Page 3 of High Noon

“What’s that mean?” Eve asked.

“I told him how I feel about you.”

“I left you,” she whispered. “I thought you’d be mad.”

I let out a half-laugh, bracing my hands on my thighs. “Oh, I was furious for a decade, at least. But you are and will always be my heart, Eve. Never question that.”

Hotah shook his head. “When you said she fell from the heavens, I thought you were telling a joke.”

I held tight to her hand, erasing Titus’s scent from her skin.

Hotah crouched down. I followed his gaze behind Eve, where Kohana stood at the top of a knoll. Kohana raised his hand to his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. In response, Hotah let out a curse, grumbling, “He calls me to him like I am his pet.”

“Who is that?” Eve asked, looking up at Kohana.

“My brother,” Hotah replied.

She leaned in to me. “Is his brother as friendly as yours?”

“Somewhat friendlier,” I answered.

Kohana was complicated. He was stoic and serious, a fierce warrior like Asa. But he was loyal, while my brother could not be relied upon. For a long time, through countless centuries, I refused to see the truth. But it took him trying to ruin what Eve and I had to actually wake me up. He would never forgive me – never forget what I’d done – and would never listen to my side of the story. Did I kill the woman he loved? Yes. But she was deceitful. He brought her to meet me, and during their stay, she slipped into my bedroom one night and threw herself at me. In killing her, I’d done him a favor – one he hadn’t and never would appreciate.

Kohana had been looking out for us. Even in a land as vast as this, there were tensions. Plenty of blood soaked the earth in these parts.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Hotah volunteered.

“Do you think he saw her?” I asked, referring to Eve’s fall from the sky.

“I’m not sure, but he certainly heard your screams.”

The dust cloud that had enshrouded us was almost gone. Some of it settled back onto the plain, while the wind dragged the rest away. In the center of this vast plain, in a place I least expected, was Eve. I couldn’t help but stare in wonder, unable to let go of her.

She felt the same as she had in every year we’d met. Her eyes latched onto mine hungrily; her hands clutched my biceps. The feeling I got in her presence returned; it was like what had been empty in me was now full. For a long moment I basked in the feeling, pulling her close and holding her tight.

As the brightness of the sky faded and began to darken, Hotah quickly made his way up the slope to his brother, who stood a few inches taller and was broader across the chest. Their hair fell over their shoulders like a shiny, dark curtain. Each bore many scars, shallow and deep, but they were both strong. Warriors. While Hotah had become one of my closest friends in the past year, Kohana barely tolerated me.

As the two spoke in their native tongue, a wrinkle formed between Eve’s brows. “I can hear their voices but have no idea what language they’re speaking.”

“It’s Lakota,” I answered quietly, listening in on the brothers’ conversation.

“They speak English very well…” she whispered. “When they want to.”

“I’m afraid I’m to blame for that,” I answered with a grin.

“What are they saying?”

“Kohana didn’t see you land, but he heard me yelling. Hotah is lying for us. He’s telling Kohana you were coming to fetch me, but that you got caught in the valley when the buffalo began to stampede, and I ran to help you.”

“What does Kohana say to that?”

“He seems satisfied. He…” I listened for more information. “He wants to go back home. The buffalo are gone now, which means we will have to hunt another day.”

“He looks angry.”

“He is. Their people need the meat. In their tribe, a single buffalo could provide food for weeks. Not only that, they use the hides for clothing, shoes, and to cover their tipis. Once that is depleted, the bones are made into tools and needles.”

Eve watched the two closely. “I hate that he’s scolding him.”

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