Lagi bit down on his lips hard enough to draw blood. “He’s still learning, just like all of us,” Samaria was saying, telling Lagi that being strong wasn’t what made Kaipo a great warrior. “He’s got fire in his heart. A fighter’s spirit.”

She thought he was jealous, he could feel it, and now he regretted ever speaking at all. He thought out of anyone that Samaria would understand. And now she was defending him, just like he feared she would. He pushed to his feet and turned away from her, breathing heavily to the point where his chest lifted up with each inhale and he could hear the air as it loudly passed in and out of his nostrils.

“That’s not what I meant!” he snapped. “Yes, he can fight, but isn’t there more to life than that? Don’t the gods care about more? Don’t they--” his voice was getting louder with each word, and he stopped himself when he noticed he was nearly yelling. Before continuing, he forced himself to soften his face, unfurrowing his brow and unclenching his jaw through another audible inhale. “So-sorry. I didn’t mean to get…” he said, turning back to Samaria. “I didn’t mean it like that.”