Cal leaned against the tree trunk, silent. He just wanted to close his eyes.
Suddenly, Frida’s hand was on his arm. “I’m afraid for our child’s life,” she said. “Aren’t you?” she asked.
Cal was going to say, Yes, more than anything, yes. He wanted to say, That’s why you should have kept quiet. Instead he said, “It’s okay, Frida, it’s going to be okay.”
But she was looking at her brother.
“You sent all those kids away,” she said.
“I did,” Micah replied, and he was so calm about it, Cal could sock him.
“It’s not something to be so blasé about,” Cal said, a panic rising in him. Micah had said he’d keep Frida safe, but did that mean he’d protect the child, too? “What about our baby?” he asked.
“What about it?”
“Would you have taken my child away from me?” Frida asked.
“There is no taking,” Micah said. “I never took anything from anyone.” He gestured to the trees around them, some still dripping with water from all the rain. “You really think you’re special? That just because you’re family, you mean more to me than anyone else?” He sighed.
“Is that what the Group taught you?” Frida said.
Micah grunted. “Hardly. The Group taught me that some things are worth sacrificing everything for.” He paused. “And then they taught me not to trust anyone.”
Frida put her hand on her belly, as if to shield it from a blow. “Was it really necessary to break up the families?” she asked. “Or did Pines make you an offer for those kids that you couldn’t refuse?”
“This isn’t about my powers of refusal.”
“Anika loved Ogden.”
“Ogden?” Cal said, and then shut up. Of course—Anika had been a mother.
“Ogden was still an infant when he went to Pines,” Micah said, “and he was sick a lot. He was underweight. He couldn’t hold his head up.” He rubbed an index finger along the wood planks between them, as if to erase a smudge. “I was doing them a favor. I saved his life.”
Frida didn’t answer, and Micah said, “You have no response because you know it’s true.”
“What about Jane?” she asked. “Did you think she’d die out in the wilderness?”
“To be honest, I wasn’t sure,” Micah said. “No one was here against their will, not even Anika, no matter what she tells you.” He paused. “The Millers had more skills than anyone else on the Land, which was partly why they were eager to live on their own. They were very independent. I admired them, actually.”
“Why didn’t Peter and Anika go with them?” Frida asked.
“Peter and Anika?” Cal asked. “Why would Peter go anywhere with Anika—”
“Catch up, Cal, will you?” Micah said.
“Answer my question,” Frida said.
Micah smiled. “I didn’t encourage it. I told them leaving the Land, even together, was asking for trouble. Just look at how they fared before I’d arrived. And, anyway, Peter was happy Ogden could go to Pines—he’d be safe there. And he wasn’t with Anika by then anyway. The point is he wanted to stay on the Land, and I was grateful. I offered to help the Millers get settled, to send a team to build their house, and to make sure August came regularly.”
“In exchange for what?” Cal asked.
“That they stay away from us, live far enough away that we would never see them again.” He turned to Frida. “Anika didn’t tell you about this little negotiation?”
Frida shook her head.
“Not that the Millers ever expressly invited Anika to join them. Sandy always thought she was a bit uptight.”
“Don’t be cruel,” Frida said.
“I’m being honest,” Micah said. “The truth is, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of Anika. Her relationship with Peter gives her a modicum of power. It’s over between them, of course, has been for a while, even before we arrived. But those two have history. Peter looks out for her.” He grimaced. “She has to be tended to.”
“Peter wants me to have my baby here,” Frida said. “He’s excited, I can tell.”
For the first time since they’d ascended the tree house, Micah looked rattled. He stood and grabbed the railing, as if to anchor himself from a strong wind.
“Peter’s just being friendly,” he said.
“You sure about that?” Cal asked.
Micah nodded. He was already backing away; he was already trying to leave them here.
“Micah,” Frida said.
“What is it, my dear?” he asked, his voice icy.
“Why didn’t you let Ogden keep the Bee?”
Cal looked at his wife. What the hell was she talking about? “What’s the Bee?” he asked.
Micah wouldn’t even look at Cal. His eyes were on his older sister.
“I thought there might come a time that I’d need it again.”
“For what?” Frida whispered.
“Imagine what would happen if we had another baby here. There’s protocol: we believe in containment, and children aren’t allowed.”