Mahrree held her hand over her mouth. “But if someone stopped them, wouldn’t that person tell you what happened? He’d be quite the hero, you know. Recognizing a plot to assassinate the High General then stopping it—”
“Unless,” Perrin whispered, “whoever saved the High General is not someone who enjoys attention.”
Mahrree’s chest tightened. “Perrin, when I found your father, he was in the hospital interrogating Sh—”
“Don’t say it, Mahrree,” he cut her off. “Don’t put his name with this.”
That puzzled her. Normally Perrin would be the first to analyze every possibility. And not so long ago, he interrogated Shem himself and concluded he wasn’t a spy. Shem proved to be a hero in the Guarder raid, and if he had now stopped an assassination, he certainly would be looking at another round of applause at the amphitheater.
“But why not? Perrin, if he did do this, then—”
“Mahrree, think it through,” he said steadily. “If it is who we suspect, then how would he have known they were Guarders? How would he have known what they were up to?”
Mahrree paled with realization.
“No,” she said shortly, as everything she thought of her claimed little brother threatened to unravel in her head. It was worse than the notion that Guarders infiltrated Command School. Was Perrin actually hinting that a Guarder may have even infiltrated their family?! “No. No way that he is. He’s not one of them, Perrin! I would never believe that. NO!”
“Mahrree, Mahrree,” he reached over and patted her hand, “I agree. He’s not one of them, and that’s why I refuse to put his name with this. But Mahrree, for one moment, consider this question with me: if he did this, how did he know to do it?”
“But he didn’t! He—”
“The surgeon said only a very strong man could have plunged in those long knives to their handles.”
Tears filled Mahrree’s eyes. “Stop with this game and TELL me what you suspect about Shem Zenos!”
“He did it, Mahrree,” Perrin whispered bleakly. “He saved my father and mother, and he doesn’t want anyone to know. Because he’s hiding something more from us.”
Mahrree closed her eyes briefly and whimpered. “No.”
“When I look into his eyes,” Perrin continued, his voice growing husky, “they’re like deep blue pools. But my father taught me how to read people. His ‘pools’ are very shallow. He blocks me, quite subtly. But Mahrree,” he said now with a more optimistic tone, “Shem is on our side. I’m sure of it. I don’t know where he came from, but he’s ours now. I still trust him, just like Hogal. And as Hogal said, we best keep him very close. He may be our only chance to survive.”
“But we have to find out the truth of who he is,” Mahrree whispered.
“Are you sure you want to know the truth?” he prodded.
“What kind of question is that?” she scoffed. “Of course I do!”
“But Mahrree,” he said with sudden sharpness, “with truth comes responsibility, too. You can’t live in the existence you’ve crafted for yourself if the truth conflicts with it.”
She recognized his debating voice, and she developed a dangerous gleam in her eye. “But if that existence is a lie, then isn’t it better to find the truth?”
“I really don’t know,” he muttered, abruptly giving up. “This may sound juvenile, but I like the world we’ve created with our favorite soldier. I don’t want to lose any of that. Do you?”
She lost her debating energy too. This wasn’t an academic argument; this was about their little brother.
Then again . . .
“Are you sure the truth would ruin it?” she whispered. “I’m not. We have to find out, Perrin!”
“So what are you going to do?” he challenged. “Ask Shem Zenos who he really is? If he knows something more than he’s letting on to? My father’s interrogating him right now. If he endures that and comes out clean, there’s nothing more you’ll get out of him.”
“I’ll just wait for the right moment,” she decided. “When his guard’s down. My little brother doesn’t keep secrets from me.”
“What if he does to protect you, Mahrree?” he asked. “To protect all of us?”
She pondered that for a moment. “Lies don’t protect,” she declared. “The truth is always better.”
“Oh really?” Perrin raised an eyebrow. “Remember telling me that had you known the Guarders had you and Jaytsy marked almost two years ago, you probably would have been so terrified you might have birthed early and we wouldn’t have Peto now? My lie kept you and our son safe.” He folded his arms and waited for her retort.