“Another apology isn’t going to help. Besides, the orb glows are blooming tonight, and after that, she’ll be gone,” Apodis said, a crack of thunder interrupting the tense energy of the room.
“Well?” Zenith asked. “Go find her then. Will you let her go out in this storm alone?”
Storm? There wasn’t supposed to be a storm today, but as Apodis checked his comm and flipped to the correct screen, a warning flashed for an ion tempest, uncharacteristic for this time of the year, but frightening all the same.
“Maybe they’ll cancel the mission to collect the spores. Surely they’ll see the weather and know it’s dangerous,” Apodis murmured, though he was already standing up, Zenith following him to the front door.
“Does Gemini seem the type to give up so easily?” Zenith asked, and in his heart Apodis knew the truth.
“No. No, she does not,” he answered. “But I don’t know what grove of orb glows her crew was studying…”
Apodis pressed a palm to the interface, the door whooshing open and revealing a glowing sky of lush green and violet, the ionized gases interacting with the setting sun. Turquoise lightning forked across the dark sky, and it filled him with simultaneous dread and determination.
“You can scent her. Find her. Protect her,” Zenith said, though Apodis no longer needed the encouragement.
He knew what he was going to do.
When Zenith made to follow, Apodis turned and shook his head, a stern look on his face.
“You’re staying here, Z. I’ll find her, I promise.”
Zenith growled, but stayed at the door, not stepping outside.
“Bring her home.Please,” the caerulian said, and Apodis nodded, knowing he’d risk everything to do just that.
CHAPTER 19
GEMINI
Halley was justas smug as Gemini had expected, and yet it mattered so little when compared to everything else she was dealing with.
It was pathetic how attached she’d gotten in such a short time, but as she went through the motions at work—after explainingsomeof what had happened—a part of her felt empty. She was ashamed that she hadn’t even said goodbye to Zenith; the caerulian wasn’t the problem.
No, the issue was Apodis, the sad look on his face etched into her memory as she said a swift farewell when he’d dropped her off at the camp.
Gemini couldn’t handle any more apologies, just needed to get back to the life she was supposed to be living. The fantasy had been fun, but had it been worth it?
She hadn’t yet mentioned her new geneticconditionto Castor or the others, though she supposed she would have to before they left. The doctor in Aerumi had responded to her message swiftly, so there was some hope she’d have things sorted out for the trip home, but all the unknowns still weighed on her.
God, what a fucking mess everything was.
It was even difficult to look forward to the blooming, though she tried to remain focused on her goal. Collecting the spores for analysis could benefit an immense number of people, and it was worth it to ignore the ache in her heart and catch up on all the work she’d missed while she was gone.
This was what she was meant to do, work hard for NovaFlora and try her best to help people.
Love was not part of her life’s plan.
After almost a full day of work with little sleep, everything was prepared for the blooming. The only problem? Their radar showed a storm heading their way, and not a small one. How was it that the entire trip had been crystal clear save for a few showers here and there, the dense canopy assisting the soil in retaining moisture, butnowa full-on tempest could ruin everything?
“The NovaFlora higher-ups want us to abandon the vitellus mission, and I have to agree,” Castor saidas the four of them huddled in his tent. “We have enough samples of other specimens for this to still be a productive trip. It’s a shame to miss out on the vitellus, but it’s not worth risking everyone’s safety.”
A knot welled in Gemini’s throat, heated tears burning at her eyes at the thought of leaving without the orb glow spores. There was no way NovaFlora would approve a return trip all the way to the edge of the Fringe, not for a single plant that had so little value to them.
But it meanteverythingto her.
“I’m going,” she said, interrupting the conversation between her three crew members.
They all turned to her with furrowed brows, the pitter patter of rain already ramping up as droplets hit the tent.
