His wife scoffed softly, shaking her head as she handed him a rag. “Can’t say I’ll miss that brute. What rule did he break?”
“He started a fight.”
Su Lian blinked. “A fight?” Disbelief crossed her face before giving way to intrigue. “And who was reckless enough to challenge Jodhar?”
Xian Jun pressed his lips together, as though suppressing a smile. “That’s the thing,” he said. “It was Kai—our very own hired sword.”
Just then, Kaelen returned, an armful of firewood balanced effortlessly in his grasp. He didn’t break stride as Xian Jun spoke, but Reiya caught the faintest twitch at the corner of his mouth. Placing the firewood by the fire, he inclined his head in a small, almost exaggerated bow before strolling away—whistling a tune loud enough to be deliberate.
Xian Jun shook his head, amused, but his voice dropped lower as he added, “And he’s a Sunborn Alpha.”
His eyes settled on her. “Did you know, Yara?”
Heat crept up her neck. She nodded, turning around to mind the lamb skewers sizzling on the griddle. “Yes. I knew.”
The conversation carried on, but her thoughts remained tangled. She flipped a skewer, watching as a puff of savoury steam curled into the air, but her mind wandered elsewhere.
Xian Jun hadn’t spoken with doubt or derision—his voice had carried something else. Curiosity, maybe even admiration. That was what the world saw in a Sunborn Alpha: a legend made flesh, a story told by firesides and etched into the body of old texts.
Awe was natural. Expected.
But awe often came with attention, and attention led to questions.
She adjusted the skewers, her grip tightening slightly as her thoughts drifted to Kaelen—not as the Sunborn Alpha, but as the boy who’d faced the trial too young. She imagined him then, his face still softened by childhood, standing beneath the boulder of expectations.
She thought of his easy smiles, the charm that came so effortlessly. He carried his confidence as though it had always been there—but surely, it hadn’t.
Surely, at some point, he’d felt the weight of it.
She glanced toward him now, catching sight of him leaning against a bench, his faint smile effortless as he spoke with some caravan members. They approached with questions, and he answered easily, never dismissive. The attention didn’t faze him. He carried it like a familiar burden, one he’d long since learned to shoulder.
Perhaps his greatest strength wasn’t just that he endured, but that he carried it so lightly no one ever noticed the weight he bore.
Yet, in her mind, the image of that boy remained—a child beneath the sting of crystal needles, waiting to see if he could fulfill everyone’s wish.
“You should sit, Yara,” Kaelen called, his voice pulling her from her thoughts. He gestured toward the space beside him, a warm smile tugging at his lips. Firelight flickered across his face, softening the edges of his confidence.
She hesitated, her hands lingering uncertainly over the skewers. Duty tugged at her, but when she glanced at Su Lian, the woman leaned in, her voice low and knowing.
“Go to him, my girl,” she murmured. “He’s had his fill of cloying flattery. What he needs now is someone real.”
Gingerly, Reiya wiped her hands on her skirts and joined the growing circle around Kaelen. The fire seemed warmer here, its glow drawing people in—curious caravan members, many of them young women. One by one, they found reasons to linger, their interest thinly veiled.
A bold girl leaned close, enough that her breasts nearly brushed his arm, voice lilting with curiosity. “Can I see your Sunborn tattoo?”
Kaelen deflected the request with an easy laugh, shaking his head. His refusal was effortless—amicable but curt enough to leave no room for argument. His charm disarmed them, their expressions softening even as he steered the conversation elsewhere.
The Sunborn Alpha. That was what they wanted to see: the legend.
Reiya settled into her seat, gaze flicking between the firelight and Kaelen’s calm expression. The awe, the reverence—it made sense to admire someone so bright.
But it felt incomplete.
Later, as she cleaned up the remnants of their meal, Su Lian sidled up beside her, a glint of mischief in her eyes.
“I’ve never met a Sunborn Alpha before,” she murmured, voice just above a whisper. “Let alone one working as a hired sword. I always thought they were kept in palaces, groomed for politics or married off to rich families.”
Reiya tilted her head, meeting Su Lian’s gaze with mild curiosity. “Is that what they’re meant for?”