But he wasn’t a stranger anymore, she reminded herself. She knew about his father and his three sisters, who Leelo thought she would like very much. She knew the song his late mother sang to him when he was a baby. She knew that whatever other outsiders might be like, this one, at least, had no intention of harming Endla. And if that was the case, wasn’t it also possible that other outsiders didn’t want to harm it, either?

Unconsciously, she remembered the way the muscles of Jaren’s torso had rippled when he lifted his hand to brush the hair from his face, how she’d caught him watching her, and how for a split second she had considered letting him watch, had wanted him to see her. She tugged at her lower lip, but it didn’t elicit the same curling warmth in her stomach as his touch had. She wasn’t sure what to make of any of these feelings, but at the same time, she thought she knew exactly what they meant.

Sage would tell her to get ahold of herself and stop acting so ridiculous and moony. But Leelo couldn’t help it. As wrong as she knew it was to get close to Jaren, she also didn’t want to stop.

The next morning, Sage was quiet as they patrolled their stretch of beach, close to the spot where the boat had come ashore with Jaren. The blood trail had washed away in the summer storms so common at this time of year, but keeping a secret was almost as difficult as keeping a song in her throat. Leelo wanted to tell her cousin about everything that had happened the past few days. She wanted to whisper how Jaren’s trousers had been slung so low on his hips it was a wonder they hadn’t fallen off, to giggle and cover her face in embarrassment until Sage told her she knew exactly how she felt.

But there was no possibility of her telling Sage about Jaren. Leelo knew Sage would tell Ketty immediately, and Ketty would tell the council, if she didn’t kill him herself.

“What’s gotten into you?” Sage said instead, a suspicious glimmer in her eye.

“What do you mean?” Leelo pretended to be fascinated with her arrows so she could avoid Sage’s gaze. She still had the hawk feather that Jaren had rescued for her. For some reason, she hadn’t wanted to cut it for fletching.

“Your cheeks are bright pink. Did you get a sunburn on your day off? Where were you, anyway? I feel like you keep disappearing.”

“I’ve just needed time to think, that’s all.”

“About Tate?”

“Yes, about Tate.” The lie was bitter on her tongue. It didn’t stop her from deflecting, however. “Mama said she thinks Aunt Ketty is trying to get close to the Harding family. Are you interested in marrying Hollis?”