t feel inclined to say so to Jofeia. Glancing at the mothers and young children around us, I wonder if she’ll one day choose another path — though if she does, I suspect it won’t be for a while.
    The carriage slows as the line angles up the face of the hill. I clamber up to offer Farra my help, but Jofeia is