An icy moment of silence chilled her, and then came the low, exacerbated growl. Kira thought she heard him mutter something under his breath about his mother before he issued a cutting order. “You saw nothing.”
Kira jabbed her finger toward a tree. “Sit. Now.”
He strode toward her. “You understand I'm concealing my injuries for a reason.”
“I do.”
“Knowing about them places you in danger. Do you and my mother no longer care about that?”
An ache dug into her chest. “What about the danger you're in? Before you run through a playlist of your favorite lines about how you're a soldier, this is war, blah, blah, blah… You're also a son. You're also loved.” Kira tightened her expression. “Let your mom do her part in taking care of you.”
“She handles my bandages and hides my secrets. That's more than I should ask for.”
“Why are you wasting your energy fighting me? Didn't I tell you to sit?” Kira snapped at the tree this time. “Go.”
“I can do this without your help.”
“So? It's a long day. You're hurt and exhausted. Keep living like this, and you'll be dead before you make an impact on the empire.”
He quieted at that.
She sighed and dropped to sit by a tree, running her hands through her hair. “What if I got hurt helping you? Do you know what this is like? I can't even stop you. You'll do it no matter what I say.”
It seemed Zayne was determined to fight her, so it shocked her when he lowered himself as well, leaning his side against the tree she'd been pointing at. A subtle look of pain tightened his eyes and lips.
“I'll rest if you stop blaming yourself,” he said.
That wasn't easy to do. “Sleep. I'll keep watch for you.”
His gray eyes shifted to the canopy of young leaves above them, looking heavy. “I don't want to sleep.”
Whether that had to do with letting Kira witness the vulnerability of sleep or for some other reason, she couldn't know. He was resting, so she wouldn't frustrate him. “Where are you hurt? Do you need help with bandages?”
Zayne shook his head, eyes closing. “I took care of it. Thank you, though.”
He thanked her so rarely that it took a few seconds to notice he didn't answer her other question. Did Kira do the wrong thing before when she promised not to hurt herself? What if he had complications? What if he died next time?
After a few seconds, his eyes snapped open right before Kira heard footsteps.
“So this is what you two do out here.” Brock chuckled. “Nap time.”
Zayne kept his eyes open long enough to look distinctly annoyed.
“I know he's hurt,” Kira said. “I want to know what happened and how bad it is.”
“You don't need to know anything.” Zayne waved a dismissive hand at her. “I'm fine.”
Brock sat beside him. “Let me check it out.”
“I changed bandages an hour ago. That's why I'm out here dealing with this. My mom told her. It looks good.”
“You're not the medic. I decide what looks good.”
“I'm trying to sleep.” He closed his eyes.
“He's not.” Kira glared. “He refuses to sleep. He's trying to get rid of you.”
“One peek,” Brock said. “Then I'll leave you alone.”
