But he was part of her family—hermagicfamily.
“Then let us go,Jo.”
They departed together, hacker and healer, human and elf, walking against the commotion of the room and the steadily growing crowd, back to a nondescript supply closet. Eslar held out a hand and a familiar door appeared, the code to which Jo knew magically with only aglance.
The door opened, and the familiar smell of the briefing room greetedthem.
Chapter 29
Clean Slate
“DON’TYOU HAVE something better to do than wait for people to return?” Jodeadpanned.
Snow had been waiting in his chair upon their arrival, staring at the Door with the look of a father about to scold his children. But Jo wasn’t about to take a reprimanding quietly, not when she’d just done goodwork.
Before she could open her mouth, however, Eslar steppedin.
“Your parameters are set, Snow,” he said, matter-of-fact. “The wish is yours togrant.”
The diversion didn’t work; Snow simply got to his feet and stared them both down. “When I barred you from this wish,” he said to Jo, before turning his attention to Eslar, “that was an order, not asuggestion.”
“Jo’s skills were paramount to the success of this mission. Without her, the Severity of Exchange had no hope of getting even close to the necessary parameters, and you know it.” For the first time, Jo witnessed Eslar’s calm demeanor shift, not so much like a fracture but like the distant tremors that forewarned of a much largerearthquake.
Unlike the last time someone had attempted—rather poorly—to stick up for her in this briefing room, Jo found herself floored by the determination Eslar suddenly showed. Even Snow seemed mildly affronted, not quite sure how to handle having his supposed right-hand man take any side other than hisown.
“She was not ready and had already cost us a widening of the Exchange,” Snow tried. When he crossed his arms over his chest, Jo couldn’t help but notice that his hands were clenched into tight fists. “Your recklessness could have cost us further widening if she was unsuccessfuland—”
“But she wasn’t. And it didn’t,” Eslar cut himoff.
Jo sighed, mumbling more to herself this time than to anyone present. “I’m right here,guys.”
“You are blindly diving into wishes with an inexperienced member who has already proven to be reckless. You had no idea how she would react or what she mightdo.”
“I know where this is coming from.” That statement from Eslar piqued Jo’s interest. His voice had gone soft, almost sorrowful, and his whole demeanorchanged.
“Don’t,” Snowcautioned.
“I was there, then. I know thatshe—”
“Enough!” Snow silenced the elf with a glare. Eslar just huffed, hardlybemused.
As much as Jo wanted to see where that line of discussion was headed, she didn’t think riling up Snow further was a smart idea. She took it upon herself to step in before either could regain their footing in theconfrontation.
“Look,” Jo sighed, the sound of her voice in the silence actually managing to startle the two men. She would have found it funny if not for the stress headache currently forming between her eyes. “Snow, I know I messed up, and I’m sorry. But you can’t reprimand me and then give me no chances for redemption. And I’m sorry if trying to make things right looks like ‘going rogue’ toyou.”
Jo ran a hand over her face, the sense memory of a thumb wiping tears away from her cheekbone entering her mind unbidden. Why couldn’t she shake that memory? It was the first scrap of comfort she’d felt in her new world, certainly. But that didn’t permit it to creep forward at every possibleopportunity.
“I wanted to fix it, and I didn’t have much to go off of, so I made my own way. It’s what I’ve always done and, frankly, what I’ll continue to do. I may not be familiar with all the logistics here—and on that note, I do recommend some actual training for new recruits. But Iknewthat I could help fix my errors. Eslar agreed, and we managed to get the jobdone.
“But even if you think it was nothing more than recklessness, at the very least, tell me you believe me when I say that I only have the best interests of the team inmind?”
Another lengthy pause followed, this one a bit more nerve-wracking than the first. While Snow’s gaze on her seemed tense and unsure, Eslar’s seemed almost proud. And that had to count forsomething.
“Eslar,” Snow finally spoke, his first word in what felt like hours. Despite his insubordination, Jo couldn’t help but notice the way the elf reluctantly straightened beneath the demanding tone. When Snow spoke again, however, his tone was softer, less of a demand and more of a request. “Will you excuse Jo andme?”
For a split second, Jo wanted to look to Eslar in a panic, beg him to stay, but something in Snow’s eyes seemed more docile than before. And damn it all if Jo wasn’t a slave to curiosity. Not to mention, if it was just the two of them, maybe she could finally get herself someanswers.
Eslar nodded, once to Snow and once to Jo in turn, before leaving the briefingroom.
