ELRETH

Alarmed when she saw Gar's hands clench to fists, knowing what a knife-edge Gar walked before he'd give in to his temper, Elreth stood. Aaryn's hand appeared on her shoulder immediately holding her back from approaching the two who looked like they were a hairsbreadth from shifting and going for each other's throats. But she didn't need to touch them to stop them.

With a roar of her own that stilled everyone in the room, Elreth stood, staring, waiting for both males to get their heads together.

But neither of them took their eyes off of the other, and a growl puttered deep in Gar's chest that would have had a lesser male cowering.

"Gar,

" Elreth said sharply.

The growl cut off, but he didn't stop staring his challenge to the Tarkyn.

"No prejudice,

" Gar muttered.

"No prejudice you said. Let them show their strengths.

"

"I do not deny the validity of what they've found,

" Tarkyn growled back.

"It's what we do with that information that has to be measured very carefully. Your people are rogues. If they make the wrong judgment—

"

"What if you make the wrong judgment, Tarkyn?

" Gar snapped.

"What if the orders you give are wrong? And everyone has followed them?

"

Tarkyn leaned in so their noses almost touched.

"That's why I'm Captain. Because I am willing to take the responsibility for everything I order. If I'm wrong, I will submit.

"

"You know nothing of the humans and how they work. How they think. If you think you can just take them and bring them here and they're going to roll over and tell you their plans.

"

"I have talented questioners, if necessary.

"

Elreth's father grunted. She knew he had strong views on the kind of questioning Tarkyn was willing to employ against their enemies. He'd been forced to enact his own torture on enemies during the war with the wolves, and it was one of only two things from that time he'd told her Elreth he continued to have nightmares about.

"Don't underestimate that you have to live with yourself after it's all said and done, El,

" he'd told her for years.

"Don't let war tell you that your decisions don't matter. The means do not justify the ends if they steal your humanity. In the end, you still have to look yourself in the mirror every day.

"

Elreth had always taken those lessons to heart. But she found now, in this moment, as she faced a decision about the fates of others that likely didn't even know of her personally, that she had underestimated her appetite to end the lives of those she saw as a threat.

She swallowed hard.

To capture the humans and have them in hand, know they could do no harm, and attempt to get information from them? Even if it cost them their lives, or they were strong enough to resist? Or to let them continue in whatever they were doing, try to follow them, observe them—and risk losing control of them a second time?

"Speak to me, both of you,

" she snapped, putting every ounce of her Alpha power behind the order.

"Stop arguing with each other and speak to me. You first, Gar. Tell me why you are so certain we should not interfere with the humans?

"

There was a split second where her brother resisted, staring at Tarkyn with his teeth slightly bared. But then he forced himself to turn—his eyes dragging slowly away from Tarkyn—to face her and give her his answer.

"I am not saying we shouldn't interfere,

" he said, mostly calmly.

"I'm saying that, at least initially, we need more information about what they're doing here, how many of them there are, and what they're planning. It's unlikely we'll get that kind of information from them in any kind of honest or complete way once they know we're aware of them.

"Whereas, if we follow them and glean what we can—learn how they're travelling and where exactly they're going and to what purpose, we can either head them off before they become dangerous to the City, or take them with more information in hand—know when they're lying to us, and perhaps better understand what questions to ask in the first place.

"

"Until someone takes a wrong step and an Anima ends up like that pricklepig—and then they flee, or begin hunting us!

" Tarkyn said to her, his face a mask of disapproval.

"Right now they do not know we pursue them. They don't know we're even aware of them. The moment that changes, we lose control.

"

"The moment you remove them from their routine, whoever they work with learns that we know about them and that's when we lose control!

" Gar snapped.

"Humans never work alone—they have to be communicating with someone. We need to know how and why so we don't accidentally raise the alarm and invite a horde that we aren't yet ready to face!

"

"No, instead you would leave them free to continue plotting against us—when would you take them, Gar? When they stand at the traverse in their thousands?

"

"No! When—

"

"The traverse,

" Elreth broke in. They both turned back to her.

"How did they get in? We have patrols and guards—you said they couldn't come out of that cave without an entire fist knowing they were there, Tarkyn. How have they done it? Have you heard from your guards today? Were they already discovered?

"

Tarkyn's face went blank.

"We have a morning report. It was clear. I don't know—

"

Gar snorted without humor and Tarkyn whirled on him, but Elreth snapped at them.

"Stop it. This decision is not for either of you to make it is for me!

"

They both hesitated then, eyeing her and each other, waiting.

Elreth was suddenly aware of every eye in the room on her. Because what she'd said was true, this was her decision to make.

Aaryn stood against her shoulder, offering his support. She looked at him.

"What do you say, Advisor?

" she asked quietly.

Aaryn sighed and stared at her sadly.

"You know I trust the disformed, and their judgment,

" he said with a glance at Tarkyn.

"But I also agree that there's risk in leaving them free. Until we know what they're doing and how they're getting in. You have to prioritize, El. Neither route is foolproof. Which takes you a bigger step towards your goal?

"

That was the eternal question, the one that hounded her… the next step.

Elreth swung back and forth in her mind—she wanted to observe them without their knowledge. Know what they were doing. Why. And how.

But she also needed to minimize the risk to her people, buy time to prepare herself and Aaryn—the Protectors…

The traverse.

How were they getting in?

Elreth sighed, because now it was clear.

"I'm sorry, Gar,

" she said quietly, meaning it.

"But I have to know how they're getting through the traverse. I have to identify the gateway so I can close it. Tarkyn is right. We need to take them.

" Then she turned to Tarkyn.

"Prepare your best and prepare them well. Tell them to rest, and eat and be ready. They will not return to Anima until they have located and taken the humans—all of them.. At first light, they go and find the humans and bring them back to me.

"