CHAPTER 41Standing next to the counter in the fabrication shop where the other Ping had placed the items they’d gotten from the steam lab, Mara stared down at them because she didn’t want to look her father in the eye. He was in full-on parental mode, and she didn’t have time to dance around it.
“I’m not asking for your permission,” she said.
Her father’s jaw clenched; the muscles alongside his face flexed. Using a single finger, he turned and lifted her chin to face him. “You cannot go after that thing with nothing more for protection than a few baubles from the lab. That dragon will tear you apart. If you won’t worry about your own safety, at least think of the baby.”
“Don’t you understand? The dragon isn’t the real threat. It’s just a machine being used by the Aphotis, and it will us
