ELRETH

She'd stayed at the table, staring at that offensive Pricklepig until the doors swung open again, this time to several males.

When Elreth turned, her heart sang to see Aaryn walking in with Tarkyn, both of them smiling, and Aaryn's bright eyes alight in a way she hadn't seen in weeks—except when he looked at her during their honeymoon.

Something had made him really, really happy.

She didn't realize she was smiling until he approached her and his own broadened.

'What happened?' she signed.

He stood in front of her, beaming, pride rolling off him in waves. 'The disformed were great. Tarkyn will take them in. They'll be used for this mission—with Tobe overseeing them.'

'So exciting!'

Aaryn pulled her into his chest for a brief hug and kissed her temple, but then quickly released her. He knew she didn't like to be affectionate in front of the elders, afraid they would only see a young female in love, rather than a ruler.

They both walked to the circle of chairs where the other council members were beginning to the gather, the door swinging open again and again to admit everyone, all the males filtering in, talking in low, hushed voices.

Tarkyn had joined Lhern as soon as he arrived, but when Elreth took her seat, he met her eyes and nodded. She smiled and mouthed, "Thank you."

Tarkyn's smile broadened, so those lines at the side of his mouth crinkled. Elreth patted her chest in a show of a happy heart, then turned back to ask Aaryn if there'd been any drama during the evaluation—only to find him staring, cold-faced, at Tarkyn.

When he turned to meet her eyes, he was no longer smiling. 'He did not approve them for you, Elreth. He approved them because they are strong,' he signed.

She frowned. "I know that," she said aloud, taken aback that he would even think she'd expected anything different. Then she caught herself and signed. 'I thanked him because he was willing to open his eyes.'

Aaryn grunted and his face softened a little, but he still looked tense when Lhern cleared his throat and welcomed everyone back, urging Tarkyn to give a report on the disformed he'd evaluated.

Elreth found her short-lived joy in the success of the disformed slightly overshadowed by feeling Aaryn's eyes on her when they all turned to look at her Captain of the Guard.

"I'm pleased to say that the Anima I evaluated today are every bit as strong—stronger in some area—as our own trainees. They'll be adopted into the Guard and given roles that will utilize their skill as soon as they've completed our training."

Elreth, hyper-aware of Aaryn next to her, felt him bristle. Obviously they'd discussed this, and he didn't approve of the disform being required to train. But he kept his mouth shut.

Lhern frowned. "Then you didn't find them suitable for this specific mission?"

"Oh, yes, we did," Tarkyn said easily. "We will use two of them for this because they have some experience communicating with humans. But they're all in need of further discipline. Once this task is done, we'll put them in training. It will take weeks at most. They'll take their places among the guard before the seasons change."

The discussion evolved then as the Council discussed the needs for this mission, how they would track the human—or humans—and eventually moved to what would be done with them if they were taken alive.

"I need to speak with them," Elreth said firmly. "If they can be taken without the loss of Anima life, I want them brought back to the Tree City for questioning."

The men all shifted in their seat and eyed one another.

"What is it?" Elreth asked a moment later. "What are you all thinking?"

"Bringing them to the Tree City… it could provide them information they don't yet have," Tarkyn said quietly. "We assume because we haven't scented them before now that they haven't approached the City. But they must know we're here. If we bring them in and they are… trickier than we anticipated, we may be providing information to them."

Elreth tipped her head. "Their senses are dull compared to ours. Blindfold them, block their ears if you wish. But bring them. I want to meet them and see them when they speak." She wanted to curse herself for not thinking of that, but there was nothing she could do about it now. As Takryn nodded in submission, Elreth made a mental note to go back to her father's strategy notes for her training on war and enemy combat. Clearly she needed to brush up.

But Lhern cleared his throat again. "The questioning, Sire… do you intend to do that yourself?"

Elreth raised her eyebrows. "You see a problem with that?"

"No, no. Only, are you… prepared to do what must be done if needed to get the answers you require? Or will you be wanting someone to help you?"

"Help me… what?"

The males all looked at each other again and she almost snarled at them to speak their minds, but Aaryn was the one who leaned in. "If torture is needed, do you wish to do that yourself, or would you want someone to help you?"

Elreth blinked. Torture? She just wanted to talk to these people!

But before she could speak, she looked around the circle and saw the wrinkled faces and graying hair.

These were males who'd lived through a great deal. And to a male, they'd immediately thought of this. She couldn't dismiss that they saw it as a possible, if not likely, outcome.

And she realized they thought she didn't have the stomach for it.

She swallowed. Did she?

"I will ask the questions, but I would appreciate input from Tarkyn and Aaryn, and if there are Anima skilled in… motivating a prisoner, I would like them available to us. We'll try speaking first. If there's need to push, then we'll face that when it comes."

The males all nodded and turned their discussion to the logistics of prisoners, where they would be held and who would guard them.

Elreth pretended to listen, but really her mind was reeling.

Was she really sitting in this circle of males, facing a possible invasion of humans with deadly weapons, discussing the torture of humans? She'd already felt like she was flying blind, but now… now it felt like she flew through fog in midnight dark, desperately trying to evade the flash of unseen blades. She'd never anticipated that so early in her rule she'd be forced to make these kinds of decisions. How many of them would she regret in a few months?

Obviously sensing her tension, Aaryn leaned into her ear. "You're doing great," he murmured under his breath.

She gave him a quick, appreciative look, then turned back to the circle.

She didn't want any of them to notice how shaky she suddenly felt.

As the conversation turned to the details of what would be needed to first find the humans, then bring them back to the Queen, Elreth forced herself to breath deep and slow.

The Creator had put her in this position, and even if she was scrambling, her heart was good. She wanted what was best for the people as a whole, and she would make sure the others aimed for that as well. The rest… well, the rest she could learn as she went. Every ruler had a time of transition and learning—even the elders had said that.

The thought should have been comforting. So why did she feel like she was sitting on the spines of that Pricklepig and they were about to cut into her flesh?