“So, when you inherit these mines, will you dig for new metals as well?” my father asked.
“My brother will inherit the business. I’ll work for him. Probably doing the same thing as I do now, in a larger capacity.”
“Which is?”
“Overseeing production, testing material strength. Boring ventures.” Kye smiled at my father, shrugging, as if the tasks were unimportant. Evenheunderstood how negligible his job was. No wonder he’d come to Leihani.
Overseeing production? What did that even mean? I stared across the open fields to the other women. Cooking their own meals, they darted glances at my veranda between looking at each other.
The smoke curved into my nose. I breathed in the taste of charcoal and dry ash, swallowing thickly as my father beat it away.
“Who is doing that now, with you here on Leihani?” my father asked, his voice tight with inhaled smoke.
“My father has people for it,” Kye said easily. Beside him, I grunted. He glanced across his shoulder at me, though he said nothing.
I watched the islanders nearby. I counted them, wondering what type of penalty I’d receive for sitting here next to Kye.Would they trample my okra? Flood my father’s canoe again? Untie it and send it out to sea?
I should just go inside and wait for him to leave.
Ano stood to check the fish under the taro leaves, announcing it was ready. Abruptly, I realized I was to share a meal with Kye. Here on my veranda, with passersby just beyond the porch.
I popped to my feet. “I’ll get water.”
“I’ll go. It’s my turn.” My father took the bucket from my hands. “Unwrap the fish for us.” He spun away, feet jostling down the stairs in the direction of the well. I watched him leave, breath anchored in my chest.
11
My eyes darted to Kye.
My father had left me alone on my front porch with a Calderian man, right where everyone could see.
At my side, Kye carefully retrieved the wrapped fish packets from their stilts, reaching in closer to the fire than I'd have dared. Orange danced around his fingertips, as though the fire avoided burning him. He set the fish down between us, adding dry wood. Flames nuzzled against the old lumber, the cloud of dark fumes lifting out from them. Satisfied, he sat down to divide fish from leaf.
“Thanks,” I muttered, the nicety leaving my tongue against my will.
The corner of his mouth twitched, though he kept his gaze on his fingers, separating brittle bone from flesh with his knife. His hands were deft and smooth with a small blade, and I found myself curious as I watched him work. How had he honed this particular skill?
A single split in his bottom lip had almost healed, the pink membrane a crescent on his mouth, likely to scar. The rest of his burn had faded into a golden tan.
“How long have you been in Leihani?” I asked.
“Three weeks.” He held out my portion of fish on a plate of leaves. I took it from him, grudgingly inspecting his work for bones. I couldn’t find any.
“Where are you sleeping?”
Kye jabbed the air with his knife in the direction of the village. “Akamai’s house. After she treated my sunburn, she said I could stay. I’ve been fixing things up for her since it’s hard for her to get around. She has stiff joints.”
I chewed my tuna, trying not to imagine him patiently fulfilling tasks for the elderly woman—domestic duties like rethatching her roof and cleaning cobwebs. Glancing toward the well, I wondered how long my father might be.
“What did you mean earlier byeveryone can see?” Kye asked. He hadn’t touched his own fish yet. Watching me, he sank down on one hip, his opposite knee bending into an arch that he used to rest his arm.
My jaw slowed. “You’ve heard that my mother was a witch.”
“No,” he replied in a voice that beckoned me to continue, his brow arching in my direction. He flashed a crooked smile, so handsome he liquified my waning patience.
My eyes snapped to his. “Don’t lie.”
“Alright. Yes.”
