Swiftcurrent Creek played-a-live

She swallowed thickly when he reported no updates. Druid shook her head at his unnecessary apology, drawing in a breath. Viinturuth answered her next question before she could even ask it: there wasn’t even a formal plan yet, as he deferred to someone by the name of Akavir.

Is that the man you called? Is he… Mae’s father? Your brother? Druid guessed, piecing together the context clues.

Was he coming? She glanced past Viinturuth’s shoulder but saw no one. The gnawed at her bottom lip, an uncharacteristic display of anxiousness. Druid liked to think of herself as cool as a cucumber but, damn it, those four little ones had changed so much.

I brought him here, Druid blurted softly, apropos of nothing. Glaukos, I mean. He actually saved my life. I know I’m not the one who hurt anybody but I feel partly responsible. If I hadn’t made him leave, he wouldn’t have hurt Mae. But he was hurting us…

She looked to Viinturuth, her two-toned eyes full of conflict. It didn’t help matters that Druid could not picture a solution that did not involve Glaukos’s death. Did she really want any part in killing her children’s father? Even though he’d never been particularly involved—a great point of contention for her, especially in hindsight—it seemed a terrible thing.

But then her eyes shuttered as they had a moment ago. She would do anything to keep those children safe, Druid knew now. The only way anyone would ever harm them was over her dead body.