“Hello,” she said, smiling.
“Hey,” I replied. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing – just reading a book.” Then she added, “If you’re looking for your mother and grandparents, they went out.”
“No, I only popped in to get something to eat,” I stated. Then I frowned. “Wait a minute. Have you been here by yourself all day?”
“Yes, but it’s fine,” she insisted. “Your family asked if I wanted to join them, but I decided to stay here.”
“Oh?” I muttered, raising an eyebrow. It seemed to me that Myshtal spent more than enough time at the embassy. I would have assumed that she was dying to get out.
“They’re getting ready to leave,” she explained. “They’re saying goodbye to old friends, favorite places, treasured memories… Everything that’s familiar. Having gone through the same thing myself, I didn’t want them to be burdened with having to babysit me while they severed ties with so much of the world around them.”
“So they told you,” I surmised. “You know they’re leaving the planet.”
“Yes,” she answered, nodding. “But even if they hadn’t mentioned it, it was going to become evident pretty soon that they went somewhere when they suddenly vanished without a trace.”
“True,” I admitted, chuckling. “But I don’t think my family would leave without telling you goodbye. They would consider it impolite. Plus, they adore you.”
“Really?” she asked. “So all the Carrows are fond of me?”
I blinked. Her query struck me as slightly odd – almost like she was posing two questions in one.
“Of course,” I quickly uttered, hoping I hadn’t paused too long before responding. “Everyone thinks you’re wonderful.”
“Great. I was worried that my being here was becoming a bit of a strain.”
“What?” I blurted. “No…absolutely not. I know that we’ve been preoccupied lately – especially me – but all of us love having you here.”
“And on my part, I should make it clear that you’ve been wonderful hosts,” she intoned. “Now, I believe you mentioned getting something to eat?”
*****
It turned out that Myshtal hadn’t had lunch either, so I ended up nuking a couple of cans of soup in the microwave for us. Afterwards, we sat in the breakfast area, discussing the book she’d been reading (one of Mom’s romances) as we ate.
As always, Myshtal was bubbly and engaging, and it wasn’t long before the conversation moved from books to a variety of other subjects. We found ourselves discussing everything from furniture to pets – mostly comparing Earth versions to their Caelesian counterparts – and I was so engrossed that I quickly lost track of time. It wasn’t until my phone vibrated, indicating receipt of a text message, that I realized how long we’d been talking.
“It’s Electra,” I said aloud as I glanced at my phone. “She wants to meet in the teen lounge at HQ in about twenty minutes.”
“Oh,” Myshtal murmured. “I suppose you should go, then.”
Empathically, I sensed that she was a little crestfallen. We’d been having a good time just chatting, and now I was about to run off again. Remembering my grandfather’s earlier statements, I decided to be bold.
“You know what?” I began. “Why don’t you come, too?”
Myshtal perked up immediately, but then seemed to become wary.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I don’t want to make waves.”
“It’ll be fine,” I declared, with more confidence than I felt. Electra probably wouldn’t be wild about the notion, but – with the rest of my family leaving soon – I needed to start acclimating her to the fact that Myshtal was going to be around more often than not.
With that in mind, I sent a text back to my girlfriend indicating that Myshtal would be joining us. Much to my surprise, she immediately responded, saying it wasn’t a problem. (More specifically, she wrote, “The more, the merrier…”)
With that, I asked Myshtal if she was ready and – upon receiving a reply in the affirmative – teleported us to HQ.
Chapter 67
With some time to kill before meeting Electra, I actually took us to Mouse’s lab. My mentor and BT were now back and greeted us cordially after noting our arrival.
“Got your note,” Mouse said to me after the salutations were done. “Sounds like Gray didn’t really have much to impart.”
“Not really,” I agreed. “I don’t think he said anything worth noting.”
“Hmmm,” BT muttered. “With no new developments or information, we may be at an impasse at the moment.”
“So what does that mean?” asked Myshtal.
“It means we wait until Jack does something else,” Mouse replied. “Anyway, what are you two up to?”
“We’re going to meet Electra in the teen lounge in a few minutes,” I replied.
“Good,” BT said, then turned to Myshtal. “I’m glad that Jim’s current issues haven’t kept him from showing you around.”
“Oh no,” Myshtal assured her. “He’s been great. He even showed me the quarters that I’d be occupying here.”
She then began to recount for BT our earlier visit to HQ, telling her what a wonderful tour guide I’d been. While she was talking, Mouse motioned me aside, indicating that he wanted to speak with me.
“What’s up?” I asked after we had moved a few feet away from the others.
“The princess,” he answered, inclining his head towards Myshtal. “Seeing her reminded me that if she’s going to be joining us here, she’ll probably need to be assigned a mentor.”
“Makes sense,” I noted with a nod. All of us who were part of the League’s teen affiliate had mentors. Myshtal shouldn’t be an exception.
“I’ve been considering the options,” Mouse said, “but figured that it probably made sense to let you weigh in since you know the princess better than anyone else.”
“Okay, who’s at the top of your list?”
“Actually, I was thinking Vixen.”
“No way,” I declared, emphatically shaking my head.
“Why not?” Mouse inquired. “She’s not mentoring anyone at the moment, and she’s a solid member of Alpha League.”
“Your girlfriend’s also a Siren,” I added, “able to manipulate the opposite sex. Do you really think it’s
