Feyland: The Bright Court

Chapter Thirty-Two

“Your father has arrived home,” HANA said, interrupting Jennet’s homework. “He requires your presence in the living room.”

Great. “Tell him I’ll be down in a minute.”

After a short pause, HANA said, “I have notified him.”

When Jennet reached the living room, her dad was sitting on the couch. He looked tired as usual, his eyebrows pulled into a nearly perpetual frown. Getting moved off of Feyland hadn’t been good for him. Neither had swimming against the company tide, and it seemed the company-mandated psych sessions weren’t doing much to help.

He glanced at her. “Come in and sit down, Jen. We need to talk.”

She perched on her chair like it was the edge of a cliff. “What’s going on?”

“It’s come to my attention that you and Tam have been using the Full-D systems. Which you know are off limits.”

She swallowed and clenched her fingers together. “Dad, we had to. You have no idea what’s at stake! Feyland can affect the real world - we can’t let the game be released.”

“So by breaking the rules and using the Full-D, you’re saving the world?” He shook his head. “I’m afraid Tam’s not welcome here any more.”

“What?” Panic squeezed her chest. “But… he has to come over.”

If she and Tam couldn’t go in-game, how could they possibly find a solution? They’d saved Marny - but what about everybody else?

“I can’t trust you.” Her dad pinched the bridge of his nose. “If Tam comes over again, there will be serious consequences.”

“When Feyland is released, there will be serious consequences for every person who plays it! Dad, you have to believe me. Please… just come in-game.”

He gave her a tired look. “At least it looks like our hardware is fixed - since neither you nor Tam required hospitalization after playing.”

“I told you, it’s not the system, it’s the Realm of Faerie - ”

“This is the modern world, not some fairytale.”

“But - ”

He held up one hand. “Jennet, listen to me. The company is scheduling the beta-testing for Feyland. And I’ve volunteered to be a tester for the game.”

“You have?” She sucked in a breath. Suddenly the tables were turned, and she didn’t like it one bit. “But… what if you get hurt?”

 “I won’t - because I’m starting to believe Dr. Lassiter is right. A couple of the early prototypes had neural interface issues, but the company has worked everything out. And if there are problems, I’ll be right there, willing to speak up.”

Worry settled in the pit of her stomach, like she’d swallowed tar. She couldn’t talk Dad out of playing - especially not when she’d just been begging him to. And maybe, just maybe, he’d see she was right. She let out her breath.

“When does beta-testing start?” she asked.

“In another week. Now, do I have your promise that Tam won’t come over again?”

If she didn’t agree, he’d probably do something even more drastic, like forbid her to see Tam at all. Or ship her back to Prep, her old school, as a boarding student.

“All right.” The words tasted sour in her mouth.

A solution seemed as far away as the moon, but she and Tam had to figure out some way to keep playing. They had to break the Bright King’s power and shut off the connection between Feyland and the Realm of Faerie. Permanently.