First Watch: A Watcher Bay Adventure Read Online Free

after their arrival from Earth, but Alena lived with her mother among other Original families who insisted on maintaining their independence. They didn’t want to rely on the Founders . They were skeptical and anticipated the technological advances the Founders brought with them would come at a price.
    So far, nothing like this had happened yet. As least as far as Levra knew. But she suspected there was a lot she didn’t know that occurred behind the scenes. She taught at the Ddaeran school, and between her job there and her practically single-parent status, she didn’t have time to follow the politics and dynamics between the Ddaerans and the Founders. Unless a drama played out on the nightly newsfeed that broadcasted into every home in New Seattle, Levra didn’t know about it. She was blissfully content to live her life ignorant of New Eden’s bigger problems. For Levra, the absence of her husband trumped everything else and focusing on other problems only made that issue seem bigger and more insurmountable.
    She called Serla after Alena had called earlier this morning. Levra recalled her sweet voice on the phone.
    “Mrs. Shield? My mother asked me to send for you. Can you come today?”
    “Is everything okay, Alena?”
    “Oh yes, Mrs. Shield. Everything is wonderful. Mother wanted to show you something very special.”
    “Of course, Alena. Tell your mother I’ll be there as soon as I can. I’ll need a sitter for Enric.”
    Serla, as usual, was thrilled to hang out with Enric.
    Now Levra watched the scenery pass by as she sped along the countryside toward Dwyr. The bogs were her favorite portion of the trip. She loved teaching the Ddaerans. The children in the school were sweet and eager to learn. They learned English quickly. Levra didn’t pick up their native tongue nearly as easily, but she managed to learn conversational Ddaeran over the years. Enric couldn’t speak at all but seemed to understand the Originals’ tongue well. There was certainly nothing wrong with his hearing.
    She let out a deep breath as her thoughts raced, hopping from one subject to another.
    First, Gunnar. When would he get home? A little kernel of worry lodged deep in her stomach the day he’d finally touched base after two eternal years of silence. He’d warned her before they lost contact that they were traveling to an area of the planetary system they were exploring. The logistics wouldn’t allow for much, if any, contact with New Eden, but she hadn’t expected to hear nothing for two full years.
    She’d thought he was dead. Then when his ship finally made contact again, something had changed. Gone was the sweet man she’d been married to, gone was the man who comforted her through the loss of her sister, who had held her while she sobbed after she’d said goodbye to her parents for the last time.
    Gunnar was back in body, but her husband—the man she loved—hadn’t returned. She wondered every single day if her Gunnar would return once they were reunited, if only for her son’s sake. She’d learned to live without him, but Enric needed a father.
    During her last communication with Gunnar, he said they would be home within the week. She couldn’t get any information from Abramov Command. Sometimes things happened to delay ships. She knew that. But she also knew from dreadful personal experience that sometimes things happened that destroyed ships and killed crew members. A flash of Mitch’s face passed through Levra’s mind, and her stomach twisted in the combined agony of fear and grief.
    Gunnar couldn’t be dead. He just couldn’t. Their marriage had started a little rough, but they’d grown closer together through the immigration to New Eden. For the first 10 years of marriage, it had only been the two of them. They’d had plenty of time to work through their issues and had settled comfortably into a partnership that had grown from an arranged marriage into love. Falling in love with Gunnar had been easy. He