Free Betrayals in Spring by Trisha Leigh Page A

own.”
    “What if he dies, Lucas? What will you do then?”
    “I don’t know, Althea. But we both know there’s not much of a choice here.”
    “There’s always a choice.”
    “Tell me the options,” he asks softly, his words guarded but no longer lashing out at me.
    “You can do nothing, and the planet will die as it’s been going to since the Others arrived. You can go help, maybe never come back, and when you leave with the Others the planet will cease to exist, anyway. Same outcome.” I jut out my chin, aware I’m being argumentative and refusing to see the truth because it’s not what I want.
    Lucas shakes his head. “You’re not that blind, Althea. The second option gives us what we need—time to figure the rest of it out. It’s the only option right now.”
    He takes off for the cabin at a brisk jog, Wolf prancing around his feet, happy to be running free outdoors. Inside, Pax’s head snaps up from a book he found next to the bed called Dracula . It doesn’t seem like my kind of thing, but he seems to be enjoying it. Interest sparks in his eyes as he takes in the tension crackling between Lucas and me.
    Pax folds down a corner of the page he’s on, a habit I detest, and closes the book before raising an eyebrow. “Trouble in paradise?”
    Lucas grunts. “Tell him. Now.”
    The command rankles. After spending every waking moment of the last sixteen years walking though a prescribed life, being told what to do gets my hackles up these days. Even though it’s Lucas, and even though he has every right to be mad, the fact that he thinks he can order me around makes me want to punch him.
    He ignores the glare I shoot his way, and Pax throws up his hands. “I understand that he’s pissing you off with the attitude, but one of you had better tell me what’s going on.”
    “Fine. When I grabbed Natej’s arm in the caverns, I heard something. There was a meeting, and the Prime announced that Apa tried to kill himself. Without him to help maintain the seasonal balance on Earth, the planet will become inhospitable within the week.”
    “Summer, how could you not tell us that? We could have only days left to figure out what to do!” Pax’s voice doesn’t convey anger like Lucas’s did; he sounds more shocked at my keeping secrets.
    “Not to mention I might like to know that my father is dying.”
    “Who cares about that?” Pax stands up, pacing in front of the fire.
    Wolf follows his steady footsteps in a parade that would seem almost comical in a different situation. Thunderclouds descend into Lucas’s face at the dismissal, but even after the time I’ve spent with my mother and the confusion I feel over her place in my life, I have to side with Pax. What’s happening to Apa concerns me only because of how it affects Lucas and the time limit it places on our mission.
    “It’s been less than twelve hours. I’m sorry. I was too tired to think clearly last night, and I guess I was hoping to find a second option.” I suck in a breath, and Pax stops pacing. “And Lucas says he’s going to help them.”
    “Of course he’s going to help them, Althea. What’s the alternative? That we allow them to leave and sit here while the planet crumbles around us and we all die?”
    “There has to be another way. If Lucas goes to them, they’ll never let him go. Once they have him we’ll never see him again.” Tears spring into my eyes but I blink them back. Feeling weak right now will accomplish nothing.
    “ He is right here, you know, and he is capable of making his own decisions. Without my help, it’s all over anyway.” Lucas doesn’t look at me, choosing instead to seek an ally in Pax.
    “He’s right. Without Apa, there’s no one else who can keep up the winter side of a seasonal cycle, and it sounds like he’s particularly crucial at this Harvest Site. Plus, even if we found Deshi in the next five minutes , we don’t know how to do what the Elements do. It’s going to take time to