But to leave them alive in the house? And then the girl had confessed. All his talk of bold action, and he had been able to do nothing. Then the bailiff had shown up. But he hadn’t known it was the bailiff. He’d thought they were the Fir-Noy armsmen come back. He couldn’t tell them the boy and girl were the hatchlings. Those armsmen would automatically assume Talen’s family had been harboring them.

He should have never let her sit in his lap. Never let her kiss him. Lords, her tongue…

He kept expecting something to happen, to feel a shift of some kind. He could detect no change in himself, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t worked some kind of magic upon him with her touch. How could you kiss a Sleth child and not be changed?

It was obvious they had only two options-kill them or bring a hunt. And he preferred someone else face the ire of the nest. “It’s time to give them up,” said Talen.

“No,” said Da in his rough voice. “That will never happen.”

And yet there Da stood with that massive bruise on his face. Perhaps he was trying to tell Talen it was foolish to talk about such things in front of the boy and girl.

“River and Ke will be back soon enough. We’re going to keep them safe, Talen.”

Da wasn’t acting. He was serious. “With that woman’s beast looking for them?”

“We don’t know what that thing was,” said Da.

“Who cares what it was? It rescued her. That’s all we need to know.”

“That’s not all we need to know.”

It was obvious from the events at Whitecliff that there were powerful masters ruling this nest of Sleth. Had they gotten to Da? Had they themselves delivered the boy and girl here?

It was terrible to contemplate, but he wanted to know the situation. “You can tell me,” said Talen.

“No, I can’t. Not right now.”

“Have you been threatened by other members of this nest?”

“Son,” said Da. “Trust me.”

“Trust me,” Talen said. “If the masters of this nest have something hanging over us, I want to know. I want to help.”

“There are no masters,” said Da. “No threats. This is very simple. Sugar and Legs are innocent of any offense.”

“You’re kidding me?”

“No,” said Da.

Talen glanced over at Nettle for some help, but Nettle looked as concerned as he was. He turned back to his father. “I’m sorry,” he said. “But I don’t think you’re in your right mind. If they’re innocent, then let the questioners absolve them.”

“Talen,” Da said more forcefully. “You don’t know of what you speak. So keep your mouth shut.”

Shut? When they had armsmen seeking their lives, a Sleth on the loose, and the children of that Sleth standing right there?

“Why don’t you enlighten me? I can clearly see the troubles these two have cost us. And it doesn’t require a lord’s councilor to multiply such troubles across all the rest of our people. You were a fool not to turn them in.”

The girl stood to the side of Da, cold calculation in her eyes. The boy was looking off into space, his head shaking oddly. It unnerved Talen. That right there was probably the result of some Sleth abomination.

Da’s eyes narrowed. “You’ll put a bung in that mouth of yours.”

“Somebody is going to die because of these two. And that’s not going to be me. I’d also like to avoid any torture that might be involved.”

“We’ll find them another place.” Da’s mouth was tight with anger.

Talen wondered if all this speaking hurt his throat, but someone needed to talk sense.

“Some wicked servant came to fetch their mother, and you want to harbor them?”

Da’s anger broke. He lifted up one side of the table and slammed it back down again. A leg gave way and the table slid over to one side. “I’m about to lose my temper!” If his voice had been normal, it would have come out as a bellow. But this voice, as if he were sick, was worse to hear.

Talen was going to say, don’t worry you’ve already done that, but Da’s eyes were as round as eggs. His face was red.

Years ago Da had let Ke and even River feel the open face of his hand. Ke had many a story; he also harbored much resentment that Talen didn’t receive the same good instruction. But Mother had made Da give it up before she died.

Da violently scratched the side of his head. He said, “I can forgive you your ignorance. But I won’t stand your disobedience. Do you truly think I’m such a drooling idiot that I would invite monsters into our house?”

“No,” said Talen, “but you might blind yourself so you couldn’t see the danger. All this time it’s been about Koramite oppression, jealous Mokaddians. Well, the facts are staring us in the face, but you won’t look at them.”

“You are the one that won’t look at them,” said Da. “What do you think the questioners will do with them? What do you think the Fir-Noy will demand?”

They’d demand the children be locked up as bait. They would torture them until they produced answers. Or they’d kill them.

“Only a coward lets the innocent be punished when it’s within his power to stop it,” said Da.

This was crazy. These weren’t two children accused of stealing apples from their neighbor’s orchard. “It’s not cowardice,” said Talen. “We’re talking about Sleth, Da. Sleth.”

“Sleth,” said Da. He sighed. “Fine. I suppose River’s right. It’s time. Although I do not believe you’re ready.” He turned to Nettle. “That would go as well for you. Of course, this should be your father’s office, shouldn’t it? But we can take care of that. You two are coming with me today, we’re-”

Talen didn’t understand half of what Da had just said. But it didn’t matter. “What about them?” he asked, pointing at the girl and boy.

“What about them? River and Ke will return soon enough. And it doesn’t appear you enjoy their company much.”

“You’re just going to leave them here unattended?” And then he understood what Da was doing. “You’re going to give them a chance to run, aren’t you? And that way if someone asks, you can truthfully say you have no idea where they are.”

Da shook his head. “Them running is the last thing I want, Talen. Because then they’ll surely be caught. You might want to think about that. Even if you haven’t a nit’s teaspoon of compassion, you’ll want to consider what will happen when the questioners begin their work. How long will it take before the boy is tortured into revealing who hid him for so long?”

That was easy to calculate. As were the consequences. Da had placed them all on a crumbling precipice and asked them to dance. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this,” said Talen.

“Nettle,” Da said, “tell me. Does your da tell you everything that goes on in his councils? You’re his son. If you were to ask him, would he tell you all his battle plans?”

“He tells me a lot.”

“Everything?”

“No.”

“Why is that? He trusts you, doesn’t he?”

“Well,” said Nettle, then he fell into silence and shrugged. “I guess he thinks I’ve got a butter jaw.”

Da laughed. “Hardly. It’s because some truths, if shared, would hurt those who do not deserve it. And it is at such times that you cannot simply pass the responsibility of the secrets you hold to someone else. You either carry the burden of the secret or release the whirlwind.”

“Secrets?” This did not sound right. This did not make him feel comfortable. What secrets did Da keep that concerned the girl and the boy?

“There’s more to this than the flimsy logic you’ve tried to fob me off with today, isn’t there?”

“There’s more to everything, son. Even when all the words have been spoken. But right now I have an appointment to meet the Clan Council. I was overtaken by a messenger earlier. I’ve been summoned back to Whitecliff to testify about what happened in the tower. I can understand your frustration, but I can’t trust you here alone. So you’re going with me. Now get the wagon hitched.”