Inara stayed crouched beside Amira's lifeless body, fingers curled tightly into the blood-stained hem of her robes. For the first time since I'd met her, she didn't look like the light-hearted girl always ready with a teasing smirk or a snarky remark. She looked broken.
"She never wanted to hurt anyone," Inara said quietly. "That's why they cast her out. She refused the hunt."
I swallowed hard, my gaze drifting to the blood seeping into the cracks of the stone. "And they punished her for it."
"They always do."
We sat there in silence for a few moments, the weight of what just happened pressing against my chest like a stone. Then Inara stood, brushing her hands off on her skirt even though the blood had already soaked in.
"We need to move her before the guards find her. If they know she came back—"
"They'll think we helped her."
Inara nodded grimly.
