Page 66 of Shades of Earth (Across the Universe 3)

Dad barks with laughter. “Elder is a teenage boy. He doesn’t hate anything with breasts!”

I step back as if Dad’s slapped me.

“Amy, you can’t trust him. And you can’t—don’t—I don’t want you getting in over your head with this boy. I think you’ve let those three months you were on the ship before we landed cancel out the years you were on Earth. You’re one of us. You’re mine. You’re my little girl. ”

“Not anymore,” I say cruelly, sidestepping him and storming toward the building.

Dad grabs me and yanks me back. I think for one terrifying instant that he’s going to hit me, but he doesn’t. He wraps me in a hug so tight I can barely breathe. “I’m not letting you go away mad at me, Amy,” he says softly into my hair. “We can fight, and we can disagree, but I’m never going to let you walk away from me thinking I don’t love you. ”

He loosens his grip on me, and I step back, stunned by his words. Dad is not the mushy type. “This world is dangerous, Amy,” he says. “I don’t know what’s going to happen. I can’t let you walk away from me mad. I love you too much for that. ”

He holds his pinky up, waiting for me to wrap mine around his.

The ice inside me melts. “I love you too,” I say, making a pinky promise just like we used to do when I was a kid. “I promise. ”

And I mean it: I love him.

I’m just not sure I can trust him.

32: ELDER

My eyes shoot open the next morning when I hear loud footsteps clambering up the staircase leading to my building. I stretch, my neck cracking. I used a pile of clothes as an impromptu bed, but I’m going to have to find something better—especially for the pregnant women, who must be hurting more than me.

“Elder!” Amy calls, breathless, as she runs into my room.

A loopy grin slides across my face; I don’t mind being woken up this early in the morning if Amy’s my alarm clock.

Then I see her face. “What’s wrong?” I ask, jumping up and grabbing a tunic from the pile of clothes, pulling it over my head. The air’s already humid and sticky, despite how early it is.

“Kit,” Amy says, still panting from her run up to my building. “Come on. ”

I stagger after her, pulling on my moccasins as I go. “What happened?” I ask, my heart sinking. Other than Amy, Kit is one of the few people on this planet I actually trust—and one of my few friends. If something’s wrong . . .

“I don’t know,” Amy says. Her eyes dart to the bottom of the hill, where Colonel Martin is giving directions to Emma and Chris, pointing out something in the distance.

“What do you mean?” I ask. “Is she all right?”

“I don’t know,” Amy repeats, grabbing my hand and dragging me down the stairs toward Colonel Martin. “This morning, Dad tried to find her, to go over that list she made detailing what everyone’s skills are. He was going to start making permanent work assignments. But she’s missing. ”

“Missing?” I feel stupid. It’s barely morning; the suns have just risen.

“Dad thinks that she’s just wandered off or something, that she’ll turn up soon. ”

“Kit wouldn’t do that,” I say.

She spares a glance at me. “I know. ”

Colonel Martin turns as we run up to him. “Amy,” he says, admonishment in his voice. “I told you not to trouble Elder with this. ”

“Dad, Kit wouldn’t just go. If she’s missing, that means something is wrong. ”

I glance at Amy. We both know if she’s missing, it’s probably already too late.

“I’ve already volunteered to go looking for her,” Emma says. She scowls.

“And I’ve already said it’s nothing,” Colonel Martin says firmly. “I’ve sent some soldiers ahead to the shuttle to see if Kit went there. ”

“She wouldn’t,” I say.