ELRETH

She stared at her brother, her heart pattering. Gar's mouth had those lines on the side that he only got when he was really serious about something. And there wasn't that light in his eyes that she recognized whenever he was trying to stir trouble, or trick someone.

"You can't be serious?" she said, but she knew he was.

Gar shrugged and broke eye-contact, getting up from the chair and walking towards her, but always finding something else to look at. He came to stand next to her at the table and look down at the stinking carcass.

"Dad's not King anymore," Elreth said, trying to nudge him out of the darkness that seemed to have taken over his entire demeanor. "Surely if anyone's going to kill you, it's me?"

Gar shook his head. "Nope, because there's some stuff Dad values even more than Anima."

Elreth shrugged. "Yeah, but that's only Mom and us and—" She snapped her head to the side, staring up at him. Gar didn't look at her, but those little muscles at the back of his jaw began to twitch. "Gar, what did you do?"

Her brother snorted and his massive chest puffed. "You won't believe me, but I didn't do anything to go looking for this. I didn't want it. Tried to avoid it at the beginning, but I couldn't."

"Gar," El said firmly, "What. Did. You. Do?"

He turned to face her finally, but folded his thick arms over his chest so he blocked her view of everything. "I can't tell you everything—because then Mom will kill me."

"But—"

"Listen, El, some things happen and it has to be the Creator because you never invited it. But I'll tell you this: I know why Mom and Dad were fighting, and I know why she didn't give in. And it's so much bigger than you think, okay?"

Elreth was surprised by how hurt she felt. "Mom told you? I asked her and she told me it wasn't for me to know. That it was between them. What did you do to make her trust you?"

"Nothing! That's the thing… I learned this years ago. Back when I was just… loose. When I was rebelling against Dad. I was in a place I wasn't supposed to be and I saw and heard something I wasn't supposed to. But… it was real. So I've been helping ever since."

"What did you hear?"

Gar's lips pursed. "It doesn't matter. But I heard Mom say some stuff and I knew she wasn't lying and… well, here we are."

Elreth's mind flipped back to the moment she'd told her mother that Marryk brought Hannah through successfully, and her mother had seemed… excited. Elreth swallowed. "So this thing you're doing, training disformed and letting them bring humans here—"

"It wasn't my idea," Gar said firmly. "And at first, I didn't want a bar of it. But… they needed help. And I couldn't just let them… I mean…"

Elreth frowned. "If people needed help, why was that a bad thing? Why would Mom hide that from Dad? Why would he kill you for doing it?"

"Because he'll kill anyone who puts Mom at risk."

Elreth gaped at him. "Gar, what the hell are you guys doing?"

"I can't tell you."

"WHY NOT!"

"Because if I do, you'll be just like Dad. He already thinks he's supposed to control everything—or at least he did, when he was King. He would have decided it was up to him to make it all work, and he would have ruined everything. You're just like him, El."

"You can't know that. I know Dad can be a little full of himself, but I'm not—"

"No buts, El. Trust me. Dad couldn't know this. Couldn't fix it. He needed me to do this, whether he realized it or not. And so do you."

"But you said you heard Mom talking?"

He nodded.

Elreth waited, but he didn't expand. "Gar, please! What the fuck is going on? I'm so confused!"

Her brother glanced at the Pricklepig and his brow suddenly concertinaed into lines. For a split second El was shocked to wonder if he might cry, but then his eyes went flinty and his jaw twitched again.

"What's going on," he said quietly a moment later, "is that Anima needs a few humans here. And the disformed. And they need us to help them. But I can't tell you any more than that. Mom knows everything—more than me. And there's a really good reason she's not telling Dad, okay? You have to trust me on that. I know he wouldn't, but you have to. You don't have any choice, because I'm not telling you, and I know Mom won't."

"Why not?!"

"Because if the wrong people know, everyone dies, El. It's that simple. And I shouldn't even be telling you that much. But I am. Because something's happening and you have to walk us all through it. So Mom can bite my throat out if she wants to, but that's the truth. But that's as much truth as you can know. Knowing this will ruin the whole thing—and then Anima is done. Not just at war, or whatever, but done. Okay? So… so put your big girl pants on. You're going to do great. But you have to just focus on your job and trust us to do ours."

"But—"

"Do you really think I'd just sit here and tell you that for fun? You really think I'm just trying to be a jerk?" Gar growled.

Elreth stared at him, wide-eyed. The word 'yes' was on the tip of her tongue. Her brother did do things just to piss people off. Just to get a reaction.

But would he talk like this?

Her mother's words echoed in her head again.

"…He's a good male, Elreth. I mean it. He's more his father's son than either of you realize…."

Elreth swallowed. "Let me get this clear: You have been helping the disformed, training them for the traverse, and letting them bring humans in because of something you heard Mom say. Dad doesn't know this thing, but you do. But he'll kill you if he learns it, because of what you're helping Mom do? And you can't tell me what that is because if you do, other people will die?"

"Not just people, all of Anima."

Elreth shook her head. "How can that be possible?"

Her brother's face was stony and he didn't answer.

"Gar—"

The door into the building swung open and Lhern and one of the other council members strode in, talking quietly.

They flipped on the lights, then greeted Elreth and Gar in surprise. Elreth raised a hand and forced a smile, but Gar had gone back to staring at the Pricklepig and she knew he wouldn't say anything else now that there were others here.

"You're coming to my cave tonight after this meeting," she hissed at him. "This conversation isn't over."

"I'll come if you need me," he murmured, "But this conversation is done. So… just live with it, El. I'm not getting anyone killed just to soothe your ego."

Her jaw dropped open, but then her brother turned on his heel and walked across the room to speak quietly with Lhern and she was left staring at his back, feeling no less confused and anxious than she had the moment she'd walked into the building.

But at least she knew this: The answers she needed were in her brother's head, and her mother's too.

And she wasn't going to stop asking them until one of them made her understand.

She trusted them to do whatever job it was they thought they had to do. But that didn't mean she shouldn't be a part of it.

She was Queen.. And they were both going to figure that out.