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I t was a chilly night; earlier that evening, there had been light showers. The air was fresh, but all Gane could feel was his anger. The cool temperatures caused his healing injury to tingle. The fight between him and Ojore had left him with wounds, and his shoulder still hurt. He felt humiliated and angry for losing to the other soldier. He had also lost Sholei. He didn’t want to think about how the fight would have ended without her intervention.

It wouldn’t happen again.

“Gane, if you continue to clench your fists, you will draw blood before the war begins,” his father, King Gusiwaju of Mukuru Kingdom, whispered beside him. “Don’t lose focus.”

After the rescue from the Gorge, the king didn’t seem to appreciate Gane’s foolhardy plans to go head-on with Ojore during the hasty rescue mission for Sholei. Gane had to work twice as hard to gain his father’s favor once more. If he won against Ojore in the oncoming war, he would be in the clear. For the moment, his father didn’t have confidence in him.

“Affections bring distractions,” King Gusiwaju confronted his son.

They stood before a big bonfire on the outskirts of the palace. Elders and other representatives from the Etago, Suneka, Iranda, and Lwala were also present. The alliance forces were far behind. They chanted words after the high priestess, whose body convulsed before the great fire, in a trance.

“We are wasting time,” Gane replied in a tight voice, “If we are to gain the high ground, we must leave now. Our enemies are the Dembe. We have to be ready for them.”

“Even more reason to have this ritual. We need the guidance of the High Lord Keita.” His father straightened Gane’s white robes adorned to represent purity before the gods. “The great sky god of the north must guide us in this war.”

Keita, Lord of the Northern Skies, was manifested in an eagle, the symbol that adorned their worship and public places. High Lord Barawi, represented by the falcon, was the Lord of the Southern Skies. High Lord Deka, the red-tailed hawk, ruled as the Lord of the Eastern Skies, and finally, High Lord O’Kang, the black kite, was the Lord of the Western Skies. Each god possessed unique abilities, but Lord Keita was the most powerful. He represented war, power, and might. Prince Gane grew up with stories of the gods and their fights with evil, represented by Joka, the water god, and his daughter Asaa, both presented as black snakes.

“The war will be won if we stop the Dembe from taking the Keseve Market. The market is the price.” Prince Gane didn’t care much about the gods. They needed strategies and weapons to win wars. The gods belonged to the ancestral worship rooms.

“We must not let them get to the great waters because that is their ultimate plan. The whole alliance is trusting that you will not mess this up.” King Gusiwaju went on tapping Gane on the shoulders.

Gane nodded his head and turned to the dancing priestess. The tempo of the drums increased as the woman contorted her body at incredible angles. He swore to win the war no matter what it took. He would get his respect back. Sholei counted on him. She risked her life to save him; he owed her.

When he was rescued, the Dembe soldiers had already left and taken Sholei with them. Gane reasoned they wouldn’t bother with her if she had died.

After the ceremony, Gane held a flurry of meetings with generals as they finalized their strategies to attack the Dembe army in the oncoming days. They were to set out for Keseve in the morning.

“My lord.” A low voice from behind one of the many pillars inside the court called out to him as he passed by with a group of soldiers. It was dark, but the great hall was lit with lanterns, tall shadows clinging to the high walls.

Gane recognized the man behind the pillar as the spy he had sent out earlier, one of the best men under his command. From the moment he returned after his defeat in the gorge, Gane doubled down on the services of spies and deployed several of them to scout the Dembe military camp. Knowing the enemies’ movements was crucial to winning a war.

Gane gave a curt nod. The spy recognized his silent message and walked off. The person Gane waited for arrived.

After midnight, he retired to his room.

“This better be worth my time, Gane.” Leikun’s deep voice came from the depths of Gane’s semi-dark room, and Gane smiled. Heavy tapestries hung from high beams to create a warm ambiance in the expansive room. The wide windows were open, and the scent of blooms from his garden filtered inside.

“I wouldn’t call you here if it wasn’t important.” Gane walked deeper into the room. He closed the heavy double door behind him.

His servants wouldn’t bother him late at night, but it couldn’t hurt to be more cautious. No one could know the identity of the man inside his quarters. It was risky enough that he invited Leikun to the palace, but due to his injuries and the delicate situation outside in the capital, Gane couldn’t leave the city.

The prince’s eyes scanned the dim room, but he couldn’t locate Leikun. The crafty bandit knew how to hide in shadows. After all, he had practiced it for a long time. Even though he couldn’t see Leikun, Gane could feel his gaze follow him as he walked toward his dressing table. He removed the heavy ceremonial coat, groaning as the material touched his injured shoulder .

“What happened?” Leikun rushed from the dark to his side. He touched Gane’s arm to stare at the shoulder wound under an overhead lantern.

Gane smiled at the concern in Leikun’s dark eyes. The bandit’s face was covered in a black mask. The disguise worked well. Combined with his dark clothes, it wouldn’t be easy to spot him.

Leikun’s head was covered, and the turban hid the red-dyed locks that Gane adored. Gane wished to dye his hair red like his friend, but he had to follow palace decorum. He always wore his hair close-cropped to his scalp. He’d planted different flowers that produced red blooms, but he never seemed to match the color of ochre Leikun dyed his hair.

“I fought with General Ojore,” Gane explained, patting Leikun’s hand on his arm. “It looks worse than it is.” The worry didn’t leave Leikun’s eyes.

“You are delusional to think you can win a fight against Ojore,” the bandit said.

Leikun pulled the cover off his head and revealed his dark red locks. Wild and crowning his sculpted youthful face, the long curls bounced with every movement. Most people were fooled by the bandit’s pretty boyish looks. If they knew the innocent face belonged to Leikun, the most feared bandit north of River Alokove, they wouldn’t believe it. Gane was almost fooled, too. More than once.

”He dared to step foot in my city. I couldn’t stand and do nothing.” Gane replied and tore his eyes from Leikun’s flame-colored hair. He proceeded to remove the crown of beads from his head. He hated the heavy thing, but it was a necessity when the court attended to visitors .

“You are yet to heal from your injury,” Leikun said. His slender fingers found Gane’s side where he hit him. “I shouldn’t have stabbed you that deeply.”

Gane swerved back on the seat and looked up to Leikun. ‘If you didn’t, how could I prove to the King the allegations about me working with you were false?” he asked. Leikun’s hair appeared like red flames as the warm lantern light filtered through the curls. “For months now, Father suspected our dealings. This injury proved him wrong.”

“Didn’t the physicians notice the weapon used on you is yours?” Leikun stared down at Gane.

“I found a different physician to work with, and I must admit she makes better medicine than those self-important Imperial Physicians. She was willing to work for me. It’s just a pity Ojore kidnapped her.” Leikun raised his brows at Gane. “I am working on getting her back from captivity. With the impending war, we’ll have to lie low in our dealings.” Gane turned back to the mirror. “The good thing is that this war shifted focus from me and you.”

“General Ojore isn’t a simple opponent. The might of the Dembe Southern army has forced me to take my business underground. I must move my cattle up north to avoid the bloodshed.” Leikun frowned as Gane struggled with his heavy coat. The bandit cursed and helped Gane untie the tight knots at his nape.

“That’s a smart move, but it won’t be long before I purge him from my kingdom.” Gane touched Leikun’s slender fingers as they worked to undo the intricate knots. Leikun stilled and met Gane’s gaze in the mirror .

“You will get to resume your activities very soon,” Gane assured his friend.

“You seem to be certain about that.” After a long gaze, Leikun resumed untying the knots. “Don’t worry about my business. This isn’t the first storm I’ve weathered.”

“You won’t have to live in the shadows when I become king,” Gane said and Leikun squeezed his unharmed shoulder, holding his gaze in the mirror.

“No promises, Gane… remember?” Leikun helped Gane remove the coat and set it on the chair. The golden lining shone in the table lantern. He moved back and sat on a stool in the middle of the room and folded his lean arms before him. Gane flexed his shoulders back to ease the tension before he joined Leikun at the table.

“Well…” Leikun raised his eyebrows. He waited for Gane to tell him why he was summoned to the capital.

“You have an extensive chain of informants. I need to know where the Dembe Southern Army camp is located. My men haven’t been successful in locating Ojore and his soldiers.” Gane furrowed his brows in concentration. “How can a large army hide without a trace?”

“Is that all?” Leikun raised his red-painted eyebrows.

“For now.” Gane sat back and smiled at the frown on Leikun’s face.

Gane worked in secrecy and rarely gave Leikun full information about his dealings. Leikun hated it, but Gane wasn’t one to put all his eggs in one basket. Since their deals always proved to be lucrative, the bandit didn’t ask many questions. That was how they managed to stay in partnership. Leikun only needed to know what was necessary. This was also a way to protect him in case something went wrong with the plans.

”You can get your men to pass the information on to me. That can’t be the only reason you called me here.” Leikun leaned on the small table and pierced Gane with a narrowed gaze. Gane found himself leaning forward, too.

“Stay away from the Keseve Market and its environs in the upcoming days, but it seems you are aware of what’s happening.” Gane gazed at Leikun’s weapon, a large black spear strapped to his back. The bandit carried other weapons hidden beneath his clothes.

“Right.” Leikun stood up and pulled on his mask. He walked toward the window, but Gane grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

“Take this.” Gane passed the medicine Sholei gave him to Leikun. “Her medicine works wonders on poison. In case of another wound like this.”

“You need it more than me.” Leikun looked at the vial before he turned his gaze to Gane.

“Take it.” Gane pressed the flask in Gane’s hand. “Send a message when you have something to report.”

Leikun clasped Gane’s forearm one final time before he jumped out the window into the inky black night.

Gane watched him go, a wistful smile on his lips.