But she didn't make a sound. She quietly approached the extinguished campfire and then, with difficulty, propped herself up on the armrest of the wheelchair, leaning half her body out to grasp the dagger, meant for cutting meat, that lay on the ground, in her palm.
The dagger, still warm from the dying embers of the fire, gave Valentina some comfort, and she looked down at the sharp blade, silent for a moment, before turning her head to glance once more at the quiet tents behind her.
There, laid out in turn, were the partners she had met since leaving the fortress.
From the Schwali Hahn family was Balzac, a down-on-his-luck Schwali noble. Although he was typically argumentative and liked to make trouble, he never stumbled when it mattered; he was not petty and had been of great assistance to her.
