Invited

Nineteen - Wicken

"I don't know what to do," I said, finishing the meal Nancy had been kind enough to provide for me. Skipped dinner again. Whoops? I had less than a day to figure out how I was going to get Timber onto the ship with me, and that was not an easy task.

Nancy took my clean plate away. "Not doing this task would be a bad idea."

"You think? Especially with what you all told me about spies and all that jazz. Because of that, I also don't want to do it. He's my friend, or close to being one. Bottom line is, I don't want to hurt him."

"Which may be difficult to avoid if my sister gets her hands on him," Michael said.

I glanced over at him and then shook my head. "So that's where I'm at right now. And if I'm expected to kidnap him, I'm going to need some help. There's no way I'll be able to just grab him and drag him away."

For the most part, Timber was gentle, perhaps too gentle – a weakness I could use against him. However, I believed if push came to shove, he'd fight back as needed. The guy knew how to defend himself against the leeches of Hollywood, after all. Plus, he lived with Chevelle. He'd need a backbone if he had to put up with her on a regular basis. Not to mention, the hostility I remembered seeing from when he spoke of his encounters with Rumor. He was capable of anger, and with that came the ability to lash out. Everyone had a breaking point.

"You're sure he wouldn't just come with if you asked?" Nancy said softly, her gaze filled with genuine concern.

I laughed. "Are you kidding me? I'd tell him to come aboard and he'd counteroffer and try to talk me into coming back with him instead. Which I would do in a heartbeat if I thought I could get away with it. Something tells me that even he wouldn't be able to help me."

"You never know." Nancy shrugged.

Michael stiffened. "Hypothetically, with the way teleportation technology works, the Achlivans could easily bring you back aboard, yes. What kind of repercussions that would have, however, I'm not sure. My sister scorned is not a pretty sight."

"Yeah, I'm doomed." I groaned.

"Hardly," Michael said. "You want most to be reunited with your love, yes?"

I nodded.

"Then we can use this situation to bring her to you."

I nodded again, though I'm not sure I liked the idea much. As much as I wanted to see Chevelle again, I couldn't bring her to Persistence with a good conscious. Layla worried me too much. Everything else about the ship I could get past. Cramped living quarters and crappy jobs were nothing new for me. Vengeful, psychotic women were a whole other story. Maybe Chevelle was better equipped for such a thing, but not me. And the baby... What would Layla do if she knew Chevelle was pregnant? She had to know already. Her conveniently forgetting I was taken was all a ploy. If Michael knew, Layla did too.

Nancy sat on Michael's lap, still looking at me with nothing but pity, and I hated it. In that one gaze, I got a loud and clear message: I was a lost cause. My wants, my needs that I was fighting so hard for were all a pointless battle for me to wage. I knew then that there was no way I was going to get off of this ship. Not without their help, and not without going on some kind of suicide mission or making the war a million times worse.

"You know that would be the best outcome for all of you," Michael added, as if he could read my mind. "There are ways I can protect you as well, help you. Don't think you're in this alone. I am as much royalty as my sister even if she is higher in line for the throne than I."

That got my attention. "So you've got a lot more power than you're letting on, is what you're saying?"

"I have connections, yes." He shrugged as if it weren't a big deal. It was a huge one. That one fact changed how the game was being played on both ends. It also changed how much I trusted him.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at him. "And what exactly is your overall goal here?"

"Ideally, I would like to revolutionize the way my people live," he said. "Model it more after what I've seen some of your Earth govern-
ment do. We have smaller nations on my planet that function in similar ways, and the people are much happier and productive there than they are where I am from. However, I'm also not stupid. Such a change would be hard to bring about. I would settle with defecting to my own land and starting a new empire. For the sake of peace, that would be the easiest way to escape from the chaos of home. Whether it will be allowed by my family is something I haven't figured out. My family is...strange."

"No kidding!" I snorted.

Michael leaned forward, pulling Nancy closer to him. "I know you don't want to, but bringing your friend aboard our ship will be in everyone's best interests. The only one who might be hurt in this situation would be him, and that is only because I don't know what Layla will do to him. It all depends on how much she thinks he knows."

"Not much," I said. "Unless he's been given some kind of major run-down since I left. Paul likes to be unbelievably cryptic all of the time. It's more or less annoying. He'll say just enough to keep you from going crazy, but it's nowhere near satisfying, and I only heard things secondhand from Chevelle. Timber told her everything. Last I was there, neither of them knew anything about the war or Earth's upcoming destruction. I'm sure by now that's changed."

"Yes, seeing as how the reason Timber is being brought back to Earth is for a press conference to announce the arrival of the Achlivans," Michael said.

"Oh."

"My people will be holding a similar event, but more of a rally, as they try to gather as many people to the ship as possible. The ultimate goal for both species is to gather as many people from Earth as possible."

Yet again, I could only nod.

Nancy gave me a smile, no doubt trying to be reassuring. It helped a tiny bit. "Wicken, I'm sure you're frustrated and overwhelmed. Try to remember to breath and relax. You aren't alone. I promise. We both have your back, and like Michael said, he has connections too. There are a lot more people for you than against. Don't let Layla intimidate you too much."

Easier said than done. Even if they told me I wasn't alone, I was. The only people I trusted might as well have been a million miles away. My "friends" on Persistence only wanted to use me.