the remaining bandage dangled. The mortar and pestle beside his head held the crushed fadeleaf—it would need to be placed under his tongue to keep him asleep for another hour or so.
Kira swallowed hard. She urged one foot in front of the other until she stood at the young man’s side, but her hands refused to move. She couldn’t touch a sleeping man she didn’t even know.
Nervousness jittered in her joints. Maybe it wouldn’t feel so inappropriate if he weren’t shirtless. Now that Granny was gone, it was nearly impossible to keep her eyes off of his olive-toned arms. She was probably just imagining his attractiveness—it must have been because she felt guilty and pitied him. Or maybe it was the oddity of silver hair despite his youth—a common trait for tribesmen but unheard of among her people. Yeah, that must be it.
A sound at the door launched Kira’s heart into her throat. She whirled and found Lee kicking dust from his boots as he entered the barn. “Troop of soldiers headin’ down the main road. They sure didn’t waste time.” He glanced at her under the wide-brimmed hat that kept his dreadlocks at bay. “How’s he doin’?”
“Fine,” Kira said instantly. She fumbled for the dangling bandage and pulled it tight under the prisoner’s arm.
Lee huffed a laugh and hung his lasso on its hook. “I know you think he’s fine, but I was asking ’bout his wound.”
Heat flushed Kira’s cheeks as she wound the bandage around again. “Now’s not the time for your idiotic jokes. Granny says he’ll be all right.”
Lee strode forward and stopped at her side, bringing the scent of a hard day’s work with him. “I’ve been thinkin’ . . . maybe we should let him go.”
Kira’s hands froze. “I said no jokes.”
“Not jokin’.” Lee removed his hat and hung it on a hook by the lantern. “You feel so bad about it—don’t want you to regret somethin’ for the rest of your life.”
Kira cringed. Lee felt responsible for an accident that had claimed his best friend’s life the year before. But this was different.
“Mom already reported it to the Empire,” she whispered. “So it’s probably a crime to release him now. That, and Dad would kill me.”
“Dad and Tekkyn don’t like the Empire more than anyone else. They were forced to serve. And I’ll get drafted in a couple months too.”
Deep anger swirled into the maelstrom in Kira’s heart. She couldn’t stand the thought of her little brother stolen away, forced to fight in a brewing war that no locals wanted. Then she, her mother, and grandmother would only have the ranch hands to maintain the cattle and orchard. At least their workers hadn’t been drafted yet—they were either too young, too old, or considered unfit. Everyone suspected the new guy had injured himself to dodge the draft.
“If you already spotted a troop of soldiers on the road, it’s too late.” Kira steeled her spine as she tied the bandage off. “He was stealing our hens, anyway.”
“Then take his coin purse,” Lee said, “but no one deserves what they’ll do to him in the barracks.” He strode back to the door and peered into the darkness. “Never mind. There’s no time.”
Kira bit the inside of her cheek. Which was the right choice: mercy or loyalty? How could she be loyal to an empire that drafted them and taxed them from afar? Even her grandparents had never seen Malaan Island across the Sea of Bones.
But this young Tribal Alliance soldier probably didn’t deserve mercy, either. He was a thief at best, and at worst, a spy . . . or goddess knew what else.
A yell outside cut through Kira’s musing. She hurried to Lee’s side, ducked under his arm, and willed her eyes to adjust to the falling darkness.
Six soldiers rode armored reptilian creatures that trotted down the road on pairs of thick, scaled legs. Kira squinted at the colorful array of feathers that protruded from the animals’ skulls like crowns. Swift xavi were only ridden by those with the coin to maintain the animals’ carnivorous appetites—a rarity—but these bore the soft blue banners of the Malaano Empire.
The soldiers slowed their mounts as they entered the welcoming firelight of the ranch house porch, where Inowae’s frail form emerged. One of the men dismounted and embraced her in a hug.
Kira’s spirit swelled. “Tekkyn!” Lee took off in a sprint with Kira on his heels. She couldn’t remember how long it had been since she’d last seen her