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Andra’s knees buckled and Paul grabbed her ar voice "Let’s give Helen and Lexi some time alone with their father"

The crowd cleared out, but didn’t go far Not that Lexi blamed them It wasn’t every day that an alien came to visit

"Tell me of your lives," asked Lucien "I would like to have bits and pieces of you to take back with h it was hard at first, Lexi found shining slivers of her life to share with the father she’d never known As Helen and she shared stories, they flowed out more easily, and Lexi realized that her life hadn’t been nearly as griood ti around under the stars with her newfound fa thenaling their tiood-bye with sloppy, teary hugs all around Zach found a digital ca one out for their father to take with him

Lucien held his to his heart and wept Those tears were still falling as he raised his hand and suht

Lexi held Helen’s hand as he stepped into that light and vanished

"Do you think we’ll ever see hiain?" asked Helen

"He said he couldn’t coe Maybe this Solarc asshole will stop being a dick"

"You should have asked Lucien if that was possible," said Lexi

Helen blushed "I’d never talk that way in front of ?"

Lexi looked at Helen and burst out in giggles

They clung to each other, laughing and crying as the sun came up

Chapter 28

Lexi couldn’t stand the idea of going back inside right now The ood on her skin--cool and clear and scented with dewy grass And Zach He was at her side, her silent shadow, allowing her the ti that had happened to her in a short few days

She had a father A sister A home

It wasit even sweeter was the fact that she had Zach to share in her joy

"You should go back in and rest," he said

"In a few minutes I just want to feel the sun on my face for a while"

He nodded and slipped his fingers through hers His ring gave off a happy buzz, and she felt a current of energy slide up her ar the stone wall surrounding Dabyr, tracing it with her finger as she neared the broken section There were a few Theronai posted to guard the opening, but most of the activity had dwindled Without Helen and Gilda, there was little they could do Apparently, each stone could only be put in place after the woic running through the rock at her fingertips It was old and had once been powerful, but that power had groeary over ti small cracks in the ar to be filled She could al at her

A churning ribbon of poove through her, and for the first ti easily into Lexi’s fingertips, obeying her will

She wanted Dabyr to be a safe place for all who lived here She wanted the children to go to sleep at night without wondering if this would be the one the h and know in their hearts that for as long as they stayed within these walls, nothing could har out of Lexi, traveling through her fingers into the chunks of stone beneath theether and deeper ones, ones she could only see inside hervibration spread down the wall, away fro Lexi watched as itbirds into the air She saw ripples forhtened cry of people near the

"Lexi?" said Zach in a low, questioning tone "What are you doing?"

"Fixing the wall"

She kept pouring power into the task, feeling it flow through her like water, liquid and easy Molecules of rock shifted, locking tighter together until the surface of the stone glea their way and the few guards posted here turned to gawk at her

"A?" she asked Zach