“Shouldn’t we be seeking help?” Councilor Greenblade asked. She spread her hands wide, indicating the trees around them. “My clan will be more than happy to render all of us aid and shelter.”
“We can’t endanger your clan,” I said.
“Endanger them, how? The Commander is our enemy, not our own people,” Bavol said, speaking for the first time.
Hostile glares focused on Valek. He met my gaze. “Time for plan B?”
I shook my head. Not yet. Instead, I explained to the Councilors about the Cartel, Bruns, Owen and the Commander.
“No, you’re wrong,” Councilor Cloud Mist said. “The Cartel is helping us defeat the Commander.”
“Then why are you in the garrison and Bruns is at the Citadel?” I asked.
“To protect us from assassination.” Councilor Cowan pointed at Valek. “To protect us from him.”
“If I’d been sent to kill you, you’d be dead by now,” Valek said in a flat tone.
Not helping. I held up my hands. “Trust me, please. You need time for your heads to clear. Look beyond what you’ve been told and form your own opinion. You all know me. I’ve helped you with various problems in the past. Just give me seven days. After that, if you wish to rejoin Bruns and the Cartel, we won’t stop you. I give you my word.”
As the silence lengthened, Janco jiggled the water skin, reminding me of plan B.
“I’m willing to wait,” Bavol said. “Yelena’s risked her life for Sitia many times. She deserves our trust.”
Tama Moon said, “Without Yelena, my soul would be forever trapped in another body.”
“She saved my wife and your children from the Daviian Warpers,” Councilor Stormdance reminded everyone. “We can give her seven days.”
Only Janco appeared disappointed that we didn’t need to resort to plan B. Relieved that they had decided to trust me, I shook each of their hands to thank them, and to draw off any magical influence that might remain. I wasn’t sure if it had worked, another touch certainly couldn’t hurt.
Valek split the Councilors into two groups. “Teegan, Ari and Janco will lead Councilor Moon’s group. Yelena and I will escort the rest.” Valek gathered the five of us together for some instructions. “Teegan, keep scanning for trouble. Head east and then north to the farmhouse. Yelena and I will go north, then east. We’ll meet you there.”
* * *
The trip back to the farmhouse took us longer than expected. Many patrols swept the forests and the roads heading north. It didn’t take a genius to guess we’d be traveling toward the Citadel. I hoped no one had discovered Fisk’s new headquarters, or else we’d be finished. In order to defeat the Cartel, we needed everyone, including the Councilors, who had finally shaken off the effects of the Theobroma. By the time we neared the end of the journey, our group fully supported us and I hoped Teegan’s group felt the same. Bavol and Valek even walked together, debating various courses of action and devising ways to counter the Cartel.
We drew close to the farm on the afternoon of the eighth day, which was also day fifty-two of the heating season. Valek scouted ahead while we waited. He returned with good news. The place was still safe from the Cartel, and we had visitors. Lots and lots of visitors.
Leif met us at the stables. “Teegan and his group showed up late last night,” he said, helping me remove Kiki’s saddle.
“How did your mission go?” I asked as I combed the nettles from Kiki’s tail.
“We encountered some troubles. At first, the spores wouldn’t reproduce, and then Father almost killed the ones we had, but the spores are all blowing in the wind now. Heli, Zohav and Zethan made an effective team. It was kinda scary, actually.”
“Did you run into any difficulties returning to the farmhouse?” Valek asked. He groomed Onyx in the next stall.
“The number of patrols has increased the last couple days, but Reema kept us from having any unfortunate encounters with them.”
“Reema? What’s she doing here?” I asked in alarm.
“Same as us. She’s good. We’re going to need her.” Leif set his jaw. Clearly not happy about the necessity of endangering a child, but determined to defend the decision.
“Does Opal—”
“Yes. She’s in the house with Devlen.” Leif frowned. “Father’s here, too. He won’t go home where it’s safe either.”
“Must run in the family,” Valek muttered.
We ignored him. I sensed the tension rolling off Leif’s stiff shoulders, and his emphasis on the word either was a big giveaway. “How’s Mara doing?”
He crossed his arms. “She’s mad at me. I tried to get her to stay with Mother in the jungle.”
Even I knew that wouldn’t work.
“What am I supposed to do?” he demanded. “She’s been dragged into the middle of all this. She’s been captured, beaten and terrorized. I can’t not try to stop her.”
“But you can trust her,” Valek said. “She understands the danger and chooses to be here. Respect her wishes, even when it feels like your insides are on fire.” His gaze burned into me.
And I’d increased his pain by endangering our baby. But to me, there was no other option. There would be no happily-ever-after for any of us unless we defeated the Cartel. We needed every able-bodied person. And if that meant including a magic-sucking unborn baby, then so be it.
Leif sighed and relaxed. “You’re right. I know that. It’s just hard. And at times, she’s like a stranger to me. She’s changed so much.”
I touched his arm. “Patience, Leif. Just be there for her. It takes time. But she’ll never return to the same woman you married. She can’t. None of us can. No matter if our experiences are good, bad or in-between, we all change and grow as the years build up.”
He rested his hand on mine. “Thanks. But I’m not going to apologize for wanting to keep her safe.”
“You don’t have to,” Valek said. “You need to apologize for not trusting her.”
Again I felt his gaze on me, and I wondered if he was thinking about our problems with trust when I’d been captured by Cahil.
“Apologizing can be quite enjoyable if you do it right,” Valek said.
And that would be a yes. Heat swept through me as I remembered just how he had sought my forgiveness.
“I’ll take that into consideration,” Leif said.
When we finished settling the horses, Leif hefted my saddle bags to carry them into the house.
“Careful. There’s a storm orb in there.” I tried to tug them away from him. “I can carry them.”
“I trust that you can.” He shot Valek a smug smile as if to say, See? I learned something. “But it would put undue strain on your body. Which is bigger than the last time I saw you.”
“Did he just call me fat?” I asked Valek.
“Oh, no. I’m not getting in the middle of this.”
I huffed. “I’m six months along, and think I look pretty damn good.”
They both rushed to assure me.
The house was stuffed full of people. I counted twenty-six total, including the Councilors. It was a bit overwhelming when Valek and I first entered. Everyone was talking and hugging and laughing, and Leif wasn’t the only one to notice my baby bump. Opal and Mara took turns feeling the baby kick, both squealing like two teenage girls when the baby obliged. Eventually we focused on the reason that had brought us all together, and the mood turned serious.
Councilor Bavol Zaltana stood in the middle of the living area. He’d been appointed the spokesperson for the Sitian Council. “I’m glad you all made yourselves at home. I had bought this property in the hopes of developing a way to increase our Theobroma and Curare production. I built the first glass hothouse here four years ago, and it was a success. Worried that it was too visible to Ixian spies—” he sm
iled at Valek “—I moved it into the Avibian Plains.” Then a sadness pulled at his face. “I believed I was helping Sitia. That everything I did would help keep us safe from the Commander. I trusted Oran and had no idea he was giving all my information to Selene. The Cartel played me like the fool I am.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” Tama Moon said. “They played us all using the Theobroma.”
“And their plans were brilliant,” Valek said. “Even the Commander was caught in their trap.”
“How do we stop them?” Councilor Stormdance asked. He gestured at the people sprawled around him. “This is it, right? The resistance.”
Fisk stood up. “We have a few other helpers in the garrisons.”
“Onora is in the Citadel, and we have General Cahil’s support,” I said.
“And don’t forget the Master Magicians,” Valek said.
“But they have the army,” Tama said.
“We hope that won’t be for long,” I said, and explained our efforts to destroy the Theobroma pods.
“Sorry, Bavol,” Esau said, responding to Bavol’s horrified gasp. “There was no other way to reach all the hothouses.”
“The soldiers will follow the Cartel’s orders, even if they’re no longer brainwashed,” Councilor Bloodgood said. “The threat of an Ixian invasion has always been very real. It’s the reason for their very existence.”
“But the magicians and those in charge will be able to think for themselves,” I said. “That will help.”
The mood lightened considerably.
“There is a new problem, though,” Valek said.
He explained about the Harman sap, which destroyed the optimistic feelings in the room. Silence followed. Then came the questions.