Ainen cooked that night.
Nobody asked him to. His shoulder was still bandaged, and Fraisea had told him twice to sit down. He set up his pots anyway at the edge of the canyon and started feeding people.
"You need to rest," Saffa said.
"I am resting," Ainen said. "This is what it looks like."
He fed Regalon first, and then PeakWicked. Then the Skytheum survivors came and stood at the edge of the firelight, not sure if they were welcome. Ainen put bowls in their hands before they could ask.
When everyone had eaten, he filled one more bowl. He carried it to the very edge of the canyon and set it down on the stone.
Clovelle watched him do it. "Who is that for?"
"My guest," Ainen said. "It hasn't had a proper meal in thirty-seven years."
He did not expect anything to happen. But when he looked back an hour later, the bowl was empty, and the stone under it was warm.
Big D read the names after dark.
