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Hrakin winced. “Are you sure?”

  “No, but it is a pretty safe guess. She makes the adults uneasy and upsets her peer group. It is the first sign.”

  “Please take that back.”

  Mila chuckled. “Now, why would I want to do that? She is my clone and made to be my closest genetic match on this world. She is me if I had been born pure Lrrko. Why are you surprised that I would be a disrupter?”

  Alveck snorted. “No surprise here.”

  Mila frowned at him. “Hey, you have managed over a hundred eggs out of me in the last year. Quiet or I cut off the supply.”

  Alveck held his hands up. “Right. Sorry, Ma’am.”

  Hrakin snorted. “Come on. Check the scans Alveck. Let us know if she is all right.”

  “Oh. Right.” He went to the scanner and checked the readout. “Wow. If you were born a Lrrko, you would be the scariest female I have ever met.”

  Mila looked at the infant in her arms. “Do you hear that, Niika? You are already scaring people. It is a fun sign. You are going to have your Familiar running for the hills.”

  The baby waved her hands again and let out a kittenish mewl.

  Hrakin snorted. “I think she is already imagining terrorizing him. This is going to be a very long growth period.”

  Mila looked to Alveck. “Can we take her home?”

  “Please. There is another decanting tomorrow. I don’t know what kind of havoc she would wreak with the infant.”

  Mila spoke to Niika. “We are going to get you cleaned up and get you dressed, and then, we are going to the city apartment and, then, we are heading home. You will like it. Plenty of rocks to play with and only me and your father to torture.”

  Hrakin sighed. “Come, my lovelies. We have plenty of time in the air, and then, I have a council vote to attend.”

  Mila wrinkled her nose at the baby and leaned against her Familiar as he walked her to the lift and their vehicle.

  * * * *

  Niika Mila-Hrakin looked at the candidates for the dubious position as her Familiar, and she grinned. She gave them unease and watched to see who shifted. She gave them panic and watched to see who tensed.

  At the age of twenty, it was time for her to pick a Familiar. Her father was still head of the council, but he had no say in this choosing. That was one of the regulations that Elder Lynni had put in effect. Their daughters could choose as long as the men were in the compatible range.

  The Elders had made all volunteers jump through hoops to make it this far, but Niika wanted to push them further.

  She manipulated their emotions for about five minutes, and then, she turned to the councillors. “I have chosen.”

  Her father looked relieved, and her mother shouted from next to him. “Woo hoo!”

  “Name your choice, Daughter of Mila.”

  “Rylin. I have selected Rylin.”

  She turned, and the projectile specialist looked at her with surprise. She grinned.

  Weaponry was one thing that she had not quite grasped, and having her Familiar train her would be educational.

  Her mother had always stressed the importance of a good education.

  Author’s Note

  My thanks to my editor, Janet, who was slaving over this book on release day to finish it in time.

  Well, after my surgery, I had to deal with losing my grandmother, and I am hoping that it is as bad as 2016 can get. It is not off to a stellar start.

  Thanks for reading,

  Viola Grace

  About the Author

  Viola Grace (aka Zenina Masters) is a Canadian sci-fi/paranormal romance writer with ambitions to keep writing for the rest of her life. She specializes in short stories because the thrill of discovery, of all those firsts, is what keeps her writing.

  An artist who enjoys a story that catches you up, whirls you around and sets you down with a smile on your face is all she endeavours to be. She prefers to leave the drama to those who are better suited to it, she always goes for the cheap laugh.