Suppressing a smile at his obvious curiosity, Arista shrugged, not volunteering any more information.
“I suppose you’re looking for Darielle, right? You must need to contact your brother.” One hand stroked his curly auburn beard as he puzzled out her quest.
“No,” she replied, although a portion of his supposition was true. She was, indeed, planning to contact Jireo through Darielle, but her primary goal was to make her announcement to the council.
His probing gaze bored a hole in the side of her head. “No?”
“You don’t have to go with me.” She flashed a sweet smile. “I’m perfectly capable of finding the council on my own.”
“Truthfully, I’m also going to the council. I’ve been summoned to speak with them about—”
He stopped, clamping his lips shut, his cheeks turning a ruddy color to match his hair.
“About what?” Arista demanded.
“I mustn’t say.”
Even behind his beard, she could see his lips pressed together in a tight white line.
“What happened? Is it Water Clan? Are they attacking?”
She quickened her step, stumbling in her haste.
Alleraen put out a hand to steady her, but she brushed it off, tromping onward at a faster pace.
“I don’t need your help, but I need to know if Vindrake’s men are coming. That could be why the portal appeared.”
A hand gripped her shoulder, spinning her to a stop.
“Portal? What portal?”
“The one that materialized in my sleeping room this morning.” She twisted out of his grasp. “And stop grabbing me.”
“Where does the portal go?”
“Do you think me fool enough to explore the portal without consulting the council? Of course I don’t know the location of the other end.”
“And you left your parents alone to guard the portal? With no warrior to aid them?”
“My parents aren’t home.”
His eyes bulged. “You left the new portal unguarded?”
“I had no choice,” she spat back, hating the way Alleraen always made her feel like a child though she had almost seventeen years. “I had an obligation to report the portal to Graely and the council.”
Alleraen waved a silencing hand before her face. “Where is the portal? Where exactly in your sleeping room?” Pivoting, he stared back down the curving path as if attempting to see her home, though it was blocked from view. “It’s right in front of the window, but you can’t find it without me.”
He ignored her argument, issuing orders as if he had authority over her. “Make your report to the council. They’ve gathered in the hall for a special meeting. Tell them I cannot attend.” Alleraen took off in a trot down the trail, his ever-present sword dancing in its scabbard.
“Where are you going?”
He called over his shoulder, “Tell Graely I’m guarding your home. No Water Clansman will escape this portal alive, be he Vindrake’s elite guard or Vindrake himself.”
Her former excitement at announcing the new portal’s existence disappeared. She spat on the path, grinding the foaming spittle into the dirt with the toe of her boot.
Great! Alleraen will probably get to kill Vindrake, while I’m still delivering a message to the council and they’re debating what action to take.
She trudged a few reluctant steps.