Much like Lana had done, he crouched next to her, concern in eyes identical to the pair she saw in her mirror every morning.
“What are you doing here, brother? It’s midday. Don’t you have duties?”
“I could ask you the same, little star.”
As emotional as she was, the nickname he’d given her as a girl made tears spring to her eyes.
“I wasn’t feeling well,” she said softly. “I’ll be better by tomorrow, I’m sure.”
He laid his hand on her forehead then ran his fingers over her cheek, much as he had done when she was a child to check for a fever. He’d make an excellent father in a few months because he’d taken excellent care of her.
“It was but a headache, Trask. Already it is passing.”
“I think it’s more, as does Lana. I heard the same from Eryn and the prima who observed your very odd behavior in the park. It’s time to let me know what is bothering you.”
“Nothing is bothering me other than being six weeks behind in my studies. I would have taken my exams last week if I hadn’t come home early.”
“That is a disappointment, I’m sure, but it’s only a small delay, Adri. Not enough to cause the pervasive sadness that has come over you. I think it’s something else. Perhaps to do with Beck Kincaid. Did something happen on the colony you haven’t shared?”
Her eyes cut to his. “Why would you think that?”
“The fact you were livid with him when you got home, and, according to Eva and Eryn, you nearly trampled people to get away from him yesterday.” His face was dark as he urged, “Tell me truthfully, little star. Did he hurt you in some way? If so, I’ll break his neck. Councilman or not, treaty or otherwise.”
“He didn’t do anything,” she insisted, but couldn’t hold his gaze. Trask knew her better than anyone and could root out even a hint of a lie, so she added some truth. “Except for being instrumental in me being sent home, that is.”
“But, Adri, Kincaid didn’t send you home. I made that decision as soon as I heard three murders occurred near where you lived, and you without a man to see to your protection.”
“They died from spider bites, Trask. Besides, I had a man to protect me. Two of your elite guards dogged my heels constantly.”
“They were ordered to.”
“I was doing fine for weeks on my own. Then, suddenly, Beck Kincaid was minding my business rather than his own.”
“Why would that be?”
She shrugged. “I thought we were friends. It turns out I was a replacement for Lana, his weekly drinking buddy at the local bar, nothing more.”
“Hmm... Quite a reaction to nothing, little star. In his defense, though I can’t reason why I’d come to his defense, he didn’t say a word to me about you coming home.”
“No, Ellar did after Beck put him up to it.”
“Wrong again. I ordered you home before Ellar sent word of what happened. He was concerned, as was Kincaid, who suggested your guards be increased, not that you leave entirely. I didn’t feel comfortable with that. I worry about you being so far away, and, with trouble on the colony, I wanted you here, where you would be safe.”
She sat up. “You mean Beck didn’t...?”
“No. You have me to blame for not getting to take your exams on time, but not for ordering your retraining. That was in Ellar’s purview as your supervising physic in response to your death-defying rescue attempt.”
Her eyes rolled up toward the ceiling. “It wasn’t an attempt. I saved him, and I’d do it again.”
“Obviously, you haven’t been paying attention in class this second time through. I heard about Kincaid taking you to task for not following safety protocol as well.”
“The injured man couldn’t wait.”
“How long did it take to secure him after you did what you did? Seconds?”
A brilliant strategist—he was the supreme general, after all—Trask squelched her reasoning with some of his own. She kept her mouth shut, unhappily so, knowing where this was leading, and it wasn’t to her side.
“If you’d waited those few seconds, ensuring your safety as well as his, are you saying he wouldn’t have pulled through?”
“It’s possible,” she admitted grudgingly.
“Many things are possible, little star, but was it probable?” When she didn’t answer, he had a follow-up question. “Is it also probable Kincaid was right, and, in hindsight, you agree but are too stubborn to admit it?”
“Did I ever mention it’s annoying when you’re rational and right all the time?”
His dimple flashed. “You have, as well as my mate, but that doesn’t answer my question.”
“Yes. It’s plausible Beck was right, and I was merely stubborn. With experience, I’ll learn to weigh the benefits against the risks. If I’d fallen, I realize we both could have died.”
“An outcome that doesn’t bear thinking for me, little star. What would I do without my sister, my mate without her friend, and my unborn daughter without an aunt to love her?”
“It’s a girl?” she asked excitedly. “When did you find out?”
“We haven’t. Lana wants to be surprised for some bizarre reason.”
Quite perplexed, she agreed, “That is bizarre. I wouldn’t be able to stand the wait.”
“Whether a boy or a girl matters not to me, but I have a gut feeling I’ll have a third female to worry about soon.”
She laid her hand on his bearded cheek. “I’m overjoyed for you, Trask.”
“Does that extend to Lana? Have you forgiven her?”
“Of course. What she did was out of concern for you.”
He looked at her, brows raised.
“As did you by bringing me home, brother,” she conceded.
“Your health and safety come before any test, little star.”
She stared at him, understanding his need to protect her but feeling like a perfectly horrible friend and a shrew in the process. “I owe Beck an apology.”
He slid his arm around her shoulders and squeezed. “It would seem so. I knew you’d find that wisdom.”
“I should take care of that without further delay. Do you know where he’s staying while in Ariad?” It was on the tip of her tongue to ask about the fair-haired human, too, but she’d given away so much already.
“Was staying,” he corrected. “Your apology will have to wait. Kincaid left on the Dauntless, which was making a supply run to the colony this morning.”
“My timing always seems to be off,” she muttered, shoulders slumping in disappointment.
“I could arrange a video transmission, if it will lessen your guilt and have you smiling again.”
She considered it but shook her head. “I think this is better done in person. Whether he accepts it remains to be seen. I said some not very nice things to him. Then snubbed his overtures yesterday.”
“I’m sure, if you’re the friends you say are and he’s the man I know him to be, you can patch things up again.”
She threw her arms around her brother’s neck. “Why can you always make me feel better?”
“Because that’s what big brothers do. The same way you consoled me when I was desolate over my faithless mate.”
“I called her names and plied you with vilo to help you forget.”
“Exactly what I needed at the time. Then you defended me when she returned, and, later, when I reclaimed her, you accepted her as my mate as you did the first time. You’re dear to me, Adri, and will always hold a special place in my heart.”
“As will you, Trask.”
He kissed her forehead. “Now that we have that settled, you are ordered to appear for dinner tonight. Lana is making sushi.”
“What’s that?”
“Raw fish wrapped in seaweed, as best I could tell from her description.”
She grimaced at the notion. “That sounds positively awful.”
“I’ll agree with you,” he said with a chuckled. “But you liked her spaghetti and meatb
alls, and her Tex-Mex that set my lips on fire, and neither of us can get enough of her turtle cheesecake.”
“I looked up turtles in the Earth database.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust. “I can’t imagine how it got its name.” Eyeing him thoughtfully, she put to words what she’d often wondered of late. “How are you not twice the size you are after eating Lana’s cooking every day?”
“I get my exercise on training days. Sixteen hours of drills and battle simulations with my warriors will allow me to eat my mate’s cooking for a lifetime and not get soft around the middle.”
“I might have to join you.”
“Maker forbid,” he uttered as he rose and held out his hand to help her up. “The other reason you’re coming to dinner is to prove to Lana you’re not going to end it all in this big house by yourself, heartbroken and in an epic depression over Kincaid. I told her it was preposterous. You’ve dreamed of a career as a physic since you were a little girl and wouldn’t be so foolish as to let a man get in the way, but she wants to see it for herself.”
Adria took his hand, not disputing his claim. She saw no reason to profess her tender feelings for Beck if she’d ruined her chance of being with him. If the best she could hope for was to repair their friendship, she’d have to accept that. But after her crazy suspicions and the way she’d acted yesterday, she wouldn’t blame him if he ran the other way when he next saw her.
Chapter Nine
Terra Nova, six weeks later. Population 20, 580.
On the edge of her seat—though only in a literal sense because she was securely strapped in—Adria sucked in a breath as the shuttle broke through the clouds and Terra Nova, brilliant like Primaria, but in pinks and yellows and greens, lots of greens, appeared in the large side window.
“Are you happy to be returning?”
She glanced at Remus, her guard for the day—security by a member of the elite guard whenever she left her apartment or the clinic a nonnegotiable condition of her return. Since her big brother’s order was issued to his warriors as well as her, he had every expectation it would be followed.
“Are you certain this is what you want?” Trask had whispered his question into her hair as he hugged her goodbye.
“Yes, I’m needed there more than here, where I am one in a field of hundreds.”
“But you’re my one and only sister. I’ll miss you.”
“As I will you, Trask. But I’ll be home in a few weeks to take my exams. After that, well, it’s not so very far we can’t visit.”
“This is true. And, with reason to, I might find myself coming to Terra Nova on business rather than delegating it.”
“And when I get homesick or so infuriated with Ellar I’m ready to break things, I’ll hop a ride on a returning battlecruiser or supply ship. They are blazing a trail between our worlds on a nearly daily basis.”
“The colony will be fortunate to have you, little star.” He squeezed her tight before letting her go. “It is winter there. You haven’t ever experienced such cold,” he cautioned.
“Lana warned me what to expect.”
She’d been standing quietly off to the side, allowing them a private moment. At the mention of her name, she joined them. “I also packed her thick socks, a heavy coat, and thermal undies.” They both looked at her in confusion. “You wear them underneath...” Lana waved her hand dismissively. “Trust me, Adri, when the wind whips down Main Street and cuts through your clothing, you’ll be thanking me for those long johns and agreeing they’re the best thing since sliced bread.”
“You’ve gone quiet, Adria.”
Remus’ deep voice penetrated her thoughts.
“I’m simply taking in all the changes in only three months.” To her, it had seemed one hundred times as long. “The entire landscape is different—and white. Is that snow covering the distant hillside?”
“Yes. The weather here is far more extreme than at home. The temperature dropped last night, and the rain that had been falling steadily froze. The unpaved roads are now a layer of mud, topped with ice and covered in snow. It makes walking hazardous.”
“I can imagine.”
As the shuttle continued its descent, she stared slack-jawed at the miles and miles of land cleared of trees and rocks then graded so it was practically level.
“We are crossing over farm country,” Remus explained. “Come spring, this entire area will be planted with crops to feed the colonists.”
Most of the fields were the same reddish-orange of the soil, plowed in neat even rows, ready for planting. But a few looked as though they still had crops.
“Did something happen that they missed the harvest before the snow arrived?”
“No. I’m told those are winter crops that can be planted and harvested the entire season.”
She nodded, eyes scanning as she tried to take it all in at once. “What are those brown dots I see everywhere?”
“Cows.”
Her head came around. “What are cows?”
His violet eyes flashed as he grinned. “Ever had a hamburger at Milton’s?”
“Yes, though I’d rather not recall the unpleasant experience.”
He nodded in understanding. “The dry unrecognizable brown stuff between the bread up until now will be replaced by beef, which comes from a cow. It’s supposed to be quite tasty.”
“It’s a staple, I take it?”
“That’s what I’m told.”
“Remus? Does ham come from a cow, too?”
“No, I believe that’s pork, which is pig. They haven’t made it to the colony yet.”
“Then why not call it a beef burger or a cow burger?”
“I don’t know, but anything is an improvement over what Milton’s has been serving. It’s not always ground up and cooked to the consistency of rubber. Evidently, there are many different cuts. One cut is called a ribeye. It’s juicy, flavorful, and one of the most incredible things I’ve ever tasted.”
She was barely able to contain her snort of skepticism. “That you got this incredible-tasting beef at Milton’s, I find impossible to believe.”
He chuckled. “Me, too. No. Some of the men had a gathering called a barbecue where they grilled ribeye steaks over an open fire. Tarus and I were lucky enough to have been invited. It’s doubtful I’ll ever be able to stomach the diner again after that because ‘Kincaid can grill a mean steak, let me tell ya’,” he declared in an exaggerated imitation of Beck’s lazy Texas drawl. “That’s a direct quote from several of the townsfolk who attended, and I’d have to agree.”
At the mention of his name, an image popped into her head of the last time she saw him. His smile had flashed when he spotted her across the rows of benches, but it had faded quickly when she’d snubbed him and run. She also could picture his pretty companion in vivid detail.
“Did he take a mate–a wife, I mean–while I’ve been away?”
She felt Remus shift beside her but kept her gaze trained out the window, hoping she hadn’t given too much away with her question.
“Wife? No. He still lives alone in the building behind his construction yard as far as I know. Why do you ask?”
“We had a chance encounter when he visited Primaria a few weeks ago. He was attending a concert with a woman. They looked friendly. I thought...” She shook her head. “Never mind what I thought. I was just curious. So...” She strove for bright and chipper when she changed the subject. “What else has happened while I’ve been away?”
“New Hope is over the next rise, and you’ll be able to see for yourself.”
This time she looked at him when she posed her question. “New Hope?”
“That’s what residents have decided to call their capital city.”
“Mm...it’s quite fitting.”
“Look there,” Remus told her.
When Adria leaned forward, following where he pointed, her jaw dropped. The small, dusty frontier town had grown in size at least tenfold. The six-story building that had been merely a shel
l three months prior was finished and surrounded by several others nearing completion. There were a dozen more streets and buildings upon buildings. Beyond the city lay row upon neat row of houses. And, where the town had been dark as soon as the sun set, it glowed with scores of streetlights.
“They must have the uladite power station up and running.”
“Yes. There is waste disposal and piped-in water now, and the Dauntless, which is the largest ship in the fleet, wasn’t only bringing the usual supplies. It delivered the final components to the communication relays scheduled for deployment tonight. The systems will go online as soon as tomorrow, once the testing is completed. Which reminds me...” He reached inside his tunic and pulled a communicator from an interior pocket. “This is yours. I don’t need to tell you what your brother said about it, do I?”
“Never leave home without it. I won’t forget, Remus. Trask drilled it into me with a host of other safety precautions before he agreed it was time I came back.”
“It’s been quiet for weeks, but you can never be too cautious.”
“I gave Trask my word and am giving it to you, too, Remus. I’ll be careful.” She tucked her communicator into her pocket and resumed watching what would be her new home as well, grow larger as they approached.
“How did they do all of this so quickly?”
“Kincaid knows what he’s doing. He had the land cleared, water and sanitation installed then, when the ships arrived with more construction workers and supplies, they only had to set things up. It took a day for each crew to build one house.”
“A day! That’s impossible.”
“Not if they’re manufactured on Earth and shipped ready to assemble. BRK has two hundred eight-man crews dedicated to residential construction. In only ninety days, they were able to put together enough housing for the current population, which has grown to over twenty thousand. It’s fortunate because many of the people were in tents. Now, with the weather turning and the snows on the way, they all have roofs over their heads and heat.” He, too, gazed out at the city. “It’s not nearly enough, but it’s a beginning and proves it can be done.”
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