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AARYN

"No one said she was free," Elreth growled at her brother.

Gar seemed to swell in front of them, but Aaryn could see the male holding himself back, reminding himself to stay calm. Aaryn gave him the warning eye, but he tensed, too. This wasn\'t going to end well if the siblings didn\'t both keep themselves controlled.

"She is my mate—confirmed by a healer. And she has not given to the voices. She\'s a good heart, and she\'s sharing everything she knows with you. And still you won\'t let her walk free. With me?"

"You don\'t seriously expect me to just shrug off the fact that she\'s been working with our enemies—the enemies not just of me and you, but our entire people? The prophesied enemies, Gar!"

"Trust me, no one is more aware of that than me. I won\'t let her out of my sight. She doesn\'t have our senses, or her technology. Our adolescents could track her."

Rika frowned, but didn\'t speak up, and Aaryn cut her a glance to make sure she wouldn\'t add fuel to this particular fire.

Elreth shook her head. "It\'s not about tracking her, it\'s about what she could learn by being among us and how that could be used against us if she returns to them."

"You think I\'d betray you?!" Rika asked, apparently shocked.

Elreth snorted. "You\'re betraying your own people who you have lived and worked with your whole life. You expect me to believe you are loyal now to mine, in a way you haven\'t honored your own?"

"She\'s my mate!" Gar snapped.

"And she hasn\'t accepted the bond—and even if she did, the bond will not stop her from taking action against us!" Elreth said, pushing to her feet as Gar did the same, both of them leaning forward.

Aaryn followed at Elreth\'s shoulder as the siblings met in the center of the circle. Gar lifted a hand and Aaryn growled.

His brother by the flame glanced at him over Elreth\'s shoulder and dropped his hand back to his side, rolling his head to loosen his neck and breathing deeply as he fought to keep himself calm. "I\'m not asking you to free her among the people, El," he said, low and quiet, through his teeth. "I\'m asking you to release her to me. Let me watch over her. Take her to my tree. I\'ll tell Mom and Dad to come to the meeting. She can rest there while me and Aaryn can get the disformed prepared. She\'s not a prisoner, El. She\'s your sister!"

Even from her side and slightly behind, Aaryn could see the shock that registered on Elreth\'s face. She hadn\'t thought of that. To be fair, Aaryn hadn\'t either.

But Elreth gritted her teeth. "That remains to be seen."

"The bond is confirmed!"

"She hasn\'t accepted it yet. Who knows how long that will take—if we even have time."

It was the wrong approach. Gar tensed, pulling Rika behind him as he leaned closer to Elreth—whose upper lip was beginning to curl.

Aaryn shot a warning glance at Gar, then turned to face El. "Just think for a moment," he said. Then he signed, \'If it was you, I\'d feel the same way.\' He cleared his throat. "Perhaps there\'s a middle ground. She likely does need a rest if they\'ve been up all night. And the prison isn\'t comfortable."

"Her comfort isn\'t my first concern," Elreth snarled.

Aaryn nodded. "I understand. But Gar\'s right, we\'re all going to be family. And we\'ll need her able to keep up for the rest of the day. Giving her a nap in his house isn\'t a big ask. We can send guards to ensure she doesn\'t leave."

"I don\'t know—"

"C\'mon, El," Gar growled. "She crossed the traverse without taking the voices. If she had ambitions, or… or malicious intent, that never would have happened. You know this!"

"Do I?" Elreth bit back. "Seems like uncle Gahrye said he almost gave in a couple times, and I don\'t know a better heart than his. Seems like… seems like we can\'t trust anything when it comes to the voices. And the trap is descending, Gar. Frankly I can\'t believe you\'re so uncaring about the risks!"

"I\'m not uncaring—these are my people too—"

"Then act like it! Stand in the gap for them! Minimize the risk to others, rather than seeing only your own desires!"

"You are fucking with me," Gar snarled. "You\'re saying I\'m creating risk, El? Really? After all this, you still think I\'m just serving myself?!"

Aaryn\'s tension rose as the two argued. The elders watched, disapproving, but he noticed none of them stepped in.

"I\'m not asking you to parade her through the market!" Gar growled. "Let me take her! Let her rest! She\'ll be of more help to you this afternoon if she\'s had a chance to sleep!"

"Are you going to sleep, Gar? Am I? Why should she have this comfort when the rest of us have to endure. This is happening, Gar! There\'s no time. Every minute that passes could be the difference between us being able to turn this attack away, and the death of our people."

"She\'s providing the means for you to save the people, Elreth! Open your eyes!"

Elreth snarled, and adrenalin flooded Aaryn\'s system as everything happened at once.

Gar\'s shout was still echoing in the room when Elreth jerked forward. Aaryn flowed between them, one hand on Gar\'s chest, even as the massive male growled and his eyes flashed his lion.

Rika gasped his name and gripped the back of his shirt.

Elreth\'s snarl rolled in Aaryn\'s ears even as he turned, desperate for both siblings to think, to remember they were both on the same side of this. But Elreth tried to swipe him aside to get at her brother, and Aaryn\'s own tension snapped.

He snarled at her and Elreth stopped in her tracks. Thoughtless, Aaryn whipped around to shove Gar back in the same movement, then stood there, panting, as both siblings gaped at him.

"Stop with this ridiculous arguing! You love each other. And you rule together—Elreth first. El, if you trust your brother to lead our people to war, you can trust his judgment about his mate. And Gar, if you\'re serious about playing your part in this, stop seeing your sister, and start seeing your Queen. We have a helluva road to walk in the next few days and we can\'t spend it breaking up fights between siblings!"

They both stared at him and Aaryn blinked, realizing what he\'d done.

"I\'m sorry," he muttered to El. "I shouldn\'t have pushed. I submit. I do. I just… I hate seeing you two fight."

Elreth shook her head, her eyes still wide. "No, it\'s… you\'re right." Then she looked at Gar, who was still staring at him, stunned. "He\'s right," she said softly, if a little tense. "Okay, Gar. You can take her back to the tree. Get Mom and Dad. Be back here after lunch."

Gar\'s eyebrows shot up. "I… okay. Thank you."

Elreth rolled her eyes, but then she turned and remembered the audience. Aaryn, still tense, almost laughed out loud as she caught herself and pushed her shoulders back and straightened her face.

"You heard me," she muttered. "Go rest.. You\'ve got two hours."