* * *
"Ry, could that woman hurt Mom?" Nissa whispered as they walked down the corridor leading to the family wing.
"Sissy, you didn't see Aurelius and Uncle Gavin, did you?" Tory asked.
"It happened too quickly," Roff came up behind them silently. "Many inside the chamber held power. Gavin and Aurelius would have killed that woman if she'd managed to harm a hair on your mother's head. Are you all well enough? Shall I send for another healer?" Roff added.
"We're just shaken up," Ry offered with a shrug.
"Then call if you need assistance," Roff replied. "Go now, and dress for dinner. It is scheduled for the usual time." Roff strode away.
"I wish we could see Cheedas," Nissa muttered.
"Sissy?" Tory looked down at his younger sister. He wasn't surprised when she burst into tears.
* * *
"Better now?" Nissa nodded at Toff's words—she was embarrassed that she'd cried in front of her brothers.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Toff whispered gently. Nissa clung to him while she wept, even as Ry offered a cool, damp cloth for her eyes. Trik watched in surprise; at Belancour Manor, the older ones would have ridiculed the younger ones for weeping instead of offering support.
"Come on, Sissy, we'll be late for dinner," Ry pulled Nissa toward her suite. "Get changed, we'll meet outside the dining hall."
* * *
"Mom doesn't look good," Ry muttered when they entered the dining room later.
Karzac was seated beside the Queen, watching her carefully. Dinner was a quiet affair, with hardly anyone speaking. Toff glanced at the Queen often, but her eyes were on her plate and Karzac continued to watch, silently urging her to eat more.
We'll talk when we get back to our room, drifted into Toff's head—it was Ry's mental voice. Toff almost jumped at the nonverbal contact. Instead, he nodded discreetly and went back to his dessert.
* * *
"What can we do?" Tory paced inside their shared suite later. Toff sat on the floor next to Trik's power chair, while Nissa settled beside Toff. Ry had his back to the headboard of his bed, listening while his brother spoke.
"There's a shield around Evensun," Tory went on. "As a High Demon, I might be able to get through, but anybody else might get fried on the grid. That means if I take anybody with me, they could die. And once I get there, I don't have the ability to set up any kind of perimeter for them."
They'd been talking nonstop ever since they'd shut the suite door behind them. All knew that Clover and Laral deserved punishment, but being sentenced to life on Evensun was practically a death sentence. It was no secret that terrible people had been sent there—older people who wouldn't hesitate to kill the convicted teens quickly.
"This is Gren's fault," Toff muttered angrily. "If he hadn't convinced them," Toff didn't finish.
"Yeah. We know that for sure," Nissa agreed. Gren's name had come up many times in all the testimony. He was at the bottom of everything.
All of them jumped when a light knock sounded on the door. "Mom, what's going on?" Nissa asked. Lissa walked in, followed by Drake, Drew and Erland.
"Dad?" Ry stared at Erland.
"We're going on a covert mission," Erland's grin was blinding.
"Where?" Tory asked. "Mom, I thought you didn't feel good."
"I'll feel better when we get this done," she sighed. "We know you're upset about this too, so you're all going with us. You, too, Trik." She came to him and smoothed hair back from his forehead.
"But where?" Tory repeated his question.
"We're going to Evensun," the Queen whispered.
* * *
"Wow," Ry breathed, turning in a circle. "Why isn't anybody here? This is nice."
A field of tall grass and wildflowers lay about them, with a stand of trees on one side.
"We've shielded this area, that's why," Erland placed an arm around Ry's shoulders. "Now all we have to do is find Haldis, Sark and their parents. They get a thousand acres to do with as they like, and none of the others will be able to get through. Clover, Laral and their parents will be brought here tomorrow—Drake and Drew will see that they're dropped off in the proper place."
"I will find them." The teens blinked when a strange Larentii arrived with Connegar and Reemagar.
"Hi, Ren, how are you?" Lissa smiled up at the eight-and-a-half-foot Larentii. "I haven't seen you in a while."
"I have been quite busy. I see that you have, as well." He smiled at Lissa and placed a large blue hand on her abdomen.
"It wasn't planned. I'm not complaining, either," she patted his arm.
"The child is quite fine," Ren proclaimed before taking his hand away. "I will return shortly." He disappeared.
"Mom, who is that?" Nissa asked.
"An old friend," Lissa said.
"Are we breaking the law?" Trik asked.
"Sort of," the Queen nodded. "Nobody is supposed to get preferential treatment on Evensun."
"I can see why the laws might say that. I can also see why the law needs to be bent in this case," Trik sighed.
"Then you see more than most," Connegar knelt beside Trik's chair. Trik blinked at the tall Larentii, whose face was not far from his. Had he ever thought to see a Larentii, or even more wondrous, to receive a compliment from one?
"Your observational skills are quite sharp, young one," Connegar smiled at Trik. "They serve you well."
"I expect all of you to keep this secret," Lissa said. "I only brought you because I knew you were upset about this, too. Toff," she turned her gaze to the young comesula, "You don't mind this?"
"I don't mind. This is better, I think," he nodded his dark head toward the Queen. "Gren is the one who deserved the worst punishment, and he managed to get away."
"I feel the same way." Lissa came to stand next to Toff, pulling him into a warm embrace. "I wanted to make sure this is what you want, too, because you're the one they wanted to harm."
"This is what I want," Toff said when Lissa let him go. He noticed that the Queen was brushing away tears, but chose to ignore it. He liked it, too, when the Queen hugged him. He'd gotten more affection since coming to the palace than he'd received in a very long time. Redbird had tended him often when he was small, but when he became older, she'd pulled away. There at the end, she felt like a stranger to him, and he didn't understand it at all. Her treatment of him, too, had bordered on mistreatment. No surprise, considering all the lies she'd told. Toff shook himself to dispel the memories.