“Who’s there?” a voice whispered through the dark.

Ephyra held still, peering toward the back of the barn where she could see a silhouette.

“If you’ve come to take me to the Witnesses—” the tremulous voice said.

“Be quiet,” Ephyra hissed, stalking toward them. “No one’s taking anyone to the Witnesses.”

The silhouette shrank back, and as Ephyra neared, she saw it was a slight, dark-haired girl about Beru’s age.

“Then what are you doing here?” the girl asked.

“What are you doing here?”

The girl stared at Ephyra, suspicion shining in her eyes.

“Fine, I’ll go first,” Ephyra said. “I was trying to steal a chicken.”

“Yeah, I heard,” the girl said, irritated. “I could go inside and turn you in, you know. The family that owns this farm doesn’t take well to thieves.”

“Then do it,” Ephyra challenged.

The girl glared at her, unmoving.

“That’s what I thought.”

She was reasonably certain that this girl didn’t pose an actual threat to her, but she didn’t seem convinced of the same about Ephyra.

“So,” Ephyra said, “why don’t you just pretend like you never saw me, I’ll pretend I never saw you, and we’ll all have a good night?”

Before the girl could reply, the door of the barn wrenched open, and Ephyra dove behind the hay bales, grabbing the girl and dragging her into the shadows on instinct.

“Ephyra?” Khepri’s voice called out quietly.

Ephyra sighed in relief, slumping back against the hay and letting the girl’s arm go. She crawled back from behind the hay. “Over here. But I should warn you—”

Khepri stopped, staring down at the girl behind Ephyra. She froze. “Who is that?”

“I think she’s living in the barn?” Ephyra offered.

The girl crossed her arms.

“Well, we have a problem,” Khepri said, coming toward them. “A…” She glanced at the girl. “Robed sort of problem.”

Witnesses. The girl seemed to clock Khepri’s reference, too, because she immediately jerked back from them.

“Wait,” she said. “You’re hiding from the Witnesses, too?”

Ephyra exchanged a glance with Khepri. “Something like that. Do you want to explain why they’re here?”

There was silence for a long moment.

Finally, the girl spoke up. “They’re looking for me, obviously.”

“You’re … Graced?” Khepri guessed.

The girl didn’t answer, which Ephyra took to mean yes.

“We are, too,” Ephyra said quickly. She could feel the worried gaze Khepri shot her. Dangerous to out herself like this, but this girl was clearly scared, and if they put her at ease maybe she’d just let them take the chicken and go. “We heard the Witnesses’ presence had been growing around these parts.”

“Yeah, well, it’s not like they have much opposition,” the girl said darkly.

“What do you mean by that?” Khepri asked.