Page 3 of The Outcast
“You know how old I am. I told you that I’m three years younger than Aubri, remember?”
“Right. That makes you what, twenty-four?”
“No, twenty-five. Aubri will be twenty-eight next week.”
“Okay, but my point is that when I was twenty-five, I’d been sexually active for almost ten years and I’ve had some amazing experiences that you’re missing out on.”
Sparrow seemed to consider my words but didn’t reply.
“To me, it’s weird that Aubri and Indiana aren’t curious to experiment with anyone but each other. Thousands of people in France are eager to be with them. They could have anyone they want, but no.” I sucked my lips in and inhaled deeply. “It’s like saying no to a hundred delicious cakes and eating the same cake every day.”
Sparrow rubbed her nose, which had the cutest freckles. “If it’s your favorite cake then what’s the problem?”
“The problem is that you wouldn’t know if you liked one of the others better if you never tasted a bite. Just because you love a strawberry mousse cake doesn’t mean that chocolate cake isn’t delicious also.”
“Maybe you’re right but…” An incoming call interrupted Sparrow who held up a finger to signal she would return to our conversation. “It’s Aubri. Give me a minute.” Getting up, she answered the call. The two women spoke for no more than a minute but from the way Sparrow’s face fell into a look of worry, I could tell that it wasn’t good news.
“What’s the matter?” I asked when Sparrow finished the call with a short “I’m on it.”
“Turns out that the plan of smuggling you back into Old Europe was disrupted by the French delegation.”
I stiffened. “Why?”
“Their drone broke down and they need a ride.”
My pulse spiked and I got up from the grass. “What does that mean?”
“It means that Khan’s diamond drone will be full of French people and you can’t go unless you’re ready to tell them that you are here illegally.”
“Are you crazy? If I tell Victor, Celeste, Simon, and the others, I’ll get arrested the moment I step foot in Old Europe. I don’t have time to go to prison.”
Sparrow looked to the sky. “Which is why Thor is sending his drone to take you back home. It’s not as large as Khan’s diamond drone, and it doesn’t have a toilet onboard, but it’s fast and it will take you back.”
Raking a hand through my hair, I sputtered. “You don’t understand. It’s not like I can show up back home in a drone from the Northlands. The deal was that Indiana and Aubri would smuggle me in and out.”
“If you can’t get into France undetected, how about staying here with us?” The sincere expression on Sparrow’s pretty face warmed me.
With my hands falling to the side of my body, I shook my head. “I can’t! My friends are back home, and my team needs me.”
“Hm. Well, in that case, Aubri asked me to tell you to land somewhere in Europe and ask Val to pick you up in the Exploration drone.”
My head was spinning withwhat ifs, and one more time I reached out through my brain implant to my friend back home. “My connection to Val doesn’t work here. I assume it’s because he’s inside France and they’re blocking incoming communication.”
“Try writing him a message. I was never able to call Aubri when she was in France, but we wrote back and forth, sending videos.”
“That’s because Aubri and Indiana were granted authorization to communicate with friends back home. Normal citizens like me don’t have that privilege. My connection to Val should work once I reach Europe.”
Sparrow looked up at the sky again. My gaze followed as we both looked for Thor’s drone but saw nothing. “Christina told me that when she went to France to visit Aubri and Indiana with Pearl and Laura, they had to wait for permission to land at the airport. What if you are asked to identify yourself?”
I groaned. “That would be bad. I could pretend to be a Motlander but with my French accent, I doubt they would believe me.”
In a resolute outburst, Sparrow declared, “That’s what I thought. I’d better come with you!”
“What? No, you don’t have to do that. It’s a long flight.”
“I’m going! Aubri had her share of adventure. I want one too.”
“You want to be an Explorer too?” I asked in surprise.
