to help you look after these two.”
The Colonel released a long breath.
“I can’t believe my children have just succeeded where I have failed,” he said with a smile in his deep voice.
I slid a suspicious glance at him. “Did you just use your kids to make me stay?”
“And it was worth it!” He grinned at me without a hint of remorse. “Hey boys! Olvar, Zun, guess what?”
“What?” They bounced our way.
“Daisy is staying for an entire year with us,” he announced brightly, giving me a wink.
“A year!” They turned to me.
“Minus the two weeks that have passed,” I added quickly.
The Colonel ignored my statement. “We’ll be bringing you home every weekend.”
The kids’ jewel-colored eyes shone with delight that warmed my heart.
“Can we build snowmen every week?” Olvar asked.
“Well, as long as there is snow, I guess.” I spread my hands aside.
“Yes!” They both leaped at me at once, pushing me back into the snow.
They giggled, making me laugh as I rolled in the snow with them.
The Colonel was right. It was definitely worth it.
Chapter 12
“WHERE IS THAT FUCKING thing!” the Colonel’s deep voice boomed from downstairs. The sound of his stomping hooves echoed through the entire cluster of domes of his place.
With a last glance at my reflection in the mirror, I smoothed the flared skirt of my powder-blue dress, shoved my feet into a pair of cream-colored pumps and ran out of the bedroom.
It’d been over a week since our play day in the snow. My parenting course at The Ministry of Children’s Education and Wellbeing had started yesterday. The Colonel was about to drop me off for my second class on his way to work.
“What are you looking for?” I asked, running down the stairs into the main room.
“My fucking personal tablet,” he growled, shoving aside the flower garlands to search behind the pots by the wall. “I always put it right here!” He slammed his fist into one of the planters. “Every fucking morning. And now I’m going to be late for work!”
“Oh, you won’t.” I waved him off. “You’re always a year early everywhere, anyway. Omni,” I asked, turning to the frame on the stick quietly humming nearby. “Do you know where the Colonel’s tablet went?”
“Unfortunately, that unit is not connected to my system. I am unable to locate it,” the AI sounded crestfallen.
I knew the robot had no emotions, he simply mirrored the intonations of people, but I still felt sorry for him.
“Colonel Kyradus did not notify me of the tablet’s location when he misplaced it,” Omni added, apologetically.
“If I knew of its location to notify you then it wouldn’t be misplaced in the first place,” the Colonel raged. “Would it?”
“Didn’t you go to the bathroom, after breakfast?” I dashed to the main floor bathroom.
Sure enough, the tablet was lying right there, behind the oblong flower pot next to the hand dryer by the sink.
Back in the main room, I shoved it into the Colonel’s hands.
“Here. Stop stomping around and yelling at the poor robot. And don’t forget to charge it in the aircraft on your way to work.”
He grunted, staring at the tablet in his hands then moved his eyes to me.
“Why do I let you get away with chastising me as if I were a child, in front of my household AI nevertheless?”
I propped my hands on my hips.
“Because I’m pretty much the only person on this planet who is not afraid to tell you things the way they are.”
There was no need for me to be afraid of him, I trusted the Colonel would never hurt me. I also sensed he appreciated hearing the truth from me.
I grabbed the bag with my own tablet and some writing materials off the hook by the door.
“Oh, and because you like me, of course,” I teased, wishing to disperse the tension that was still hanging over him like a storm cloud.
His stare lingered on me, growing more intense. The tension in the air didn’t dissipate but its nature seemed to shift somehow, chasing my smile away.
“Um, we should go,” I said quietly, twisting the handle of my bag in my hands. “Now, you’re actually risking being late.”
He didn’t move from his spot, however, continuing to stare at me.
“How are you feeling about the class today, Daisy?” he asked.
Yesterday, before it started, I’d felt sick with nerves.
I’d learned that at least half of the students in my class would be women. My encounter with Voranian women at the Governor’s Ball hadn’t gone that well, because of