Beyond the Empyreal Stars

28.

28.

"What were the orders?" Duke growled at his sister and best friend.

"Don't talk to them again," Carson answered with a smile.

Lizzie smirked. "And you already knew we would break it. Seriously, Duke. We weren't going keep them in those cells for any longer. And they're not going back. We're moving them into our quarters. Mom's already made up two spaces for them."

"She what...?"

"You've been outvoted on the issue," Alanna said. She and Graham had followed them out, both knowing quite a few words would be exchanged. "None of us want them to be in those holding cells anymore. They're going to stay with us and that's final. Lizzie and Carson have already shown them around for the last few hours, meeting a lot of the people..."

"Seriously?"

She waved her hand all around the common area where many people were watching the exchange, trying to hear what was being said. "You don't see any riots going on. People aren't scared of them. Maybe a little at first, but not so much anymore. They're curious now and are willing to get to know them for who they are. You think it's too much to ask of them, but in reality, it's not. These people are a lot more tolerant than you, that's for sure."

Having his mother give him a good scolding made him shut up and look around the common area. Even though he wished he couldn't see it, he could. He almost wished they would be furious to have the Terrians out and walking among them. Even when they came back from D.C., they weren't. Hell, the group in D.C. hadn't been either.

Now, they were all looking toward the infirmary doors in curiosity. When Duke followed, he saw the four Terrians standing with Tansy and Mia, looking like humans in Earthen clothing, rather than their Guardian and Agent uniforms. Tansy was talking to Padric, who was grinning. Mia had grabbed Nova and Bas' attention by showing them a bandaged Teddy. And Odette...well, she was looking in their direction. Mainly at Duke.

Just like the few times he'd met her eyes, his jaw and whole body tensed. She looked back at him just intensely, that Terrian control slipping effortlessly back into place.

Duke broke their eye contact, looking at his family in front of him.

"If anything happens, it's all on you."

***

He halfway hoped something would happen, too. But in the next few weeks, nothing did.

Duke hid in the shadows as he followed them...which meant he wasn't in the shadows at all, but behind people and things whenever they looked toward where he was. The only time he didn't was a night when, instead of sharing the same living quarters, he opted to sleep under the stars on the roof. He didn't know how he would have handled it otherwise.

He watched them the first day when they stayed together with Lizzie, Graham, and his mother, meeting more people and having long conversations with many of them.

They didn't stay together for long, though, breaking off to explore and help in different areas over the next few days. Padric spent most of his time in the armory, showing some of the Agents practices to anyone who wanted to learn. It didn't take them long to really like him, falling into an ease with the Commanding Agent as they learned and laughed.

Nova was there with him, though on the opposite side of the room with Harris, Trent, Bryn, Hale, and a few of the other techs. She knew far more about the Terrian ships than they did combined. With her help, they learned more about them in the days she spent there than in the years previous.