Page 32 of Queen
"Guys," Ella groaned. "Not now."
Usually, it took more to get them to fall in line, but not that night. They knew better.
Ella smiled down at their daughter as she started to drift off, nestled safely in blankets within Ella's arms. "I guess we'll just have to keep thinking."
"She has eyes like the moon," Bishop said softly.
Ella looked up at him, surprised he had spoken. He seemed to regret it immediately. "I don't know. I was just thinking maybe something related to that could work."
"It's not a bad idea," Sterling mused. "There is always Selene, but that's a bit too on the nose, isn’t it?"
"We could name her after an astronaut who’s been to the moon," Axel offered. When he saw the look they were all giving him, he added, "What? It's a big rock in the sky, there's only so much that’s related to it."
"Yes, let’s name her Buzz," Sterling said flatly. "Or Armstrong, that has a really elegant ring to it."
"Well, I don't see you offering any better ideas," Axel grumbled. He paused for a moment. "We could always just call her Luna until we figure something else out."
"Luna," Ella echoed. She smiled as she gazed down at their daughter, who was finally sleeping. "I like that."
"You do?" Axel asked hopefully.
"I think it's a lovely name," Sterling conceded, reaching down to stroke the baby’s soft, downy hair.
"It's beautiful," Bishop agreed. "It suits her."
"Yeah," Ella said, sighing deeply. "It does."
Chapter 19
Sterling
It was Sterling's first week back at school after the break, and while he knew Ella wasn't alone, there was still part of him that wasn't thrilled about the idea of leaving her with Bishop. He knew at some point he was going to have to learn to trust the other tom, but it wasn't something that came naturally to him.
At least the colony was more stable than it had been. Despite Axel's antics, there was so much focus on identifying the other members of Natalia's traitorous court that Bishop’s return had gone largely unnoticed in comparison. There were still enough people who were fond of him to be more than happy to excuse his behavior as the result of brainwashing, and he had been instrumental in identifying the other traitors, so while he was on probation, Bishop was free for the time being. As long as he remained on good behavior, that wasn't likely to change.
Of course, the way that evening went would go a long way toward determining the future of the colony and Bishop’s role in it. All of theirs, really. It was time for Luna to be presented to the colony now that she had been home with Ella for a month, and Sterling couldn't help but be nervous about the traditional blessing. After Ella's first encounter with Selene and becoming marked, he was as wary of the temple as he was of Felidae.
Focusing on work when his heart and mind were miles away proved more difficult than it ever had been. Sterling was beginning to understand why all those toms whose queens were on maternity leave acted like they had left their brains at home. Now he was one of them.
He was getting caught up during office hours when his phone rang. It wasn’t Ella or one of the other toms--they would've called his cell phone--so he was tempted to ignore it, but he decided to answer just in case.
"Hello?"
"Is this Sterling Bryant?"
He didn't recognize the voice of the woman on the other end of the phone, and he leaned back in his chair to focus. "Yes, this is he. Who’s calling?"
As Ella's advisor, he was used to people calling to press him for information, and while he rarely gave them what they wanted, he much preferred being the first line of defense rather than giving them access directly to Ella.
"This is Maria West, with Brightly University," she answered. "I'm calling about a job opportunity that's recently come up, and you were the first on the shortlist of candidates we would like to speak with."
Sterling frowned. "What job would that be?"
Brightly University was one of the only feline-run schools that rivaled Felidae Academy, and its humanities department was decidedly more robust. Sterling had considered taking a position as a professor there years ago, but had ultimately chosen Felidae instead.
"The Dean," she answered. "Of course, we understand that you are busy with your role as the Empress's advisor, but considering you've maintained your post at Felidae, the president of the university would like to extend the offer."
Sterling paused for a moment. It was very rare that something caught him off-guard, but he certainly hadn’t been expecting that. Not only was it closer to the house, but the job would be challenging and rewarding.
