The remaining seven people's faces fell the moment they heard her words.
This wasn't how they thought things would go.
They had come here with Magnus Sterling.
'He asked to stay, so Sterling must know we want to stay too.'
'So why is she telling us to leave?!'
One of the women stepped forward and said, "Sterling, that's not what I meant. We regret our decision, too. We want to stay."
"Yes, yes, Sterling! We're not leaving."
"From now on, we're Caeluna's people. We've decided to stay with Caeluna."
The others chimed in, one after another, all declaring they had no intention of leaving Caeluna and wished to stay.
"My apologies, everyone. You were already given a chance to choose, and you all chose to leave."
Despite their remorse and their attempts to get on her good side, Stella Sterling gave them an apologetic look, though her words were an unequivocal rejection of their request.
The group's faces fell.
