Would you like a version written more like a script (with scene headings and dialogue), or a dark alternate ending where Roger doesn’t make it back?
But Kaheroton shakes his head. “One life for another is not our way.” He looks at Roger — the raw wrists, the hollow eyes. “He has survived the gauntlet twice. That is no small thing.”
“This belonged to a priest who died among your people,” she says. “He believed every man had a soul worth more than a mistake.”
Silence. Claire grips his arm. “You can’t.”
Jamie’s jaw tightens. “Then I will take his place.”
The longhouse holds its breath.