April shuddered and both girls giggled.
“And there’s something else we wanted to talk to you guys about,” Khall said. “Remember how I told you about that job I got offered?”
“The one at the palace,” Minerva breathed.
“Yes,” he said. “If I took it, it would mean we have to move to the country, no more living here.”
“A country house,” Bo whispered reverently. “Like the ones on the show.”
“What do you think, Minerva?” April asked. “You have a lot of memories here, and friends at school.”
“We’re only doing this if everyone likes the idea,” Khall said firmly.
“Dad, you have to take that job,” Minerva said, her voice intense and excited. “You totally have to take it.”
He smiled at her and tousled her hair.
“Not just because you want to join the cadets?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I thought about it, Dad. I won’t do that if you don’t want me to. I know why it scares you.”
“Sometimes we have to do things that scare us,” Khall said slowly, reaching for his daughter’s hands. “Yesterday put a lot in perspective for me.”
April listened, holding her breath.
“The truth is that when danger wants to find us, it does,” he went on. “I was proud of your actions yesterday, Minerva. Even the police chief praised your cool under pressure.”
Minerva’s skin deepened to a forest green, and her eyes sparkled.
“If you want to apply for the cadet program, I support you,” he told her.
“Dad,” she breathed, tears springing to her eyes.
“Hey, if you’re determined to be a badass sky adventurer who helps people, we might as well make sure you have the right training,” he said as she flung herself into his arms, hugging him and sobbing.
April bit her lip to keep from crying too, and then Bo was scrambling into her lap and wrapping her little arms around her neck.
“Don’t worry, April,” she told her solemnly. “I won’t be a cadet. I’ll stay on the ground with you, for a while.”
“Thank goodness,” April said, hugging the wiggly little body back.
“But when do I get my new house?” Bo asked.
“That’s a question for your dad,” April suggested.
“We’ll call the agent tonight,” he said.
The girls cheered and April smiled at Khall over the top of Bo’s head.
They’d had no reason to expect things to go so smoothly, but she was deeply grateful they had.
A week later,they piled out of the hover car at yet another country house.
Their agent, Prauxx Feathersmith-Yun was incredibly patient and good-humored. She jogged up the path now, to answer the coded riddle that would open the gate sensor. The brisk breeze meant she had to hold her hat to her head as she tottered forward on high heels.
Bo followed eagerly. She loved helping to solve the riddles, even if she wasn’t allowed to know the codes. She also liked the agent’s over-the-top fashion sense.
“We’ve seen so many,” Minerva yawned.