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“It makes sense,” Jael said slowly, “that Rig is also bound to Medda. They’re very close. He could be speaking the truth. I think he understands, Anrid, and he’s telling you they will be okay. You need to trust him. You can’t fix everything by yourself. I know you want to help, that you can’t stand the thought of not doing something—” Here his expression turned mildly reproachful. “—but sometimes the best thing to do is to not interfere and trust others to do the right thing.”
When had he come to know her so well? Her lips trembled, and she pursed them. “But I can’t just let them go alone! Jael, I have to go with them. I have to—”
He squeezed her shoulder, his fingers digging into her skin. “Dear girl, I won’t send them away by themselves! I need you to trust me, and Rig. He wouldn’t suggest this if he didn’t think he could take care of his sister.”
“But—”
He leaned closer, so that they were eye level, face so close she could have leaned forward and touched their noses together. “Trust me,” he whispered. “Please, Anrid.”
She didn’t want to give in; it felt like betraying the children to give in to this plan. But Jael had made solid points. She did jump into things recklessly because she wanted to help. And, yes, this had gotten her into a lot of trouble. It all began that day when she marched into the forest and left behind the caravan. She didn’t blame Rig at all for using magic on her…even if he had not bespelled her, she knew in her heart she would have searched for him.
She hugged him tighter and battled to calm the beating of her heart, to force her emotions to see reason. She couldn’t forget about the other children waiting back at Imenborg…had recent events eased the strain on their bodies? Or made it worse?
“But who will go with Rig and Medda?” she whispered around barely contained tears.
His eyes rolled closed, as though expressing intense relief. Then he rose to his feet and pulled his hand from her shoulder. A rush of cold followed the absence of his touch that left a hollow pit in her stomach.
“Kora!” He snapped the words as if it were a blade in his mouth.
Kora stiffened as though expecting a blow.
Anrid held her breath, wondering what harsh words Jael would throw at his younger brother. She wanted to beg him to temper judgment with compassion, but Kora had put them all in grave danger. What he had done was forgivable...but grave. Very grave. So she held her tongue and said nothing.
This was a matter to be settled between brothers.
“You will take the children to Nestra.” His jaw clenched, and he searched for words. “Consider this part of your penance. You have much to set right. I don’t know what punishment Father will see fit when he hears of your betrayal, but consider this my punishment. You’re to bring the children to Nestra and remain there.”
Kora flinched beneath the gravity in Jael’s tone. “I understand,” he said, pained. “But…how long shall we stay there?”
“Until Father summons you home!” Jael barked the words, fists clenching at his side. “Until then, you’re not welcome in Agmon.”
Anrid gasped, horrified on Kora’s behalf, that he should suffer such banishment. Horrified for Jael, that he must cast such a sentence on his brother. “Jael, is that necessary?” she whispered.
“Yes.” The word was bitter, unyielding, and allowed for no further discussion.
Something in Kora seemed to snap. He took a sudden step forward, hands clenched at his sides. “I was trying to help!”
For a moment, even Jael had nothing to say.
“What were you thinking, Kora?” he demanded, as if collecting himself. “What you did wasn’t helping. You put people in danger. You got people killed.”
Kora lifted his chin, his handsome mouth set in a forbidding line that made him appear older, harder. “You wouldn’t tell me anything. You treated me like a child that couldn’t handle anything, like you didn’t want me to be here. Everyone wants me to just do what I’m told and not think or act for myself. I had to put the pieces together on my own. I learned from Rig that you were playing with that forbidden book, Jael, and it scared me. It scared me for you, and for our people. But you wouldn’t talk to me, so I had to figure out what you were doing on my own.”
“But why did you give the stone eaten book to the elves?” Jael’s voice developed a raw edge, as if Kora might indeed be getting to him. Was he beginning to suspect he may have treated his brother unfairly? That perhaps he held partial blame in all this?
“Because they wouldn’t have come if I hadn’t promised them the book!”
Silence answered Kora’s angry declaration. He clenched and flexed his hands as if trying to get control of himself. When he continued, his voice was barely a whisper. “They wouldn’t have come, Jael. They wouldn’t have helped. I already had the book—I take full blame for tricking Rig into stealing it for me—and with Anrid leaving and the Bifrost growing more unstable, I knew we needed their help. I made a judgment call, one I knew you wouldn’t be able to make. You would never have agreed to giving them the book.”
“For good reason! Look what Talos did with it. He nearly killed us all!”
Kora flinched and turned away as if Jael had struck him. “I—I see that now. I didn’t realize he had no intention of helping us. I thought we could manipulate this to our advantage. And if I had to go and steal the stone-eaten book back, I would have. I just—I just—”
“Tried to help,” Anrid whispered. She caught Jael’s eye and held it. He appeared stiff and uncomfortable, as if he didn’t want to hear what she had to say. “He just tried to help, Jael. I’m not saying what he did was right, but please see that he was trying to help. Like me. And all the trouble I got us into by trying to help when I shouldn’t have. I’m no better than Kora and should share an equal measure of blame. We all share blame in what happened.”
Jael winced then, as her words struck home. His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “I will agree with that,” he murmured, briefly meeting her gaze and then Kora’s. “I will admit I didn’t do right, either. I was careless with the book, and I shouldn’t have treated you so badly. I know you’re unhappy, Kora. I know it. And I’m sorry I didn’t care more. But what you did…it’s not my place to pronounce final judgment.”
Anrid held her breath, waiting for his final word.
