Christie Anderson [The Water Ambrosia Shore (epub)

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.“Why? Do you have something valuable they might want?”My thoughts shifted to the Water Briolette in my possession.I shrugged nervously.“Um, I don’t know… What kind of things would they think were valuable?”“Well, unless you have access to government secrets, powerful weapons and technology, or information regarding possible threats to Ambrosia, I’d say your chances of impressing them are slim.”I nodded in defeat, but I still had a feeling the Water Briolette could be valuable to the Council.Even though they didn’t need it in Ambrosia to heal, it would give them the power to go to Earth whenever they wanted without needing to use Healing Water, and without the threat of getting injured or killed.I kept the idea as an option in the back of my mind—use the Briolette as a bribe to get the Council to let me return home with my memory intact.Of course, that would require me to give the stone away, and I wasn’t sure it would be easy to part with.I had become rather fond of knowing I didn’t need the Healing Water to survive, and the fact that Voss couldn’t hurt me or my mom was reason enough to keep it a secret as long as possible.I also realized the plan could backfire.The Council could confiscate the stone while still forcing me to do what they wanted.For now, I decided trading the Briolette was only a backup plan.My fingers moved rapidly, subconsciously through the strands of hair hanging down the front of my shoulder.“I heard somewhere that only people born on Ambrosia can be admitted to the Ambassadors Academy.Is that true?” I asked.“Yes, that’s true.” Orion replied.“You also have to be a natural-born citizen to hold any public office in Banya.I don’t think the law has come up in the last century or two, but back when the leaders of Ambrosia were still recruiting new citizens from Earth, it had become a bit of a problem.There were issues with loyalty.It almost started a war.”I looked down.“I guess that’s why the Council is so strict about that kind of stuff.”“Exactly,” Orion agreed.He smiled at me knowingly.“I don’t suppose you had hopes of possibly enrolling at the Academy, did you?”“It had crossed my mind,” I admitted.“You don’t think they would make any exceptions for, I don’t know, the Ambassador’s daughter?”Orion chuckled.“Sadie, if the Council knew that the Ambassador was your father, there would be a whole new set of complications to worry about.”I shook my head and pretended to laugh with him.“Yeah, I know.I was just joking.” I started to turn.“Well, I better get going; I don’t want to be late.”“Sadie, wait,” Orion said, reaching for my shoulder.He paused as I looked back at him.“I just wanted to say…that I realize your predicament is partially my fault, and I’m going to make every effort to persuade the Council to find a fair solution.Your father and I will both do our best to help you through this.It’s going to be okay.”“Thanks,” I nodded quietly.“I’m sure I could use the help.”I turned and left for school, feeling somewhat lost.I was hoping Orion would have concrete advice for me to follow, but all he basically said was that none of my ideas would work, and not to worry because everything would be okay.It felt like empty promises.How did I know Orion and my father would smooth everything over in my favor? They were certainly taking their time with helping Rayne.Orion’s sympathy was a nice gesture, but I wanted a plan.I wanted a list of steps to follow that would ensure a positive outcome.This was the whole rest of my life we were talking about.The unease continued with me throughout the day, especially when Heather brought up the subject of UCLA again at lunch.My plans for the future were so uncertain.I didn’t feel like I could make any plans, and the last thing I wanted to do was hold back Heather from making hers.I almost wanted to tell her to move on with things without me, to find a new roommate for college before it was too late.But a part of me was scared; I didn’t want to let go of the possibility.Maybe it could work out to go to college with Heather.Maybe there was still a chance that Rayne could come with me, and my mom would be just a short drive away.I didn’t say anything to Heather about my doubts, hoping there was still time to figure something out.After school, I went ahead and picked up a shift at the frozen yogurt shop with Nicole.My security had been lightened ever since my father went to Banya, so I figured I might as well try to earn some money.My prom dress had taken a nice little chunk from my bank account.Nothing overly interesting happened at work.They actually sent me home a couple of hours early because business was slow.I didn’t mind.That meant I could get home in time to write Rayne in the diary before his guards turned out the lights for the night.When I arrived home that evening, I noticed something sitting on the ground in front of our door.I moved up closer to my house and realized it was some kind of gift, a small stuffed animal shaped like a turtle, with a string tied around the neck where a balloon was attached.I was just about to open the card with my name on it when Agent Duke stopped me with his hand.“Wait,” he said, “let me inspect it first.”I tried to hold back a laugh.“Sure, go ahead,” I said.I had a feeling that if anyone wanted to hurt me, especially Voss, a fuzzy little toy would not be his weapon of choice.Once Agent Duke was done with his examination, finding nothing suspicious, I opened the card and read the short note.I realize this invite was a little SLOW, but there’s an important question I would like to know.I would pay any fee, or climb up a tree, if it meant that you’d go to prom with me…From, DarrinI laughed to myself.It was a cute card, and a very sweet gift.It may not have come from Rayne, but at least it was from a friend that I knew I would have a fun night with [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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