Idra paces back and forth across the warm dirt, his compact but powerful shoulders reflecting a small portion of the moonlight that spills into the greenhouse. Despite being a full head-and-shoulders taller than Idra, Rel had always viewed his father’s Jiniyali as larger than life, not by the physical space he occupies, but by the overbearing presence he exudes when entering a room. Rel can’t remember a time he didn’t feel weighed, measured, and judged unfit if Idra was in the room.

Acting as his father’s personal guardian, it doesn’t take people long to find out that the former sailor’s lack of height and bulk are more than made up for in speed and power. When Rel was small, Idra nearly always wore ill-fitting kaftans that hid the deep lines and grooves of his meticulously-sculpted form, but it’s been many seasons since the element of surprise preceded his reputation, and Idra now exclusively wears plain sleeveless tunics, belted with simple cord around the waist.

To rub salt in the wound, Idra excels with Shade magic’s more illusory spells, able to bend and shift the perception around him enough to take full advantage of his lightning-quick speed and reflexes. Rel used to love watching the way Idra would toy with any man or woman who had the audacity to claim magic’s best potential is in striking directly. Something about the way their pride would fracture like brittle leaves under a beast’s stomping hooves as Idra ended a friendly duel with an old-fashioned punch to the jaw made Rel see the world as full of undiscovered potential, hungry to be uncovered and taken full advantage of.

Idra’s thick, black hair sometimes caused the more rural clan-folk to stare with the odd way it grew straight and down to the ground, and he kept it long enough to frame his face in a way that hid his natural beauty but emphasized the well of intensity pouring from his almond-shaped eyes as they peered out from under wide, heavy brows.

The day Sati had been nominated to become Watcher of Clans, Idra had pledged his life to him, and shortly before Rel had been born, Idra became Jiniyali and performed the blood oath, making it official. Rel had deduced that being Sati’s son didn't automatically extend Idra’s duties to him, and even though the man is one of only a handful of people who’ve known Rel his entire life, Rel feels like he’s just another drop in the bucket of people all too ready to criticize every waking moment of his life.

“Tell me why you separated yourself from your father and the others so soon after the start of such an important Collaboration,” Idra says, looking Rel up and down with those ever-prying eyes.

Rel clenches his jaw, using every ounce of self-control to keep even a single muscle from twitching with misplaced guilt. The amount of trouble Idra would cause if he had even an inkling of what Rel had been up to is unthinkable, and Rel doubts he can bear the intensity of the man’s scrutiny in full force.

“I needed some air. As you well know, I prefer a quiet space to think and concentrate better when I’m not being talked at or facing a barrage of questions like Amina is so well known for hurling at people for her own amusement. After you left, she started in and didn't let up.”

“Quick thinking under pressure is an asset.”

“That’s not what I said, and you know it.”

Satisfied with the one move he knew always forced Idra to change the subject, mentioning Amina, Rel glances to the corner where Kywen and Sundeera quietly wait, having watched Idra yank him from his stupor and immediately begin laying into him the moment he dragged Rel down from the viewing room and into the greenhouse, the large and humid glass structure being the only place nearby that offered any sense of privacy in the aftermath of the explosions.

Kywen, crouching in a deep squat with her wide eyes and animated expressions, sits in stark contrast to Sundeera and her unruffled indifference as she leans against the door frame. He knew it was a gamble to keep them nearby, but he couldn’t let Kywen leave without returning the gems. The sooner he gets Idra on a different track, the sooner he can get the borrowed gems back where they belong and move on to finding out what happened to his family.

“Listen, Jorrel, I know you’re upset," he soothes, "but you were the last person to see the rest of your family before the attack. I’m not doing my job if I don’t ask you the same questions I’d ask anyone else.”

Rel’s shoulders tighten, and the barrel he sits on creaks softly.

Idra stops his pacing and stands directly behind Rel, pausing for a few moments before speaking again.

“When you were small, you liked to hide in the strangest places and wait for someone to find you. It frightened your parents the first handful of times you’d suddenly disappear, only to be found somewhere ghastly. Under a pile of death shrouds, buried in a heap of manure, curled up in the jaws of a Cybrean Rockharpy that had been mounted on the wall. Each time you were found safe and smiling, their worries lessened until it became a game between the three of you. While your parents could never figure out which odd little place you would fixate on next, I always knew exactly where to find you.”

Rel shrugs. “I don’t remember that.”

“Ask yourself why that is, Jorrel.”

“I’ll put in on my list.”

Idra places his hands on Rel’s shoulders and smiles. “I expect no less from you.” After an awkward silence that extends several painful seconds, Rel can no longer sit still and slides out from under Idra’s palms, standing up to his full height.

“What information, exactly, do you need from me to do your job, Jini?”

“From anyone else, that would be an insult, but to answer your question, what I ask is simple. Where were you before, during, and after the Collaboration’s opening ceremonies? Well, aside from the one room in which I can personally vouch for you,” Idra says smoothly while pointing to the rainbow gum tree.

Rel tries to swallow, but his throat becomes drier the longer Idra remains staring at him, unblinking, and he almost chokes on his own spittle.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Kywen jump to her feet, but before he can stop her, she’s already spilling his secrets to Idra.