Chapter Fifteen
Toni stopped in hertracks and gaped at her com, though it was an audio-only connection.“You’re okay if I leave?Forever?”She couldn’t believe her ears.
“Of course not.It breaks my heart to think I’d only ever see you on vid for the rest of my life.But Toni, this mess involving the All and the Darks has been weighing on me these past few weeks.Hearing of the Forever Trip to Parts Unknown...what some are calling it...tells me the Kalquorian Empire believes our chances of survival aren’t great.”
“All the more reason for me to stick close and help you and Stacy however I can.”
“No.”The misery vanished from Rosa’s tone, replaced by firm resolve.“All the more reason for at least one of my children to get the hell out of Dodge.Stacy won’t and can’t because she’s taking care of Earth.But you can.Baby, you can live and help our people survive.It’ll be all I need to help me cope when I’m missing you.”
“But if anything happens to you—”
“You can’t stop an alien force from hurting me or your sister.You can’t stop the All from destroying Haven and Earth.But you can be part of keeping it from destroying humanity.So go.”
“Mom, it isn’t so simple.”
“Antonia Jasmine Nichols, tell me here and now your heart’s desire,” Rosa barked.
The familiar demanding tone, used when Rosa had decided she was done being reasonable, brought on the instinct to answer her mother without dithering.“I want to go.”
“Then I’m on my way to Earth to say goodbye.”
On that firm note, she told Toni she loved her and clicked off.Her knees weak, Toni went to the sofa and sat.
“Am I really doing this?Should I?”
Her mother obviously thought so.Despite admitting how much she wished to join Clan Imon on the expedition, Toni wasn’t so sure it was the right thing to do.
How would Stacy react?
The door opened, and Imon, Feru, and Wovir filed in, having been given free access to her home.Feru took one look at her, and his bright smile wavered.“What’s wrong?”
He could already read her moods, even when she attempted to put a bold face on.“You boys better sit.”
Concern replaced the way their features lit when they saw her...what had she done to deserve such an automatic caring response, she wondered?Feru perched in his usual spot on the table so he could face her.Wovir, not a sit-down type of guy, stood close.Imon sat next to her.
“So,” she began, trying to choose the right words.“I did a thing out of simple curiosity.I sent in an application for the expedition as an interspecies negotiator-in-training.”
Raised eyebrows surrounded her.“You got it.”Imon’s tone told her it wasn’t a guess.Why would it be when she’d brought it up?
“I’ve been accepted enthusiastically.I’m apparently the only Earther interested in joining the diplomatic team.”
“Are you interested?You said you sent it in out of curiosity,” Feru said.
She drew a deep breath.“I am.But I’m unsure.I commed my mother under the impression she’d talk me out of it because we’d see each other just on vid for the rest of our lives.She told me to go.”
