"We disagree." Cole drained his whiskey. "Well, you're free to disagree somewhere else." Kaya didn't move. "We're not leaving until we repay you."
"I don't want your money." "Good, because we don't have any." Cole stared at her. "Then what exactly are you offering?" Kaya smiled, slow, deliberate, and nothing like gratitude.
"Ourselves." Cole blinked. "What?" "We'll follow you," Kaya said. "Wherever you go, whatever you need, until the debt is settled."
"That's..." Cole stopped and shook his head. "That's insane." "It's tradition," Sani said quietly. "Where we're from, a life debt can't be ignored, and it can't be refused." Cole stood up, chair scraping against the floor.
"I'm refusing it." Kaya stood too, meeting his eyes without flinching. "Then we'll follow you anyway." "I'll leave town." "We'll follow."
"I'll ride into the desert and not look back." "We'll follow." Cole's jaw tightened. "Why?" "Because you gave us our lives back," Kaya said simply.
"And where we come from, that means your life is ours to protect, to serve, to stand beside, whether you want it or not." Cole looked at the other two. Lyra shrugged. Sani's expression didn't change. "This is crazy," Cole said.
"Maybe," Kaya agreed. "But it's the truth." Cole sat back down, suddenly exhausted. He rubbed his face with both hands, feeling the weight of the last few days pressing down on him. "I don't need protection," he said finally.
"Everyone needs something," Kaya replied. Cole looked up at her, and for the first time he saw something in her eyes that wasn't determination or duty. It was something quieter, something that looked almost like hope. "What if I told you to go home?" he asked.
"We don't have a home anymore." "What if I told you to start over somewhere else?" "We'd rather start over here." Cole exhaled slowly. "You're not going to leave, are you?"
Kaya smiled again. "No." "Damn it." Lyra laughed. "You'll get used to us."
"I doubt that." Sani leaned forward, voice calm and steady. "We're not asking you to marry us, Cole Mercer. We're not asking for anything except the chance to repay what we owe. Let us ride with you."