Qalu pressed her forelimbs together to keep them from revealing more of her distress and took a small measure of satisfaction in knowing that she’d waited Krag out. “You intend to barter me, I expect. Most likely you’ve already contacted Helix.”

“Then you understand perfectly. You are remarkably calm for one who may be executed in another’s stead.”

“And you are remarkably callous to say such a thing without care or pity.”

A sound echoed from Krag’s helmet, like a sudden, sharp breath that created feedback. “What is pity? Does it feed the hungry or keep the strong from preying on the weak?”

“It can,” she said, surprised that Krag was continuing the conversation. “If one is moved by another and steps in to offer sustenance or shelter or protection.”

“You live in an imaginary world,” Krag said flatly, “where everyone is kind and stories end happily.”

You should join me there, she almost said. The words hovered unspoken, filling Qalu’s mind with doubt. I might anger him. Perhaps this was pointless, but she had to try. “Do you even know why you’re hunting Helix?”

“I don’t get paid to ask questions,” the bounty hunter snapped.

She ignored that, continuing in a level tone. “He befriended a child on Gravas Station. When she and her family disappeared suddenly, he investigated…” Quietly, she laid out the circumstances, including the theft and how he’d only done it as a distraction. “That’s the sort of person you’re punishing.”

Krag didn’t respond. If the hunter cared about maintaining a flawless record, it stood to reason that the fate of his targets didn’t impact him. Krag might believe that a bounty hunter was a weapon that fired under someone else’s orders. The quiet went on for much longer than Qalu expected, until she lost herself in progressive grimmer thoughts.

“You truly believe that?” Krag asked finally.

At first, she didn’t even know what the bounty hunter was asking. She’d been sitting in a daze, wondering how much time she had left. So many regrets.

She wished she had been more patient with her foremother, Inatol. Gentler and kinder with the others. I wish I had told them I love them more. I wish I had paused my research when they begged me to join them for an early meal.