I was stunned by the Sovereign’s Proclamation. I knew she meant well and was trying to honor little one, but did she have any conception of what she had just done? If little one was no longer my pet, where did that leave us?
Nowhere, I thought bitterly, as we descended the side of the golden pyramid in my chariot. My intention had been to keep her with me for life…now I could not even keep her by my side for the night. The Sovereign’s proclamation went into effect immediately—I would have to take little one…or ‘Elli,’ as I supposed I must now call her—home. Not my home, but hers.
I was going to have to take her back to Earth and leave her there and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it.
I was losing her forever.