“Good for her.”

Darice curled his lip in defiance. “What could humans do to me?”

Oh to be that naive and stupid again.

He cupped the back of his nephew’s head and forced him to meet his gaze so that he could see how serious he was. “They could make you wish you were dead. Never underestimate an enemy. No matter who or what they are. That is a special kind of stupid arrogance no one can afford.”

Darice inclined his head.

“Now, go. I have emergency rations in my pack near the water. You can rehydrate it and warm it.”

Darice scooted away and left Hauk alone to tend the woman.

He cleaned the obvious wounds first then looked for more torn clothing to show him others. As he pushed the sleeve back on her arm to wipe off a scratch there, he froze at the words that had been viciously branded into her flesh.

Kill or be killed.

Shit. He knew that mark. Intimately.

Clenching his teeth, he pulled at the neck of her poncho until he had her left shoulder blade exposed. Sure enough, there was her League dagger tattoo. He cursed again.

The harita is an assassin.

Fury darkened his mood. She must have been caught unawares by a wild animal while sighting him. But for a freak accident, she’d have killed him, and left Thia and Darice alone to fend for themselves in the harsh wilderness.

What kind of woman could do such a thing?

An assassin, dumbass.

So much for human compassion. Darice had been right. They should have left her out to die.

Just kill her and get it over with.

It was so tempting. But he’d never murdered anyone. Killing a fully armed soldier who was fighting him was one thing. Cutting the throat of an injured, unconscious woman, even an assassin, was another. That, he couldn’t quite manage.

His mother would be so disappointed in him for that mercy, especially given that the spared female was human.

Nothing new about that. He’d been disappointing her since he popped out of her womb as an underweight preemie and almost killed her.

If he wasn’t the last of his prestigious military line, his parents would have disinherited him when he’d been dishonorably discharged from The League during training.

Hauk winced as he remembered his father’s sneer the day he’d found out. He’d slammed his fist straight into Hauk’s chest and spat in his face. You disgust me, and you dishonor your noble ancestors. It should have been you who died on Oksana. Not my one, true son you killed with your incompetence. How dare you humiliate our bloodlines so!

Even now those words cut him soul deep. Neither of his parents, Darice, nor Dariana ever let him forget the fact that he, the lesser son, had survived by a miracle of twisted fate, and not by any skill he possessed. They used every opportunity to throw it in his face.

But it wasn’t his fault Keris had died. He’d done his best to prevent it, and had almost been killed himself trying to save his brother’s life.