Jade War

Hilo made a face and sat down on the edge of the bed. No one in the family had been in touch with Lan’s ex-wife since she’d left. Surely, though, she must’ve heard of his death. “She’s not going to want to hear from me,” he said. “Eyni and I never got along very well. What am I supposed to say to her now?”

Wen crouched down next to her husband’s legs and stared insistently up into his face. She knew that Hilo had never been fond of his brother’s wife, but what did that matter? His personal feelings about Eyni weren’t nearly as important as doing what was right for this young child. As soon as Wen had laid eyes on the photo of Nikolas, she’d felt her heart melting. “Tell her she can come back to Janloon,” Wen said. “She’s willing to return, but she needs the Pillar’s permission.”

“She’d want to bring that foreigner back with her, the one she cheated on Lan with,” Hilo said, with an edge in his voice.

“Even so, I’m sure Lan would’ve set aside the issue of honor and allowed them to return if it meant bringing his son back to Kekon.” Wen shoved the letter and the photo back onto Hilo’s lap. “Write back to Eyni and tell her that we discovered her letter just now. Tell her that she’s forgiven and that she’s welcome to come home and raise her son in Janloon, where he can know his family. Niko must be two years old by now. It’s not right for him to be living so far away, growing up in a jadeless culture and surrounded by foreigners.”

Hilo rubbed a hand over his eyes, but he nodded. “You’re right,” he said. “I won’t ever be able to think of Eyni as my sister, but I’d put up with her and that man-whore she ran off with, for the sake of the kid.” He folded the letter and tucked it back into the envelope but kept looking at the photograph. Wen could see him trying to internalize the idea of this baby being his nephew, who he hadn’t even known existed. “Maybe you should be the one to write to Eyni,” he suggested.

Wen saw right away that it was a better idea. “Of course,” she agreed, standing up. “She’ll be more likely to welcome the assurances of another woman. I’ll write back to her today and ask her to come visit, so we can meet the baby.”

She could see Hilo warming to the idea now; it was like watching clouds in the sky break apart beneath sunlight. He smiled in that boyish, lopsided way that Wen knew she could never adequately capture on camera or in a drawing, though she had tried. Hilo handed the letter back to her but tucked the photograph into his shirt pocket. “When you write to Eyni, let her know that I’m willing to put the past behind us. When she returns to Janloon, she’ll have the clan’s assistance. We’ll help her get a house, a job, whatever she needs. She’ll believe it more coming from you than me. And of course, I’d treat Lan’s son like my own.”

Wen put her arms around Hilo’s neck and gave him a grateful kiss. Her husband could be shortsighted and stubborn; sometimes he hung on to strict principles or personal grudges that clouded his better judgment, but he possessed the most valuable quality in any person, especially a clan leader, which was the ability to put others first, no matter the prevailing opinion or the personal cost.

Hilo wrapped an arm around her waist and placed the flat of his hand against her abdomen. “When can we tell people? After the old man’s funeral and everything else that’s been going on lately, we need some good news around here.”

“Let’s do it as soon as you get back,” Wen said. She was struck by a sudden pang of fear that her words might’ve tempted misfortune to befall his trip. She tightened her grip around Hilo’s neck and confessed, “I’m worried. I think your sister’s right; it’s not worth it for you to go to that place.”

“I’ll have Tar with me,” Hilo said lightly.

“So I’ll have to worry about both of you.”

Hilo gave her waist a reassuring squeeze. “The Mountain wants me dead. I’m in danger every day right here in Janloon. Why should you be especially anxious about this?”

Wen said, “Ayt is proposing a truce because she can’t afford to kill you right now. If she did, it would plunge the city into further violence at a time when she doesn’t have the public support or strength in warriors to handle it. You’re safer here.”