“Maybe I don’t believe that anymore,” he said. “Maybe I just want to be free now. What if we have it all backward? And even if we don’t, there’s still the question of who the Fury are. What are they? How does something like that just pop out of nowhere and then disappear for a decade? Please tell me you’ve secretly wondered at least that much.”

I hated the thoughts his questions brought to my mind. He was playing with fire, and I’d made the terrible mistake of playing along.

I ground my teeth, no longer willing to argue. He was too clever for me anyway. I was always the naïve one, like he said, too childlike for my own good, but that didn’t matter to me now. What mattered was that we were still out in the open. The longer we stood out here, the more danger we faced.

Jamie opened his mouth to speak again, but I held up my hand to silence him, a gesture I wouldn’t dare with any other man.

“We need to go,” I said. Without another word I turned and hurried for the eastern section, which I knew would be free of guardians at this time. Jamie followed quickly, silent for now.

Though the perimeter wasn’t walled, Haven Valley’s guardians, seven men selected by Harrison and Rose to ensure our protection, conducted regular border sweeps. Different sections of the perimeter were checked at different times of the day. And those times changed regularly to discourage people from doing exactly what we were doing. Rose kept a copy of the schedule in her home office, an office I was privy to because I spent so much time in the Pierces’ home. Keeper of their three young children when Rose was tied up with administrative and church duties was one of my roles because of my love of children, they said. Rose was mentoring me.

I couldn’t count the number of hours I’d spent sitting in her office, listening to her teachings on the law. Now I was using that relationship to read the guardians’ schedule to ensure my brother could break the law without consequence.

I was wrong to have come. I should confess. The whole thing made my stomach turn.

Pausing only twice to keep from being detected, we returned to the center of town within ten minutes, no one the wiser. But even Jamie knew his absences for several hours at a time would be noticed and called into question soon enough. This had to stop. I decided then that no matter how much pressure Jamie applied, I wouldn’t be helping him again.

And maybe I really should confess to Rose. I would have to think about that.