“Him?” Exton asked.
“DNA testing,” Emery said, a smile returning to her face. “It’s a boy.”
“Oh, congratulations,” Aerie cheered. “That’s wonderful, Emery.”
“I was thinking it would be nice to name him after Papa,” Emery said, as she looked back over to Exton. “Tyler’s already agreed to it.”
“Silas is not a bad name,” Exton replied. “And there’s not even a bad legacy to go with it. But I’d recommend making sure he’s well grounded in reality. I’d hate for Papa’s idealism to be his downfall, too. Especially since that seems to be the truth after all, and much more so than we thought.”
Emery laughed again. “He’ll have his cynical uncle to do just that.”
“Exton will have his work cut out for him because I’ll be there, too,” Aerie said. “And hey, maybe Marcus, too. He’s close to five. He might enjoy having a younger friend around.”
“He’s been getting along with the other babies and younger kids,” Emery said. “I talked to Alice and his other nanny, Joya, just the other day. They’ve been watching him almost exclusively since Merra’s capture. Even since she’s been back, they’ve been taking care of him.”
“Remember, this is my mother we’re talking about,” Aerie said. “She might be sad about Dorian, but I doubt anything would keep her down for long.”
“How is she taking the loss of St. Cloud?” Exton asked quietly. “I know it can’t be easy for her.”
There was a short pause, before Emery shrugged. “Well, actually, St. Cloud is alive,” she said.
Silence rocked through the room, as Aerie and Exton looked back and forth between each other and Emery sharing the same bewildered expression.
Emery nodded. “Come on, Exton,” she teased. “You should know the St. Cloud family well enough by now to know they’re apparently very hard to kill.”
“I can’t believe it,” Aerie said. “My father is alive.”
“What happened?” Exton shifted on the medical cot, nearly knocking Aerie out of the bed. “How?”
“Merra brought him here earlier today,” Emery said. “She told me about his plans to convince me to let her leave with one of our shuttles. He contacted her while he was up on the Perdition. He managed to stow away inside the Ark.”
“The Ark?” Exton felt his mouth drop open in shock.
“The Ark is protected by the Biovid. It was designed to withstand reentry pressures, and it has its own manual release. When the Perdition slammed into the GPI, it managed to stay intact.”
Aerie’s face lit up. “I remember now,” she said. “Bruce told me that the different rooms beneath the Biovid were designed to be extra escape pods, in case of an emergency.”
“Did St. Cloud know about it ahead of time?” Exton asked. “Did he know that was how he was going to cheat death?”
“I don’t know,” Emery said. “Why?”
“I want to know if he was up for sacrificing himself on purpose or if it was planned,” Exton said. “I’m curious.”
Morbidly curious, he admitted to himself.
“Come on, Exton,” Aerie said. “You can’t keep thinking that my father is some kind of mad genius plotting to take over the world. We just dealt with Osgood, and Osgood and my father are nothing alike.”
“Then it doesn’t strike you as odd that he’s now in position to be Dictator of the Fair World?” Exton asked.
Aerie faltered. “Well ... well, at least we’ll be able to hold him accountable,” she finally replied.
“And we can make him transition the nation back into a free market republic,” Emery said. “I’ve already been assured by Merra that’s what he intends to do.”
“Really?” Exton put a hand to his forehead. “This is just a day for surprises, I guess. I think I’m starting to get lightheaded from it all.”
“Well, you do need your rest, Captain,” Serena called as she came into his room. There was a med screen in her hand and she was making notes with a stylus as she came over to him. “All these people need to go away.”
“I’m staying,” Aerie told her, giving her a stubborn look.
“Fine, but no funny business,” Serena replied.
Emery giggled. “Well, I think I’ll go ahead and take my leave,” she said.
“Emery, wait,” Exton said. “I had to ask ... how is Meredith doing?”
Emery’s blue-green eyes lost their sparkle. “She’s doing better than we expected,” she said slowly. “Tyler went up there, to be with his family when he told them the news of everything that happened. He told her about Gerard earlier today.”
Exton wasn’t entirely sure if he knew what he wanted to ask, or if what he wanted to ask was able to be answered. “Did he say anything ... did she say anything to him?”
Emery nodded. “She wanted you to know she knows it was not your fault, and she’s glad that he didn’t die alone.”
“He might as well have,” Exton muttered. “He didn’t know who we were in the end anyway.”
“Maybe that’s for the best,” Aerie said. “So he didn’t die with regrets. And, if I’ve learned anything from watching Don and Dennis run around, I know that he’s in a better place.”
“We can’t know that,” Exton scoffed.
“We’re told not to judge,” Emery said glumly. “But it’s too easy to do just that sometimes, isn’t it?”
The room went silent again, until Serena spoke up. “Alright, let me get a new IV bag for you, Captain, and then I’ll be finished with you for now.”
“Thank you,” Exton replied, his tone automatous.
“You’re welcome.” Serena winked. “I’ll get out of here and then you can canoodle with Aerie some more.”
“Serena,” Aerie snapped. “Boy, you really don’t have any respect for people’s privacy, do you?”
Serena’s eyebrows arched, and she looked too much like Merra in that moment for Exton to allow himself any illusion to the contrary. He thought he heard her laugh as she walked out of the room and headed down the hall.
Emery sighed. “Shift change is coming soon,” she said, “so you won’t have to put up with her for much longer.”
“Good,” Exton murmured. “I know there were some reports about how she is overly friendly in her duties, and I would hate to see them up close.”
Aerie snuggled into his shoulder, scooting down next to him on the small cot. “I’ll protect you,” she promised. “Just like you protect me.”
“That reminds me,” Exton said. “How is Brock doing? Did he manage to get off of the GPI before it fell apart?”
“He’s fine. He arrived here in Petra before you did,” Emery said. “Right now, he is actually with Tyler. He wanted to go back to New Hope and see his friends and family.”
Exton thought about Brock being back in New Hope. After everything he’d seen and fought and nearly died for, it would be interesting to see what Brock thought of his old home. Exton knew better than most that it was hard, if not impossible, to see home with the same eyes after a long journey.
“Any other news I should know about?” he asked.
“Plenty,” Emery said, “but you need your rest first. Aunt Patty and I are, as ever, ready to relieve you, Captain.” She gave a taunting bow and then headed out the door.
Finally, Exton thought. He was alone with Aerie again.
“How are you really feeling?” Aerie asked. “Are you okay with Meredith and the Perdition and everything?”
“I’m okay,” he said. The words sounded almost strange to him as they came out of his mouth. And, he decided, it was true. And if it wasn’t entirely true, he knew it would be, one day. The old wounds, the past regrets, the fierce desire for revenge ... all of them were still there and still a part of him. But there was something more in his life now. The past had finally released him—or maybe, he had finally been able to let it go—and he could see a new life for himself at last. He wanted to tell Aerie about it, about how he knew he had another c
hance to make a real life for himself, and for her, and for whatever family they made together.
As he looked up at her, his dizziness returned; Exton decided to wait until later, when he had more energy. He had a feeling he might not need to tell her anyway; she seemed to sense the change in him as she watched him, and for the moment it was enough.
Aerie laid her head in the crook of his shoulder and pulled the sheet up higher. “I’m going to miss the Perdition,” Aerie said. “But I’m glad Osgood is dead, and the URS has a chance for a new era of peace.”
“Me, too,” Exton said. “This is a big day.”
“It doesn’t really feel like it, in some ways.”
“I think if it did, we would be too overcome to really appreciate it.”
“Good point. I never thought I would experience anything like this,” Aerie whispered. “This is a new beginning for the world as much as it is for the URS, isn’t it?”
“It is.” Exton kissed her cheek softly, allowing himself a moment to breathe in the scent of her. “And it is a new one for us as well.”
“I’m going to get relationship whiplash if we keep getting new beginnings. We haven’t even been married for two months,” Aerie said with a giggle.
“We’ll figure it out,” Exton promised, as he allowed his drowsiness to catch up with him, to seep into him until his whole being was sure he’d never felt so physically, emotionally, and mentally drained. “But maybe not today. And for that, I’m sorry, Aerie.”
“You’re sorry for what?” Aerie’s expression softened with mild confusion. “You don’t have anything you need to apologize to me for.”
“Yes, I do,” he replied. “I promised you I’d kiss you senseless when we got back. I’m going to have to do that later.”
“Don’t worry,” Aerie told him with a bright smile. “We have enough time.”
Yes, Exton mused as he made his way back into sleep, yes, we do. At last.
♦Epilogue♦
The years that followed the official end of Grant Osgood’s leadership were marked with long days of uncertainty, short months of victory, and lots of environmental cleanup. General St. Cloud, whether he had planned for his own dictatorship or not, was instantly welcomed back by the people who had, just weeks ago, believed that he’d tried to murder the previous dictator.
Aerie thought that it was complicated, once upon a time, but apparently that was all part of the narrative. That was according to what her father had told her, anyway, during one of their monthly family dinners. He’d told her, quite arrogantly, that if enough people believed it, or at least if enough people didn’t question it, everyone else would soon fall into line. “That’s the power of a good narrative,” he said. “And useful idiots, too, when you think about it.”
Narrative or truth, life immediately began to get better for nearly everyone. The defectors were allowed to return to their homes, bringing with them plenty of new suppliers and new sellers. The controlled markets of the URS were suddenly overwhelmed, and it was a good thing, as new laws were written while the old ones were struck down. The nation, which had been so divided by the things which were said and even more so by the things left unsaid, gradually came together. Where they could, anyway. It was still a battle, as courts were called in and police were overworked, but things managed to settle some. People were glad to be free to worship outside of the State’s demands, and other people were just glad to have the government out of the news industry. Several other members of the newly reborn private sector, most of them former pirates of sorts, were also cheerful, as they were able to make a living without risking arrest.
Aerie knew she was certainly happy. As she’d learned from her own experience on the Perdition, real change happened at its own pace, as people let it, and one person at a time.
As much as things didn’t change, and others changed entirely, time still passed.
It was years after that day, the day she’d been thrown back to the world by her father’s commanding sacrifice, when Aerie sat down outside in the garden behind her home.
She was tired, but she wanted a few moments of peace and serenity before the day began. After all the events in her young life, Aerie knew there wasn’t enough time for peace in the world.
Once the war was declared over, and St. Cloud negotiated peace through strength with Captain Chainsword, the URS went back to its normal routines, although there were a few less than normal attitudes. The forefront belief that survival was the most absolutely necessary thing took a backseat to the expansion of educational programs, social events, and new skills development initiatives St. Cloud and his followers introduced in the newly elected legislative branches. Slowly, people were beginning to see that survival was all very well and good, but it was not the goal of a life, but rather part of its foundation.
A republic was not quite there, but it was close. Her father was getting older, and he wanted to retire so he could spend more time with his wife and his kids.
And now his grandkids, too, Aerie added to herself, thinking of the small, sleeping pair of twins she’d finished nursing an hour ago. She smiled and, despite her fatigue from the late-night feedings, kept looking for signs of the vegetables she’d planted earlier that year.
The door opened behind her. “I thought I heard you leave the house.”
Exton’s voice still called out to her with its irresistible quality, as if his heart was talking directly into hers.
And, Aerie thought, her heart still answered with enraptured joy.
“I thought I would get a few moments to myself,” Aerie explained to him, as her husband came and sat down beside her. “Well, a few moments with me and Moona,” she said, chuckling as Moona stood up from her hidden spot in the soil. Moona stretched and yawned, and Aerie had to wonder if her kids were interrupting the large cat’s sleeping habits as well. “I feel like I haven’t had a real moment to myself in years. Those kids filled my heart with love, but they took all my energy.”
“I can go if you want.”
“No,” she said. She took his hand. “I haven’t gotten enough time with just you, either, since they came.”
Exton came up beside her and ran a hand through her loose hair. “Emberly looks just like you when she sleeps,” he said. “Except with curls.”
“Callen looks more like you,” Aerie replied. She wrinkled her nose. “And they both act like you. Stubborn and demanding and high-handed.”
“Those would easily describe both of us, I’m afraid,” Exton pointed out.
“They’re not even six months old, and they already seem to think I’ll do whatever they want.”
“Let’s hope they get it out of their system before they’re teenagers,” Exton said. “Or they’ll have just as many problems with their parents as we had with ours.”
Aerie laughed. “Oh, that does remind me,” she said. “Mom is coming over today. She said she wants to help with the Harvest this year. She just got some new seedlings from the University.”
“It’s time for the Harvest already?”
“What do you mean, ‘already?’” Aerie laughed. “I’ve been waiting forever for New Hope’s winter to come. I don’t think I’ve ever been this warm here for so long.”
“Either way, we’ll make the best of it, my love.” He planted a kiss on her cheek.
“What are you talking about? The weather has been really warm, but it has been more than bearable.”
He grinned. “I meant your mother’s visit.”
Aerie gave him a playful punch on the shoulder, but she couldn’t hold back her smile. “Seriously, though. You did remember today’s the Harvest’s festival day?”
“How could I forget?” Exton rolled his eyes. “Reverend Thorne has been leaving me messages all week.”
“He’s been calling me too,” Aerie said. “He just wants to know if we want the kids dedicated while everyone’s together. Tyler and Emery are bringing their new baby up from Petra.”
“Emery’s going t
o have to stop having kids one day,” Exton said with a sigh. “I can’t remember all their names as it is.”
“It’s only her fourth.”
“They’ve only been married for five years, Aerie.”
“Are you saying they need to slow down, or we need to catch up?” Aerie teased.
“Well, when you put it like that ... ” Exton ran his eyes down her body, and then reached for her. After nearly tripping over Moona, he caught hold of Aerie. His hands framed her face before he kissed her soundly. Then, probably thinking of the terror he’d faced in watching her birth his son and daughter, and the twins’ subsequent demands on his being, he pulled back from her. “I guess we’ll just have to go visit them more.”
Aerie grinned. “I would love that. I don’t talk to Emery enough.”
“She talks to you every week, and sends you plenty of photos besides.”
“I’d also like to see how Cal’s doing. He apparently has a new girlfriend. And there are all our other friends besides.”
“Plenty of them are in New Hope, Aerie,” Exton reminded her. “Alice and Brock are working with St. Cloud, and Serena’s become good friends with Meredith at the new hospital.”
Aerie continued on, ignoring him. “And I would love to see how Petra is doing, now that it’s not an official defector camp.”
“Aunt Patty is always busy, so you know she’s happy. I swear, she and my mom were nothing alike.” Exton gestured to around the garden. “You remind me of my mother, when you’re out here. Mama would’ve liked you.”
“This is where I was always meant to be,” Aerie said. She glanced around, thinking of her family, her children, and her husband. Her appreciation for the permanent things in her life, the anchors she had always clung to, whether she knew them or not for what they truly were, had only increased since the end of the war. “My mother had a garden she called Eden, you know, when I was younger. This is my Eden. It might be a small garden in a fallen world, but this is the place where I know I belong.”
“When I was on the Perdition,” Exton said, “I never pictured this kind of beauty was possible. I knew hell was real; but now I know that Heaven is too, because of this place.”
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