Read Feyland: The First Adventure for Free Online

again. And how would Kenzer ever notice her if she left?
    “I don’t want to be separated from you, Jennet, but I don’t want to uproot you, either. Prep has a boarding option.”
    “Wait, you’d just leave me here? Alone?” The thought rose up to choke her. She’d already had one parent abandon her.
    “Honey. I only want what’s best for you. I’d miss you a lot, but Crestview doesn’t have much to recommend it. VirtuMax is building an intentional neighborhood for the staff—but right now very few of the amenities are in place. Until the VirtuMax school is built, you’d have to attend the local high school. There’s no choir, none of the kind of cultural activities you’re used to.”
    Great. Accept abandonment, or go with Dad to the backside of nowhere. Neither choice appealed.
    “I’ll think about it.”
    He nodded. “It’s still a few months out. We’ll figure it out.”
    She didn’t want to figure it out. She wanted to crawl back inside the game, where winning was practically guaranteed, and where troubles didn’t cling to her like viscous shadows, darkening everything.
    “All right,” she said. Though it wasn’t.
     

     
    A dding to Jennet’s frustration, her dad caught a summer cold that kept him home for a solid week. Though her head itched and her fingers burned with the desire to play Feyland, she couldn’t risk logging into the FullD system. Even when Dad was napping.
    Once he felt a little better, Thomas came to visit. The three of them sat in the living room, drinking cups of minty tea. Jennet scuffed at the patterned oriental rug with the toe of her shoe, wishing she could ask him about Feyland.
    “Dr. Lassiter was inquiring when you’ll be back to work,” Thomas said to her dad. “She doesn’t want the project to fall behind.”
    “I’ve messaged her every day,” Dad said. “Asking you isn’t going to make me miraculously better.” He paused to cough, then took a sip of tea. “I should be back next Monday. And we’re not going to fall behind. We don’t have the time.”
    Thomas nodded, and a look passed between the two men that Jennet couldn’t decipher. She wrapped her hands around her mug and studied Thomas. He didn’t look that great, himself; pale and strained, and thinner than the last time he’d been over.
    “Are you okay?” she asked.
    Surprise flashed over his face before he covered it with a tight smile. “I’m fine.”
    “Maybe coming down with my cold,” Dad said at the same time.
    “Maybe so,” Thomas said, after a too-long second. He gulped his tea and rose. “I’ll see you at work. Lunch as usual on Monday?”
    “Of course.” Her dad half-rose as Thomas stood to leave.
    “No, don’t get up.” Thomas waved him back onto the couch. “You rest. And Jennet,” he turned to her, “stay out of trouble.”
    “Always do.” Since there was pretty much zero trouble she could get into in their upscale neighborhood, with the house staff watching, and her game access denied. She took a sip of her cooling tea. “I’ll see you out.”
    At the door, Thomas took her by the shoulder. “I’m serious. If you’re—”
    “One more thing,” her dad called, moving slowly out of the living room. “If you need something to mollify Dr. Lassiter, tell her the techs are ready to code the next level.”
    Thomas nodded. He squeezed Jennet’s shoulder and let his hand drop heavily to his side.
    “You two take care.” He stepped outside, into the too-warm brightness of the summer afternoon.
    For a moment he was outlined in light, a brilliant flare that made Jennet blink. Then it was just Thomas, thin and weary, walking out to his car. She and Dad stood together, watching until Thomas pulled away. The smell of fresh-cut lawn swirled into the house, and Jennet’s dad sighed.
    “What’s wrong?” she asked.
    “Just work stuff. I’m going to lie down for a bit.”
    Pressing her lips together in worry, Jennet didn’t push him. Couldn’t push. Her words