For four days, Johanna and Asher traversed towards Ciola. She guided them from Serwyn's ornate saddle, recollecting the memories from the nights previously passed. Now, she sat next to Asher as they had only made camp hours before the sun set. During her pursuit to escape from Sevitel, Johanna had pushed herself to ride through the night. The more distance she covered, the better. Repeating the same exhaustive ride back to Ciola would certainly kill Serwyn, or he would go lame.

The heat from the fire warmed her hands, and as she rubbed them together with tenderness, Asher asked her to speak of her brothers. Smiling fondly, Johanna nodded more to herself than to Asher in agreement. Not only were Thalien and Chezaré her brothers, they were also her friends. "Thalien is tall and dark-haired. He is a man of thoughts and words, which gives him a brooding atmosphere. I think he personally finds the company of stones and gems more entertaining than that with people. And Chezaré is just as tall, but his hair is the colour of sun-lit wheat. He is a ladies man by nature, which has cost him a broken nose on occasions. Chezaré is just as smart as Thalien, although he acts more like a rogue than a cartographer. Neither of my brothers have families, or at least not yet." She looked to Asher, her hazel eyes reflecting in the light of the fire, "I pray tell that I haven't dulled your sense with my boring words." And here again, she smiled.