Janco met Ari’s gaze. “She’s kidding. Right?”
Ari shrugged his massive shoulders. “You were rude. Go apologize.”
But when Janco tried to catch up, Onora had disappeared. Probably sitting right next to him, blending in with the gold-and-brown stalks that radiated in every direction. The null shield didn’t seem to help him spot her when she turned camo.
“Sorry,” he said to the clump on his left, feeling silly. “I’m not used to having company when I hunt. It’s...” Janco pulled in a breath. “It’s one of the rare times I’m alone. I really appreciate your help, though, so if you could—”
“Are you always this noisy when you hunt?” she asked from the right. “You’re scaring away supper.”
Apology accepted. The strength of his relief surprised him. “Did you really kill—”
“Hush,” she ordered.
Soon after, the first of many rabbits bolted across his path. With Onora’s assistance, he shot four rabbits by the time it was too dark to see. Much faster than on his own. Not that he’d admit that to her. He’d already apologized. His male ego couldn’t handle another confession.
When they returned to camp, Ari had already prepped a couple skewers. Onora and Janco skinned the rabbits, and soon the enticing smell of roasting meat filled the air. Esau and Nutty finally emerged from the hothouse. Dirt stained Esau’s knees and elbows and caked the undersides of his nails.
Since everyone was starving, they ate first. Then Yelena turned to her father and invited him to share what he’d learned.
He ran a hand through his thick gray hair. “The plants are all similar to what was growing in Owen’s hothouse. Theobroma, Curare and a collection of medicinals. No sign of that crossbreed to produce Theobroma-resistant Curare. But there are a few experimental Theobroma varieties and crossbreeds. Looks like Bavol was trying to figure out a way to counter Theobroma’s effects.”
Yelena leaned forward as hope gleamed in her eyes. “Did he succeed?”
“Too soon to tell. Damn tree takes years to grow.”
“What about that grafting technique? The one that speeds up the growth?” Mara asked.
“That only works when you have a mature tree,” Nutty said. “Since none of them have matured, we don’t know if it’ll work. Once we determine if it will, then we can grow more.”
Not the best news. But not the worst, either.
“How long until they’ve matured?” Ari asked.
“About two years or so.”
Janco groaned. By then they’d be reporting to Commander Owen.
Yelena pulled the drawing of the Harman tree from her pack and handed it to Nutty. “Do you recognize this?”
She studied the picture. “No, sorry.”
Yelena hid her disappointment, but Janco knew discovering why those Harman trees were so important to Owen and the Cartel was vital to their success.
“How long have you been involved?” Yelena asked Nutty.
“Bavol asked me to help him with some crossbreeding a few years ago, but he said it was a matter of high security and it would be treason if I told anyone.” She glanced around as if expecting him to jump from the nearby grasses and yell at her for divulging the information. “Then a couple seasons ago, he asked me come to the plains. He’d built this hothouse as a prototype. He was working with two others, but he wouldn’t tell me who they are. Said it was safer for me to not know. The last time I saw him, Bavol suspected he was in danger and told me to stay here and that he would send someone.”
“See? I told you she wasn’t working for the Master Gardener,” Esau said.
Nutty pulled at her ponytail. “Is Bavol all right?”
“As far as we know,” Yelena said. “The Cartel moved all the Councilors to the Greenblade garrison.”
“The Cartel?”
“I’ll explain in a bit, but first, did you discover who was working with Bavol?”
“I saw them. They came for a brief visit soon after I arrived. Bavol told me to hide in the hothouse. I peeked out. I recognized one of them.” She hunched down as if afraid of getting caught.
“Who is it?” Yelena asked.
Nutty bit her lower lip.
“We need to know.” Yelena’s tone held patience.
Janco, in contrast, had to suppress the desire to shake the name from the girl.
“Will he get in trouble?” Nutty asked.
“It depends on whether he knowingly helped the Cartel, or if he was tricked.”
“It’s Oran,” she blurted. “One of our clan’s elders.”
Yelena clutched her tunic in distress. There could be more members of her clan involved with the Master Gardener, and that would throw suspicion on her entire family.
“Shouldn’t be too big a surprise,” Esau said. “He has the knowledge and could arrange the transport of the plants without trouble. Hell, even I’ve discussed these plants with him many times.”
Nutty pressed her hands over her heart. “Have I done something wrong?”
“No,” Yelena said. “You were helping Bavol. You had no idea what he was doing with the information.”
Nutty didn’t relax. “What about Oran? Should I have reported him?”
“To who?” Janco asked, but he didn’t wait for an answer, “Bavol’s your clan leader, and the Council is under the Cartel’s influence. If you said something to them, you could have been arrested or conscripted or killed.”