ELRETH

Her mother's face went pale, which seemed a very strong reaction to Elreth. Elia's mouth opened and closed like a fish while Elreth waited for her to answer.

"Mom?" she said finally.

Her mother's throat bobbed and she put a hand to her chest. "How… how did this come up?" she croaked.

"Very early this morning—after what was already a really hard night—Aaryn and I were woken up by two people walking into the cave. They didn't realize we were going to be there obviously. But the male recognized Aaryn. Because he was disformed. And the female… the female was a human he'd just brought back from the human world."

Her mother's eyes grew even wider and she covered her mouth. Elreth couldn't tell if she was smiling or not. Then she dropped her hands and whispered, "Is she safe? I mean, did she make it through okay?"

"Yes! Mom! You're missing the point!"

"No, I'm not, El. But I needed to know. That's good… that's good."

Elreth shook her head, still waiting. But her mother seemed to have drifted deep into her thoughts, her eyes searching back and forth, as if she were watching something.

"Mom!"

"Sorry! Sorry, Elreth, I'm sorry. I just… this is very important, and I'm sorry you've had a shock. I just, this is good."

"How can you say this is good? How can you possibly think that? They're bringing humans into Anima without anyone giving permission. No one's screening them. Some of them aren't even orphans! There's at least six of them here already—maybe eight."

"Actually, probably a few more than that, to be honest," her mother said, wincing when Elreth glared.

"So, you did know about this."

"I didn't know it was happening today! But, yes, I was helping them even before Gar started. Only a few, Elreth. And only when they were True Mates—but you'd be surprised how many of the disformed—"

"MOM! THERE ARE HUMANS COMING INTO ANIMA!" Elreth closed her eyes and took a deep breath, dropping her voice. "No one knows if any of them have told anyone before they come. We don't know if there's families, or even enemies out there that are hearing about us. No one is screening them to make sure they don't bring those weapons dad talked about, nothing! And it's not happening under the watch of the throne, or the elders—right? Dad doesn't know about this?"

"Not… not exactly, no," her mother said hesitantly.

It was so strange. Her mother was usually so certain of herself, so clear in her thoughts—and wise. She kept her cool under pressure, and was very good for keeping her father in balance too. Yet, she stood here, half-giddy, and half… scared?

"Mom, what is going on? Is this what Dad is mad about? Is this what you two have been fighting about?"

Her mother walked to one of the big chairs in the Great Room and sagged into it, dropping her face in her hands. "It's part of it," she said. "He doesn't know about the humans coming over though, and if you could keep that—"

"MOM! Seriously! This doesn't bother you? You don't think this is a massive risk to the entire world of Anima? I mean, Dad's always talked about how crucial it is to keep our world secret from the humans—they don't even tell the tribes about the Portal for that reason!"

"Actually, the people all know about the human world. We don't tell them about the portal because we don't want young people getting adventurous and trying to cross and… and being harmed… or bringing harm to others because of it," her mother said firmly.

"The voices," Elreth said. "And we aren't worried about that with the disformed, bringing humans here? They can't even go back, right?"

Her mother looked away, staring at the fireplace, her eyes flicking back and forth like she was looking for something. "Elreth, I know you're scared, and it's good that you want to protect your people. And you should. But… but this isn't a bad thing, I promise."

"My people? Aren't they your people too?"

Her mother blinked and turned back to her. "Of course they are!"

"So why are you just so… relaxed about this? There's a reason we've kept the worlds separate—unless there's something you're not telling me now?"

Her mother's lips thinned and for a second Elreth was reminded she was speaking not just to a Citizen and former ruler, but her mother.

"Elreth," she said firmly, "I'm not relaxed about this—but I am not afraid because I've had decades to learn and grow and understand so much more about this than you do. And I can tell you, hand on my heart, that this is a good thing. I understand that you're looking at it only from the perspective of history and being Dominant, and you should. But I am your mother, and I am a human. That's the blood you came from. Trust me, this is a good thing."

Elreth gaped at her. "And you want me to just… take your word for that? You're not going to tell me why?"

"No, I'm not."

"WHAT?!"

"Elreth, there are things at play here—the Creator's purpose—that you don't know and can't know. And that's okay. People you know and love and can trust, do know. And I am one of them. And I can tell you that you shouldn't be afraid of this."

"You expect me to just roll over and break every piece of wisdom I've ever been given about the human world because… because my mother told me to?"

"No. I expect you to measure the impacts, to look at what has actually happened, and to make the best decisions for your people. But as you do that, please consider that your mother is telling you that this is good, and will be good for you—for all of us—in the long run."

"Long run? How long has this been going on?"

Her mother smiled, "Almost as long as you've been alive."

Elreth's jaw dropped.

"Trust me, El. I'm not making this up. And I have very, very good reasons for not telling you."

Elreth shook her head, but her mother just laughed a tinkling laugh and sat back in her chair. "Thank you, Creator. You did it again," she murmured.