“But I can,” Mooralan says.
I want to ask why, but I don’t. “And that’s a problem because?”
“She hates me.” Mooralan rubs the back of his neck. “If she knows you like me…”
“I had wanted to introduce you to her before she found out about this. Money is somewhat of a taboo subject.”
“Is she going to hate me too?” I look between them, and Mooralan shrugs.
Ferrok says, “I hope not.”
“Well, however she feels about you,” Phantom says, “the three of you need to get going… or else Sirin might find a way to punish all of you for the inconvenience.”
He looks calm on the screen, but he does not look like he’s having fun.
“I will go save him. The two of you can stay here, or somewhere else safe.”
“No. Unless you tell me you really don’t want me to meet her, this is one of those things I think we need to face together. I mean, she’s not going to shoot me, right?”
“No, she won’t.” He doesn’t look happy, but he nods, takes my hand, squeezing it, and looks up at Mooralan. “Try not to break every social rule in the book.”
Mooralan scrunches up his face in what could be taken as an unspoken apology. “No promises.”
They leave before me, and Phantom says my name softly before I can follow.
“Yeah?” I look back at them.
“You should know that your sister has negotiated an advance on her future work here.”
Even though I know they wouldn’t take advantage of her, my stomach sinks. “What kind of advance?”
“I purchased your mother’s mortgage.”
I sigh and stop myself from immediately offering to buy it from him. “She’s never going to learn if we keep saving her.”
“I know. Anne knows. We’ll work things out when they need to be worked out.”
I nod. “Please keep me in the loop.”
“Of course.”
CHAPTER 4
The station administrator leaves themomenthe’s able to. Not a good sign. But I can’t blame him.
Ferrok’s mother looks just like him, except her skin is pale yellow, and her eyes are a soft blue.
Softcertainly isn’t how I’d describe the look she turns on me immediately after she releases Ferrok from a hug that would have broken my ribs.
I don’t understand the long string of words she says, but they clearly aren’t meant for me, just about me.
Ferrok looks at her, or down at the ground while she speaks.
“Why can’t Ferrok translate?” I turn my head and ask Mooralan as quietly as I can.
“It’s culturally unacceptable,” he whispers. “`You’re not supposed to speakforsomeone else. If she’d known about you, she would have learned English before she came.”
“In a week?”
