KHALL
Khall tried not to think about April as he strode down the corridor to check in for his shift.
But her words kept echoing in his head.
Please don’t deny Minerva her birthright.
There was a truth to it that he hated.
Why were they so drawn to flight?
The Jordraaki were descended from dragons. That was why they could color shift. But no Jordraaki had flown in many generations - so many that it didn’t bear thinking about.
Could his family really have an inherited memory - a longing for flight that ran deeper than blood and bone?
He didn’t want to think about that. Because if it was true, it would mean there was nothing he could do to protect his daughters from danger.
It was one thing to satiate his own primal desires with these boring commercial flights.
It was another to think of his Minerva joining the Brigade, doing the same harebrained tricks he’d tried. She might even go further with her stunts, just to show she had earned her place and wasn’t riding on her old man’s coattails.
He had a fleeting vision of her smiling face, illuminated with the same joy he used to get from unbridled flight on those sleek military machines.
Then he remembered seeing Xteniya’s broken fighter in smoldering pieces on the ground. The blasts on the beach had half filled it with sand. He’d had to dig to retrieve what was left of her. She would have wept to see her fighter destroyed. But never as much as he wept for her.
“Rivvor, what the hell?” Farrsah yelled to him, pointing at the entry portal. “We’ve got two minutes to check in and you’re wandering around like you can’t remember your own name. You do know we’re on the clock, right?”
He looked up.
His pain must have shown on his face. She lowered her arm to join the other three, hanging by her sides.
“You okay?” she asked.
“Fine,” he said. “Let’s get out of here.”
“This is going to be a long shift,” she said. “You want to get anything off your chest before we head in?”
He shook his head.
“Two high-fuel legs,” she said. “You sure, man?”
“I’m tired,” he told her. “I just got home from an overnight last night.”
“Are you short on credits?” Farrsah asked. “I could help out if you’re in some kind of jam. You only have to ask.”
“Of course not,” he scoffed. “Why would you ask me that?”
“Why did you take this add-on?” she asked. “I’m glad to take the extra shifts. I’m saving for vacation. But you’ve got kids at home.”
“They’re fine,” he said. “Minerva’s practically out of school.”
“Makes it more dangerous if you ask me,” Farrsah said. “At that age, they’re looking for thrills. You want to be around to make sure that means sports and hobbies, not drugs or sex.”
“Sun gods, Farrsah,” he muttered.
“Yeah, yeah, not your kid,” she laughed. “That’s what every parent thinks about their kid, especially females. Mine did.”
“Were they right about you?” he asked hopefully.
“Oh, hell no,” she laughed. “I was into everything, the more dangerous the better. They’re lucky I finished school.”
He rolled his eyes and followed her through the portal, eager to get in the air and leave these worrisome thoughts on the ground.
But April’s words echoed in his head once more.
She’s always got her nose in those books because it’s the only way she can fly.