––––––––
Asteran and Leo stood at the orbs, controlling our ship as we left Cavernia behind. I sat beside Nova as she bandaged the cut to my head. Tauren sat on the opposite side of the room, deep in thought, his arms stretched over his bent legs. We talked about tying him up, but Asteran assured us he’d gained more control over his psychic powers and could contain him if he tried anything again.
I didn’t think Tauren would. His shoulders slumped forward as if defeated and he had this blank stare like he was in shock. He was probably digesting everything that had happened to us in the last few days, along what I should have told him a long time ago. To tell you the truth, I felt bad for him.
Nova tapped the bandage to make sure it would hold. “What about Tauren? Are you going to press charges?”
I shook my head. “I have a feeling we’ll be in more than a little bit of trouble when we get home. So, if he backs up our story, I’ll go lenient on him. It always helps to have the commander’s son on your side.”
“You think he will be?”
I tilted my head, watching him out of the corner of my eye. “We saved the colony. How could he not? Besides, Leo recorded the whole thing on his locator, complete with video and pictures to tell our story.”
Nova pursed her lips. “I guess.”
“He doesn’t deserve to be locked up in the psych ward for the rest of his life. He did help us save the colony. He could have kept the bomb to himself.”
“You’re right.” Nova narrowed her eyes. “I still don’t trust him.”
The orbs changed as we entered our familiar star system, and Paradise 21 glowed back at us, an amethyst sphere. I already thought of it as my home.
Nova settled beside me. “Do you think the arachnids will ever rebuild and come back for us?”
I shrugged. After running through their tunnels and confronting the mother brain, nothing scared me anymore. “If so, we know how to beat them, and we’ll fight them together.”
––––––––
The End
Acknowledgements:
I'd like to thank Shilpa Mudiganti at Inkspell Publishing for believing in my work. She is amazing, and I'm glad she's with me every step of the way. Next comes Rie Langdon, my editor, and Naj Quamber, my extremely talented cover artist. Thank you to Dawn Dowdle at Blue Ridge Literary Agency for supporting my writing and representing me. My beta readers, Brianne and my mom, Joanne come next. My awesome critique partner, Cherie Reich, deserves a very special thank you. Lastly, my husband, Chris.