Ender's Game (Ender Wiggins Saga)

world who know his identity. Not counting the Russians -- God only knows what they know. But Demosthenes has nothing to fear from us. Demosthenes can trust our discretion. Just as I trust Demosthenes not to tell Locke what's going on here today. Mutual trust. We tell each other things.”
      Valentine couldn't decide whether it was Demosthenes they approved of, or Valentine Wiggin. If the former, she would not trust them; if the latter, the perhaps she could. The fact that they did not want her to discuss this with Peter suggested that perhaps they knew the difference between them. She did not stop to wonder whether she herself knew the difference any more.
      "You said he built the raft. How long has be been here?”
      "Two months. We meant his leave to last only a few days. But you see, he doesn't seem interested in going on with his education.”
      "Oh. So I'm therapy again.”
      "This time we can't censor your letter, We're just taking our chances. We need your brother badly. Humanity is on the cusp.”
      This time Val had grown up enough to know just how much danger the world was in. And she had been Demosthenes long enough that she didn't hesitate to do her duty. "Where is he?”
      "Down at the boat slip.”
      "Where's the swimming suit?”
      Ender didn't wave when she walked down the hill toward him, didn't smile when she stepped onto the floating boat slip. But she knew that he was glad to see her, knew it because of the way his eyes never left her face.
      "You're bigger than I remembered," she said stupidly.
      "You too," he said. "I also remembered that you were beautiful.”
      "Memory does play tricks on us.”
      "No. Your face is the same, but I don't remember what beautiful means anymore. Come on. Let's go out into the lake.”
      She looked at the small raft with misgivings.
      "Don't stand up on it, that's all," he said. He got on by crawling, spiderlike, on toes and fingers. "It's the first thing I built with my own hands since you and I used to build with blocks. Peter-proof buildings.”
      She laughed. They used to take pleasure in building things that would stand up even when a lot of the obvious supports had been removed. Peter, in turn, liked to remove a block here or there, so the structure would be fragile enough that the next person to touch it would knock it down. Peter was an ass, but he did provide some focus to their childhood.
      "Peter's changed," she said.
       "Let's not talk about him," said Ender.
      "All right.”
      She crawled onto the boat, not as deftly as Ender. He used a paddle to maneuver them slowly toward the center of the private lake. She noticed aloud that he was sunbrowned and strong.
      "The strong part comes from Battle School. The sunbrowning comes from this lake. I spend a lot of time on the water. When I'm swimming, it's like being weightless. I miss being weightless. Also, when I'm here on the lake, the land slopes up in every direction.”
      "Like living in a bowl.”
      "I've lived in a bowl for four years.”
      "So we're strangers now?”
      "Aren't we, Valentine?”
      "No," she said. She reached out and touched his leg. Then, suddenly, she squeezed his knee, right where he had always been most ticklish.
      But almost at the same moment, he caught her wrist in his hand. His grip was very strong, even though his hands were smaller than hers and his own arms were slender and tight. For a moment he looked dangerous; then he relaxed. "Oh, yes," he said. "You used to tickle me.”
      In answer, she dropped herself over the side of the raft. The water was clear and clean, and there was no chlorine in it. She swam for a while, then returned to the raft and lay on it in the hazy sunlight. A wasp circled her, then landed on the raft beside her head. She knew it was there, and ordinarily would have been afraid of it. But not today. Let it walk on this raft, let it bake in the sun as I'm doing.
      Then the raft rocked, and she turned to see Ender calmly crushing the life out of the wasp with one finger. "These are a nasty breed," Ender said. "They sting you without waiting to be insulted first," He smiled. "I've been learning about pre-emptive strategies. I'm very good. No one ever beat me. I'm the best soldier they ever had.”
      "Who would expect less?" she said. "You're a Wiggin.”
      "Whatever that means," he said.
      "It means that you are going to make a difference in the world." And she told him what she and Peter