This causes his frown to grow even deeper, and the children behind him mutter amongst themselves, but the guardian gets to her feet.
“Oh, bless you! That man is evil and his plans for these children are just as bad.”
“Gather your things. We won’t be coming back, and anything you can’t carry will be replaced,” Xavier tells the group ofchildren, who amazingly don’t argue, just follow orders like good little soldiers. My soul weeps for them.
“Why should we go with you?” the boy demands, and I have to admire his stubbornness.
“Because your parents are already on our ship, and we are going to make sure you can be together again and be children, not soldiers,” I state plainly.
“We’re going to sea?” one of the other boys asks, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “I’ve never seen the ocean.”
I wince. “Actually, when I said ship, I meant spaceship.”
His lips purse, and his eyes bug out. “We’re going to space? Oh, I’ve never done that either.” He starts to shove things into his backpack quicker, and I stifle a smile.
“Chloe?” Brannock calls as he studies each of the female children. “Where’s Chloe?” he demands harshly, and his form starts to flicker again.
Both Xavier and I put a hand on him and push calming vibes into him.
“Chloe? What do you want with her?” The head boy crosses his arms and widens his feet, his body tense with aggression.
“Easy, son, this is Chloe’s father. He’s been looking for her,” Tirrian tells the boy, and this time, he doesn’t stay calm, his eyes widening too.
“Her dad? She said you would come and you would rescue us all. She’s in with her foster parents. They just had a baby, and Smith promised if she behaved, she could spend some time with them for a few days. That should be in the last cell block before here.” He gives up the information and starts to pack his own bag. Obviously, he trusts Chloe and Brannock by association.
I heave out a sigh of relief. This has been a lot easier than I anticipated. Thank goodness we didn’t need the sedatives.
“Once you are packed, can you help with the little ones?” I ask, and the children are quick to agree.
“How have they all stayed so well natured?” I muse, and their guardian hears me.
“I’m Francine. Smith didn’t have a lot to do with them day to day. It was mostly me and the other two ladies. He would come in once a month and spout off propaganda, which basically went over most of their heads, so we raised them normally, schooling them and letting them be kids before he could turn them into super soldiers. We wanted to instill some kindness and good morals into them.”
“Well, you have done an admirable job.” I squeeze her hand.
“What’s going to happen to us now?” she whispers.
“Don’t worry, we will protect you. We can arrange for you to start new lives anywhere in the world or you can come with us if you want. If you decide to stay on Earth, you will need to have the fact that aliens exist locked in your mind. It won’t hurt you, you just won’t be able to talk about them.”
“I’ve always wanted to move to Australia, and that’s fine, I understand why.” She goes back to her packing.
Finally, we have all the children organized, and we herd them through the complex. Xavier, Tirrian, and Saxon go with them, while Brannock and I stop at the final breeding block to release all of these captives.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Brannock
Lila and I open all the doors in this block, and when the doors open, I can’t wait any longer.
“Chloe,” I call, my voice husky with emotions.
“Daddy?” a small voice replies hesitantly.
I spin around to where the voice came from. “Chloe?” I ask, clenching my hands into fists in an attempt not to rip the door off the hinges and barge into the room. I don’t want to scare the people the boy called her foster parents. What is with that?
“Daddy?” My daughter appears in the doorway, flanked by a man and woman. The woman has a baby in her arms, and the man has a hand on Chloe’s shoulder. A growl rips out of my lips before I can stop it, and my spines bristle aggressively. “Daddy, it is you! I knew you would come.”
She throws herself at me, and I pick her up and swing her around. She’s in her human glamour. Her dark hair is in two braids, and her crystal blue eyes sparkle with happiness. Her plump cheeks are round, and I can feel through her clothes she has been well looked after.
