Page 78 of Uprooted
“My father’s advisors asked me to appeal to Earth. To see if my new ability would be enough to get them to act,” Aro says.
“That sounds like a bad idea. It’s still too unpredictable.”
“I’d be putting myself in the middle of this mess. I don’t want to be used as a tool for either planet. It also has the risk of getting you involved,” he says quietly.
“You think they would use me to get to you?” I ask. He sits down next to me on the bed.
“That’s exactly what I think. They wouldn’t hesitate to put you in danger if it meant I summoned my battleform.” I can hear the stress in his voice. I take some of the blame for this. In a way, Aro is having to choose between me and doing everything possible to help his people.
Wait—it’s not my fault. It’s not Aro’s fault. It’s the EGA that has put us in this impossible situation. If they would do what’s right and honor the treaty, we wouldn’t be in this situation.
There is a sour taste of betrayal in my mouth. I came here for the good of humanity, and this is how they say “thank you.” The thought of returning to Earth makes me sick to my stomach.
“We’ll figure it out,” I tell him and climb into his lap, wrapping my arms around his broad back.
“You know that I’ll do anything to protect you,” he says against my hair, holding me to him.
“I will too,” I say and rest my head against his hard chest.
57
Aro
“We finalized evacuation plans. The shuttle will be ready in two days.” Tai’s words feel like a stab in the gut. He waited to drop this news until most of the fight was worked out of me.
“We’re running out of time,” Tai says reluctantly.
We’ve been training for hours. I haven’t been focused, but he has taken it easy on me. He’s stopped himself when he could have taken me down, more than once.
I’m resentful that after everything Elowen and I have been through, she’s being ripped away from me. I still haven’t given up hope that there is some way to keep Elowen here. The thought of being away from her feels like I’ve cut off a part of my own body.
We sit between bouts, both of us dripping in sweat. My yuriOS lights up with a link request. I slide my finger towards my palm and a holographic image of my father appears, hovering over my upturned wrist.
“Is your base prepared for the evacuations?” he asks.
“Yes. Everything is ready.”
“Are you ready to—” I stop him from finishing that sentence. I don’t even want to hear the words.
“No. I’m going to ask Elowen to stay. She will be safe here at the base until we have some answers about who is behind this.” I know I sound like a petulant child, but I can't let her go. We belong together.
“Aro, you can’t keep her locked up here. It’s not fair to her,” he says with care.
* * *
I’m tired. Tai and I trained until the early hours of the morning. When I finally climb into bed next to Elowen, I can’t sleep. I lie listening to her soft breathing while my mind continues to race. It feels like I’m getting farther from being able to summon my new ability.
58
Elowen
“I’m not leaving,” Bri announces as she strides into my room.
“Is that an option?” I ask. She and I are scheduled to be on the shuttle tomorrow. The notice we received didn’t look voluntary. I’ve been dragging myself around today, not letting myself dwell on what is going to happen tomorrow.
“I don’t care. I’m staying. Fuck Earth. I can’t believe they would turn their backs on this place. I’m not going.” She says what I’ve been thinking for the last few days. The idea of returning to Earth makes me sick. It seems our research is enough, and my presence isn’t as essential as I had believed. Even if they did need me, I’d loathe myself for the rest of my life if I went back and abandoned j'Tilak and Aro. Especially Aro.
I’ve been playing out a scenario in my head where I leave temporarily, then figure out a way back once it’s safe. If we all leave, the Atorum will cease their attacks, but we’ll never know who is responsible. Another small idea I’ve been toying with in my head keeps cropping back up. I shove it back down. There are about a million different reasons why it’s a bad idea.
