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His eyes followed the woman.

“Yes.”

“Why allow the trader inside at all?”

“Because he brought three medical sealants Sera cannot make, a condenser diaphragm Kalla has needed for four months, and two sacks of viable grain.”

The answer carried no defense. Only the same compromise Sera had already described.

Kesta folded her arms. “Sometimes every choice on this planet is bad.”

Dreven looked at her.

“Frequently.”

The simple agreement eased something she hadn't realized had tightened. His gaze dropped briefly toward her wrist, then returned to her face.

“You are working under the infirmary awning?”

“For several hours.”

“Try not to acquire another camp.”

Kesta stared at him. Dreven's mouth curved.

“You were worried about my sense of humor when we met,” he reminded her.

“I was younger and foolish then.”

“Four days ago?”

“An innocent time.”

He laughed and moved away toward the water stalls. Kesta watched him longer than she should have before Sera nudged her shoulder.

“You were saying something about younger and foolish?”

“Not a word.”

The healer smiled and returned to arranging supplies. For the next two hours, Kesta barely had time to think about Dreven. Patients arrived with market injuries, old illnesses, and problems they had apparently been saving until they reached a camp with a functioning infirmary. A miner paid for treatment with a condenser gasket. A feathered woman offered preserved fruit for an antifungal cream. One mother placed three salt batteries on Kesta's table for a single course of medication. Kesta pushed two batteries back.

The woman frowned. “Not enough?”

“Too much.”

Her expression became suspicious. Kesta pointed toward the child beside her. Pale fungal growth had formed between two breathing plates near the girl's ribs, painful but still superficial.

“She needs one treatment packet. One battery covers it.”

The mother's hand remained over the other two.

“My daughter is worth more.”

“Of course she is.”

“Then take them.”

Kesta softened her voice. “Her worth and the price of medicine are not the same thing.”