Page 259 of Sky’s Edge

He stated that apropos of nothing but in a way he knew it would be fact.

“Honey, honestly, I’m not really worried about it. At all,” I stressed.

He cupped my cheek and stroked it with his thumb. “I know.”

“Lunch is served!” Mom shouted from downstairs.

Tanyn’s hand dropped from my face so he could take my own and guide me down the stairs of my childhood home.

We sat down to lunch.

Mom and Zyra seemed to have calmed down on the whole “this is going to go well if it kills us” thing.

And by the time we left, it did.

But then again, it started that way.

So it would.

I was supervising another four cases of my stuff that would be going with us back to the Edge.

My case-minder spit out the first and it moved to hover against the wall, the second one in line clicked into place and I heard the soft whir of clothing being folded and set inside.

All of this while I finished with programming what I wanted to take.

Hitting save, my Palm went with a comm.

I looked at the display and took it.

“Hey there,” I greeted Gayle.

“Hey,” she replied. “Listen, Cormac and I aren’t going to be at Aleksei’s to meet the jet. Since I’m down here, I’m going to take a couple of meetings in the office so they won’t come under the mistaken impression I’ve turned into an actual holo. Then Cormac’s been called down to Land’s End. He has a few things he wasn’t able to reschedule, and he can’t holo into them. We probably won’t be back until the weekend.”

There was something I was hearing that she wasn’t, due to the potion.

All of this “we” stuff between her and Cormac.

Gods, they were a couple without being a couple because of that stupid potion and Cormac’s stupid damage (whatever it was).

Since there was nothing for it, at least for another few weeks, I didn’t comment on it.

I considered her news.

This was happening, along with Aleece and Bain staying in the Fall, because she had another appearance she didn’t want to cancel. They were then going to Dawn’s Break so he could sort out his own life for a possible long haul of all of us communing together while we figured out the situation at hand.

Not to mention, Laura and Aleksei were staying for a few days. He, so he could take some meetings tomorrow, she, so she could show up on set personally for a few days. They weren’t scheduled to return to Berg until Thursday.

Further, Uly and Estra were staying a bit longer and taking a commercial craft back to the Edge later, so Estra could do some shopping.

And last, Mangold and Zyra were staying for a few days so they could do the things I’d planned for them to do during their defunct visit, but Mom and Dad were going to be taking over as tour guides.

Thus, it was only me, Tanyn and Nayden heading back on the jet.

I couldn’t say I was super comfortable with everyone scattered to the winds.

I could say, we all had lives, and I understood they needed to sort theirs before we could effectively hunker down and concentrate on discovering what we were dealing with.

“I’ve got a couple of cases that will be delivered to Aleksei’s penthouse, though,” Gayle continued. “If you could take them up to the Edge for me?”