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“Thanks, Ner,” I say. “I appreciate it.”
“I’ll be waiting for you,” he says. I’m glad I don’t have to ask him to give me space; he’s just doing it because he can tell I need it, and I really appreciate that.
Once he’s gone, I sit down on the pillows in the middle of the room, my legs crossed in front of me. It’s strange. This isn’t how I’d normally phone home, but it’s okay.
“Can you please call my father? Governor David Ward of Atlanta, Georgia. In the United States. On Earth.”
I expect some sort of answer, but there isn’t any. I wonder where this operator is. Then the lights in the room I’m in dim slightly, and I notice that a phone is ringing around me. I’m not sure where, exactly, it’s coming from; it feels like it’s everywhere.
My stomach twists as I realize that it might be my bitch of a stepmother who might pick up, but I breathe a sigh of relief when I hear the voice on the line. “Hello?”
“Dad? It’s me,” I say. “Fiona.”
“Fiona? Honey, where are you? You sound a lot clearer than you normally do.” he asks. “One second.”
“No, Dad, wait…”
I know he’s closing the door to his office. “Okay,” he says. “Sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure no one walks in. How are you?”
“I’m…I’m okay,” I say. “I mean, I’m happy. The wedding was last night.”
“I wish I’d gotten to walk you down the aisle,” he says softly. “I bet you looked stunning. I wish I had been there.”
Yikes, I’m really glad he wasn’t. Maybe, if we ever manage to go back to Earth, I’ll do a ceremony with just Nereus and my dad. A traditional one, with a white dress and everything. I think that would probably make both of them happy.
“It was partly out of necessity,” I say. “We had to do it because we’re about to go into battle, and it helped, you know, our defenses.”
“The war…this is the war you’ve spoken about before, yes?”
“Yes,” I say. “They’re all trusting me to do this insane thing, and I’m so fucking terrified, Dad.”
“Language,” he says.
“Sorry,” I say. Now that I’m queen, it’s easy to forget the rules. But my dad has always been strict about some things, and this is definitely one of them.
“No, it’s okay,” my dad finally replies. “You’re a grown woman taking on an immense burden. You’re allowed to swear a little, if you want to.”
“You know what the worst part is?” I ask him. “It’s all in the water. I’m going to save these aquatic people. As if just taking on a dictator wasn’t scary enough. I keep thinking about what happened to mom, and I…”
“What happened to your mother isnotgoing to happen to you,” he says emphatically. “That was an accident, and your mother was, as kind and lovely as she was, just a woman on a boat. You’re an interstellar queen, Fiona. If anyone can do this, it’s you.”
“When you say it like that, it makes the whole thing sound insane.”
“Only when I say it like that?” he asks, a smile creeping into his voice.
“Alright. It’s crazy no matter what,” I say.
“You have to promise me something, honey,” he says. “Whatever you do—whatever happens—you’re going to take care of yourself. I don’t want to lose you.”
“Of course,” I say. “I promise.”
“And the moment this is over, I want you to give me a call,” he says.
I can’t blink the tears away; they’re sliding down my cheeks despite my best efforts. I sniffle. “I definitely will,” I say.
“Good,” he says. “I believe in you, honey.”
I swallow. “But you’re not worried about me?”
