"Bye Mom!" Thia squeezed her mom in a hug. Then she did the same to her dad. "I'll keep Rikan and Garan out of trouble," she promised.

"Thank you," Cinder said.

"Don't be too much trouble for Tressa," Kai said.

Rikan walked up. "You guys worry too much. Besides, you should be worried about Logan or Duke, not me and Garan. They're the real troublemakers." He was right. Logan, Scarlet and Wolf's only son and second youngest child, and Duke, Cress and Thorne's youngest child, were always up to no good.

"That's true," Cinder agreed. "But it looks like Cress and Scarlet are talking to them."

When Peony and Garan came to say their goodbyes, Kai pulled them all into a hug. "I love you guys," he whispered.

"Love you too, Dad," they whispered back.

Then, the goodbyes were over. All the kids gathered by Torin and Tressa and waved as their parents boarded the Rampion. Winter blew them a kiss as the door shut and the lifted off into the sky. They were on their way to Luna.

---

Torin and Tressa herded all fifteen children inside the palace and up to the playroom. The older kids sat in a corner and talked while the younger ones played under Tressa's watchful eye.

"I don't understand why we couldn't go too," Michelle complained. She tucked a dark strand of hair behind her ear.

"Probably thought we were going to get in the way," Leo said.

"Or they were worried about us," Maha, Michelle's thirteen-year-old sister, suggested.

Peony made an unprincesslike snort. "Your parents never worry about you."

"All parents worry," said Garry, Winter and Jacin's oldest.

Thia tightened her ponytail. "We can go."

Everyone looked at her in confusion.

"To Luna," she clarified.

"What?" Rikan asked.

"Even your twin is confused," Maha pointed out.

Thia let out a breath before explaining in a hushed whisper. "We can go to Luna with our parents. I know the ship already left, but Leo here has been training. Rikan and I learned a bit about flying too and I'm willing to bet that Aunt Scarlet taught Elle and Maha a little bit about it." Once everyone confirmed her suspicions, Thia continued. "Rikan and I have a medium sized ship, the Mechanic. At midnight, we'll all go to the roof where the ship is docked, and we'll board. Then, we fly to Luna, find our parents, and help them deliver the antidote and stop the Levana sympathizers."

"How are we all going to fit on your ship?" Michelle wondered.

"I'm not going," Peony said quickly.

"Why?" Rikan asked.

"Because I'm Acting Empress while Mom and Dad are gone. They trusted me. I can't leave," she explained.

Thia placed her hand on her sister's. "I get it. So, not including Peony, it's fourteen people."

"No," Garry said suddenly.

"What?"

"Mimi isn't going. She's too young. So is Solstice and Autumn. If we're doing this, only I will go."

"That makes sense," Leo said. "Most of our siblings are too young."

"Okay," Thia decided. "Only those of us sitting here, minus Peony, will go."

"And Ruby," Michelle added.

"Ruby?" Maha asked. "She's only ten!"

"And she has a gun and knows how to fly a hover," Michelle protested. "She's coming."

"Fine," Maha grumbled. "Then what about Logan? Is he coming too?"

"No," Michelle said firmly. "He's too weak. If anything happens, he'll be the first to run or get caught. Mom and Dad can't handle that. He'll stay here where it's safe."

"Okay, so, the people going are me, Rikan, Leo, Garry, Michelle, Maha, and Ruby." Thia announced. "Is that everyone?"

They all nodded.

"Then it's settled. Be ready on the roof at midnight."