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When the security council broke, Elreth made a beeline for her brother.

Gar was acting strangely, and Rika was still nowhere to be seen. Elreth smelled a rat—a large, broad, lying rat that looked more like her father every day so that it was tempting to ignore him, just to avoid being reminded.

But if the pressure of the Chimera had convinced her of anything, it was that they couldn’t assume anything.

Something was wrong with her brother—or more likely, with his mate. And Elreth was going to find out what it was and what they needed to do to help before she went to meet the chimera. She wouldn’t allow any reason for regret. For herself, or for Gar.

She had to answer a few questions from Tobe, the equine who’d stepped into Tarkyn’s role while her Captain was absent, and then, working hard to catch Gar who’d been talking to Behryn, but kept shooting glances at the door like he wanted to flee, she’d had to fend off Aaryn who had been watching her sternly every moment and was now insisting that she needed to eat because it was dinnertime, and he could see her setting herself up to skip the market meal again.

“I need to talk to Gar,” she growled when Aaryn stood in front of her, eyes blazing, signing ‘Eat. Now.’

She sighed and signed back because she was still insisting on not clouding the issue of her ability to lead the Anima through this by announcing her pregnancy. It was far too early. She might still lose it.

‘You go prepare a plate,’ she signed. ‘I will eat everything on it after I’ve talked to Gar.’ Her sign for her brother was a vaguely rude gesture towards her crotch—a joke she’d started when they developed the language as children that had stuck.

.....

But it had become such an inherent part of their language, Aaryn didn’t even crack a smile.

He leaned into her ear to murmur, “Do you give me your word?”

“Yes,” she said firmly, though irritation simmered in her chest. She wasn’t a child! She was just carrying one.

Her mother had talked at length about how stupid and bossy her father had been when her mother was pregnant with Gar—because he’d missed her pregnancy with Elreth, separated as they had been during those brief months.

“Absolutely insufferable. Alpha Male Bullshit at its best—he didn’t have a clue, but he insisted on wrapping me in cotton wool and growling anytime I didn’t jump to his ridiculous demands. You’d think no female had ever borne a child before—let alone a second one.”

Elreth hadn’t known what “cotton wool” was—they were two different threads and harvested very differently, as far as she was concerned. But she had enjoyed seeing her mother’s eyes flash with humor underlined by residual anger, and her father’s grumbled, childish protests that he’d done no such thing.

And every time Elreth had a memory like that, she’d catch herself smiling, then her stomach would sink with gut-wrenching grief.

“Elreth, what’s wrong?” Aaryn’s eyes were fierce and locked on hers.

“Nothing, I just thought of something. Don’t worry.”

Aaryn opened his mouth, but she brushed past him, squeezing his hand. “Get the food, I’ll join you soon.”

She heard the rumble of a growl that rolled in his chest, but she didn’t look back and thankfully he didn’t follow as she hurried across the room to catch Gar’s hand just as he was turning away from Behryn.

Her brother’s eyes tightened as he was forced to stop—again—and turned to face her. “What is it, El?” he asked, rubbing a hand over his face wearily.

She looked left and right to make sure no one was paying attention, then leaned in. “Tell me what’s going on with Rika—and you.”

Gar rolled his eyes—but he wasn’t meeting her gaze. His only tell for when he was lying. “I told you, Rika has a friend who’s struggling and she needed—”

“Now, Gar? Really? I bought that a week ago, but now? With all of this going on? You want me to believe you’re happy for your mate to be trotting off on some adventure while this is happening?”

“She’s not on an adventure,” Gar growled, his eyes flashing, snapping to hers and his jaw tightened. But then he looked away. “I thought it was better that she not be here… as a human. When Zev was…”

Elreth took a deep breath. That was probably wise. And one of the reasons she hadn’t pushed before now. But the Chimera hadn’t been here for two days and Rika was still gone?

Gar hadn’t roared all week, so Elreth knew something was up. But this had happened once before that Rika had just disappeared, and Gar had acted like a cat with his tail stuck in a fence, but then she’d been back and everything had been normal.

Elreth folded her arms and planted herself in front of her brother so he couldn’t dart past. “There’s no way—especially with all this going on—that you’ve let her be out there by herself, Gar. I’m not stupid. So, who’s she with?”

He frowned, irritated. He raked a hand through his hair then looked around as if he, too, was making sure there was no one listening. “She’s with Pegg.”

“The horse?” Elreth was genuinely surprised.

“He’s a Pegasus, actually,” Gar snapped.

“Why?! What does he need from Rika?”

Gar’s lips thinned. “She needed a break from all this talk about humans, and Pegg needed her—they used to live in each other’s pockets, El. They miss each other sometimes.”

“I told her he could live here—”

“It wouldn’t work. And besides, he’s not interested.”

“So… you’re just letting Rika… hang out with him?”

Gar gave her a flat look. “They’re staying off to the southwest. They won’t interfere with the Chimera at all. They’re completely safe. Pegg can’t stand being surrounded by people anyway.”

El watched her brother, saw a shadow pass behind his eyes, and her irritation and pride just… dissolved. Her chest panged.

“Gar, what aren’t you telling me?”

Gar didn’t even meet her eyes, just stared at the door, his jaw flexing as he obviously worked to come up with an excuse she’d accept—but he was saved from answering like the lucky bastard he was, by an interruption.

They both turned—Gar relieved, El irritated—when a soft voice rose at Elreth’s back.

“Elreth… Sire… I plead an audience.”

Elreth frowned. That voice sounded familiar, but… she turned and her mouth dropped open. “Jayah, what the hell? You don’t need to plead an audience to talk to me. What—”

Jayah’s throat bobbed and her eyes were earnest on Elreth’s. “For this… yes, I do.”

Elreth’s blood ran cold. What had happened? What had—

“I’ll leave you two to talk—” Gar started, but it was Jayah whose hand shot out to catch his arm. Under different circumstances, Elreth would have laughed at the thwarted relief on her brother’s face.

“No,” Jayah said, gently, her fingers tightening on his broad forearm. “We might need you for this.”

It was Gar’s turn to frown. “Why?”

Jayah took a deep breath, then blew it out. “To scent me for truth, so that Elreth can be certain I haven’t done anything to harm her.”

They both froze.