Page 71 of Tempting Jupiter
“When we get him back, things are going to be… complicated.”
Toby’s eyes rolled. “Oh geez. It’s like that, is it?”
Seneca ignored that. “If things work out that we can, we’ll come back to make sure you can decide your life for yourself. It may take us a while to get back, but when we do, if you choose to stay with us, I’ll convince them.”
Toby’s young brow wrinkled with concentration. “Swear?”
“Swear,” repeated Seneca.
One corner of Toby’s mouth lifted. “All right then.” Toby jumped down from the fence and turned as if to go, then stopped and turned back. He took hold of the leather loop that carried his mother’s talisman. He lifted it over his head and held it out in his hand.
Seneca leaned forward and let the boy slip it over his head.
“This will keep you safe.” Toby explained. “It’s up to you to keephersafe. Okay?”
Seneca straightened. “She cares for you. You know that?”
The boy grinned as if all the weight of their conversation had been lifted. “I know. She just don’t like to show it. Father would say, you got your hands full with that one.” He hitched a thumb over his shoulder towards Feeona where she stood saying her farewells to Augie and his family.
Seneca returned the boy’s smile then looked to Fee, now heading to her ship. Alone. The afternoon sun sparkled on her hair and made her caramel skin turn golden. “Some things are worth the struggle.”
***
Feeona waited for Seneca in the common room, propped against the back of one of the sofas and Bug safely tucked away until she needed it again. She didn’t have long to wait. He got back to the ship, just minutes behind her, giving her an opportunity to look her fill as he approached. The fluid way he moved made the long, loose trousers and tunic he wore look less plain. Even without his white hair and lavender eyes, he could never look ordinary.
“Alfred, start the engines and get us ready for launch.”
“Yes, Captain.”
She narrowed her eyes and pinned Seneca with a glare. “Tell me you didn’t make him any promises.”
“I didn’t make him any promises.” No inflection colored his voice to give him away, but she knew.
“You did, damn you.” She shot up and fisted her hands on her hips. “It isn’t fair to lead a kid on.”
He lifted a single eyebrow. “I made sure he understood it might not be possible to return.”
Feeona shook her head. He didn’t understand. “Possible? These kids need certainty. They need to believe they’re safe and wanted and settled. They need to see a god damn realistic future. Now, he’ll resist settling in.”
Seneca still stood, relaxed in front of her. Calm, cool, infuriating. “Toby is old enough to understand I don’t have control of the universe. If we’re not able to return, he’ll understand.
Her body vibrated with a fury all out of proportion. She knew it. She didn’t understand it. She wanted to swing out and punch the wall—to relieve some of the senseless fury. “You have him waiting for something that is never going to happen.”
“Never?” His query whispered into her ear as if he thought the lack of volume could disguise the anger vibrating through the word.
“Never.” Because once they’d freed Jupiter, the Dogs would be joining the resistance and she’d be left trying to hold things together. She plucked a soft pillow from the bench and squeezed it tight in her hands. She hated her increasing inability to control her emotions. To hide her panic. How was she going to continue her work—to free the next batch of factory kids—with a price on her head? And if she couldn’t do that, how would she survive losing Jupiter and Seneca?
Seneca’s eyes narrowed as if he was trying to read her thoughts in her eyes. When he spoke, it was through a clenched jaw. “If we CAN return for the boy, we WILL.”
The flame of her temper jumped and flared. “We?” He had no right to talk about the future as if they had one shared between them. As if he would even want that. “Since when did you and I become a we?”
He was in her face in a flash of movement. He gripped her arms and jerked her so close she could see the sparks in his lavender eyes, feel his breath on her face. “The momentmymate…. choseyou… as his mate.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
NewHopeSettlement,Agrove Colony
Earth Alliance Beta Sector
