Page 21 of Temple

“Yes, Matron.”

“Then, your little friend is very wealthy. What does her suit look like?”

“It is body armour with a neckpiece that becomes a helmet and electric charges in her fists.”

Matron blinked. “Oh, my.”

Bailey came in and sat next to Sage. “I was a Symo enforcer and courier until the twit sniffed me outside of the suit and got a fixation. I got to Bellen, talked with Nebel’s consort, and they gave me a ship to do runs for their specific tech orders. I had just delivered a new com for Zell when I ran into Sage. She looks depressed, Matron.”

Matron sighed and nodded. “We have therapists who work in cases where the client was difficult or neglectful. They are standing by for your arrival. Thank you for rescuing a daughter of the Temple.”

“It was my pleasure. She’s been teaching me to play Tekka.”

The matron chuckled. “If you believe you have the insulation to make it to us, I will prepare the local hangar, and you can stay in one of our guesthouses.”

“We will send you a signal when we are in orbit, and when you authorize our landing, your daughter will be on her way.”

Matron smiled. “Thank you, Courier Bailey.”

Sage smiled. “See you soon.”

She signed off on the com and sat back. “I am going home.”

“I am glad that you feel connected to somewhere.” Bailey smiled.

“You don’t?”

Bailey shrugged and got up. “No. My home is gone. The price for a new one is too high.”

“Symo is offering you a home.”

“A home, a palace, an army, a family, and jewels to cover me from head to toe. That is what a Hmrain does when he’s looking for a consort.”

Sage followed her. “That sounds like a full package. Why are you running?”

“It’s forever. There is no escape clause for a hundred years or sooner if I give him a child. I had forever. I had‘til death us do part,and it did. Death parted us. I have watched death come for someone I loved, and when he was gone, it was forever.” Bailey was assembling components for tea.

Sage nodded. “I get it. I really do. I was separated from my people during the panic, and I didn’t see my fiancé until we were on the station, and he had his arm around a woman who was looking up at him with worship. They were a pair bond and sent to be planet fillers. He never wanted kids with me, but with her, it was all he could imagine.”

“What did he say?”

“Nothing. He saw me, got pale, vomited, and I just kept walking with my class.” Sage sighed. “My forever was a promise that was given to another woman.”

Bailey brought the tray over to the table. “So, we both have issues.”

Sage nodded. “I guess. I am sorry that your husband died.”

“I am sorry your fiancé didn’t search hard enough. Can you teach me to make tea?”

“Sure. If you are like me, it should be caustic by the end of practice tomorrow.”

Bailey chuckled. “I am very good at following orders when I want to.”

Sage looked at the materials and nodded. “Right. Let’s begin then. Do you have cookies?”

“Oh, honey. You have no idea what I have. Tea first, then I get the cookies.”

They carried their cups of tea to an area that required three types of scans to get through.

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