“Enough to keep me busy,” she added before all three of them broke out into a short laugh. “I'll be sick of it in a few months and come home.”
Justin didn't ask her where home was. He hoped it wasn't a continent away where he'd found her and her parents, but rather nearby so he could see her. Still, her comment implied this return was premature and that made Justin wonder why.
“So what brings you back now? It couldn't just be to eat ration packs. What's happened?” Justin questioned, eyeing Flinn suspiciously.
Flinn tensed, exchanging a glance with Hannah, who looked decidedly uncomfortable and unable to meet Justin's gaze. For a moment, Justin felt a surge of panic, expecting the worst. Was something wrong with his father and sister? Logic prevailed and he told himself if it were anything that bad, Flinn would have told him already.
The news was bad, he concluded, but not tragic.
“All right,” Flinn conceded with a loud sigh, “it came over the Transband about two days ago. I thought we'd better tell you before you went home and found out for yourself.”
“Tell me what?”
“Your father is getting married again,” Hannah declared, sparing Flinn the trouble.
Justin tried to hide his shock, but could not. His father was getting married again? Justin never imagined Iran would want to after Aisha's passing. Then again, why shouldn't he? He was young enough to take another wife. Still, he shouldn't be surprised either. Without even meeting his stepmother, Justin knew she was young and capable of bearing children. There was more than enough time for an heir if Ellisha refused to be Prime.
“I never thought he would,” Justin admitted, his shock yet to fully dissipate.
A part of him was affronted at his mother being replaced, but the sentiment did not last. His father was a good man who deserved happiness. It was hard enough being Imperator without having one's family torn apart by death and circumstance. If Iran saw a chance of happiness, then Justin would not begrudge him for it.
That wasn't it, he realised when he looked at Flinn and Hannah again. They were still tense.
“Is that it?” he ventured to ask.
“No, Justin.” This time it was Flinn who spoke. “He's marrying Kalistar.”
For a moment he thought he'd heard incorrectly and was unable to respond. It took only a glance at both their faces for Justin to realise he hadn't misspoken. The expression on his friend's face left no doubt in his mind. Flinn would not have flown all the way here otherwise.
“How did it happen?” Justin asked and then realised Flinn would not be privy to such information.
“We don't really know. We just heard the announcement, that he'd picked a new consort and it was Kalistar. They're going to be married next year.”
He always knew Kalistar could find someone after he'd left her behind, but he never thought it would be his father of all people. Yet the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. As unpalatable as it was to him, it wasn't an outrageous choice.
Kalistar had spent a great deal of time in the Domicile when he left Brysdyn to find out the truth about Earth. Who was he to say her time spent in the Imperator's company did not impress upon Iran her suitability as a mate? If Kalistar reminded Justin of his mother, then wouldn't she have the same effect on his father?
“It makes sense, I suppose. She is young, healthy, beautiful and intelligent. If he was going to pick someone, she's an excellent choice.”
Understanding didn't make it easier to bear. In his own way, he cared for Kalistar. He remembered thinking he might go back for her when their wounds were sufficiently healed. Hearing this felt like the door slamming closed on his life on Brysdyn for good. The finality of it left him shaken.
“Are you alright?” Hannah asked, resting a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.
“I'm fine,” he assured her, even if it did sting. Justin knew he had no right to complain about how Kalistar conducted herself. He was the one who'd turned his back on her. She deserved the chance to be happy, even if it was with his father. Besides, the person she knew was no more.
Garryn the Prime was gone and in his place was Justin Alexander.
Justin was the person he'd sacrificed everything to be. He knew the price for his freedom and paid it, because his destiny lay here on Earth. It was still a beautiful world, even after Edwen destroyed its people. In his journeys across the planet, Justin had seen unlimited potential, just like the White Star settlers who had claimed this world for their own.
The survivors of Earth were lost and frightened, disconnected from each other because Edwen tore apart their community. Justin didn't know whether or not he was the person to help them find it again, but he knew he was of Earth and his future lay here.
Beyond that, he could only dream.
About the Author
Linda Thackeray works at an online educational service a stone's throw from the Sydney Opera House in Australia, but lives on the coast in a suburb called Woy Woy, which apparently means “big lagoon” with her two cats Newt and Humphrey. She has been writing for as long as she can remember and doesn't care if she ever has fame and fortune. She just needs to let the characters out of her head so she can think straight. It's getting pretty busy in there.
Also Published by this Author
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This is a tale of darkness, romance and loss where Melia and Aeron are faced with the reality that sometimes love may not be enough and sacrifice may be the only course left to them.
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After taking revenge on a drug lord and his crew for murdering his sister, John Hunter is a wanted man. It's 2030 and in the aftermath of the great plague, John makes his way to Haven, craving sanctuary and peace but instead runs into a rogue religious group who wants to play God even as they run rife with corruption. But they haven't counted on meeting big bad John who's meaner than they could ever be. And just when they think they've put him out of their misery, he's resurrected from his hospital bed and hell hath no fury like a hunter scorned…who's become a devil with a cause!
HUNTER'S HAVEN is an action packed thriller that grabs you by the throat and won't let go until the end of the book. To miss this incredible adventure would be criminal! Get your copy today and enjoy the read of a lifetime.
Dear reader,
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