"You're saying that you're from our future," says Jassin. His face slowly drains of color. "And that... things didn't go well."
His voice cracks slightly. "But somehow, you traveled back in... time..." He trails off, and looks at Alinsa, eyes widening. She turns away from him, just enough to avoid meeting his eyes. "But... but you... can't control it. You can't do what they're saying, creating wards and setting contingencies and..."
Jassin can't finish, and Alinsa is resolute in not looking at him. Finally, he kneels down in front of her and reaches up to gently turn her face toward him. "Can you? Control it?" he whispers.
Alinsa's eyes are filled with tears as she looks at her husband. "Sometimes. When I really have to," she says in a small voice. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Jas, but I couldn't... I didn't want you to live with having that knowledge. With having to keep that secret. I couldn't put you in that kind of danger."
Wordlessly, Jassin puts his arms around her shoulders and draws her into a tight embrace. After a few moments, he says to her, "And do you trust what these people have to say? Should we follow their advice?"
She nods. "They wouldn't be here if we couldn't trust them."
Jassin holds his wife at arm's length, searching her face, and finally nods his acceptance. "We will leave as soon as we can. We can always rebuild a home, as long as we live."
There are a few minutes of grateful thanks exchanged, much of the tension draining from the room as a plan of action is agreed upon, at least in a preliminary fashion.
Alinsa, finding herself next to Verrian, answers the other woman's earlier question. "Adaye of Nigen is her name," she says, watching Verrian's face for hints of recognition. "We worked together quite a bit some years ago. I grew up in eastern Hara, near the border with Nauca. She was the one that encouraged me to come to Hara in the first place, so at the very least, I owe her for that, since it put me in Jassin's path."