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the woman he one day wanted to start a life with, his best friend and the only constant thing in his life for the last several years — cooked him breakfast.
    Dani's parents were very high up in the Carules ranks. That was why she'd had to come to him in the first place. Simply leaving the war had not been an option.
    He shook his head. No way. Most of the time Dani didn't even know where Ari was going until she spoke to Will, and that was sometimes hours after the battle was over. It wasn't Dani.
    “I'll look on my end, too. Thanks, Mom.”
    “I'll keep you posted. I love you Will.”
    “I love you, too.” Will hung up, and as always when he hung up with her, his heart was slightly shattered. He hadn't seen her in a decade. He never knew if the last time he talked to her would be the last time he ever got to talk to her. Hanging up took a lot of willpower.
    He trudged back up the stairs, cursing the fact that his mother had planted a seed of suspicion in his heart. It couldn't be Dani. She would never do that to Ari. Or him.
    Would she?
    “Hey. Any luck?” Dani asked, smiling as he walked into the kitchen.
    “She's checking things out on her end. We'll see.”
    Dani hesitated, laying the spatula on the counter as if she were half frozen. Then she turned toward him, and wrapped her arms around his neck, sliding close enough that she could lean her head against his shoulder.
    He froze. This was new territory. He'd never kissed her, never had his arms around her except when they were training and she got hurt. He'd thought himself brave just for holding her hand.
    “It will be okay, Will. We'll find a way to protect Ari.”
    He relaxed, molecule by molecule, until his arms would finally respond to his brain signals and slide themselves around her waist. They stood like that for what seemed like an eternity, but at the same time, not long enough at all.
    Until suddenly she jerked up, nearly bashing his chin in with the top of her head. “I know!”
    She was practically dancing, she was so excited. Will raised an eyebrow and tried not to laugh. “What is it, exactly, that you know?”
    She frowned at him, but her eyes still sparkled. “I know lots of things, Will. But this — how did I not think of this before?”
    He leaned against the counter and waited expectantly, crossing his arms over his chest. She was so cute when she got excited.
    “My parents.”
    This time both eyebrows shot up in surprise and he opened his mouth and closed it several times without being able to form any coherent words.
    “Will, they know everything. They can find out where these extra warriors are being sent and we can warn Ari before she gets there!” Dani's face broke into an excited grin and she bounced on her toes.
    Will hated to crush that enthusiasm, he really did. And he also hated to turn away the one strand of hope he'd been offered as a way to protect Ari. But he had no choice. “It isn't safe, Dani. If your parents got caught, they'd be executed. Your entire family would be. I appreciate the offer, but I can't ask that of you, or them.”
    Dani scowled at him, the sparkle dying in her eyes like he had been afraid it would. “Then I won't do it for you. I'll do it for Ari.” By the stubborn way she folded her arms across her chest, Will knew he would lose this fight.
    He had to fight, anyway. “They could trace the contact with them to you, and from there to me, and from me to Ari. Then they could use them against us. It is a very unselfish idea, Dani. I know you love Ari—”
    “Us?” Dani whispered, cutting him off.
    Will frowned, confused. “Yeah, they would use your family against us. And—”
    Dani shook her head. “My family means enough to you that they could be used against you? I mean enough to you?”
    He was becoming more confused by the second. Resisting the urge to scratch his head, he said, “Well, yeah. They're your family, right? And you're important to me, so of course they—”
    She closed the