Here’s another technical reread, though I’m pretty sure my original read was back in high school. There’s also another book in the series, so I was having some weird déjà vu moments that ended up not panning out, because what I was remembering must happen in the next book.
The books ends up being sort of like a series of short stories, though they do progress in chronological order, and interweave a bit. In the last book (Damia), Damia and Afra Lyon end up together, and the books ends with her pregnant with their first child. Laria is now nearly grown, and there are seven more to the brood. This is the story of the oldest four (Laria, Thian, Rojer and Zara) as they reach adulthood and take on jobs within the larger world, as Prime telepathic talents.
The major theme is the advance of the understanding of the Hivers. The Hivers had tried to invade Damia’s father’s home world, but were turned back by the combined power of all the talents of the Earth Alliance. That brought them to the attention of the Mrdini – an alien race, who until then had only been able to turn back Hiver colony ships with suicide runs. Damia’s children are part of an experiment to raise human and Mrdini together to make sure they understand each other and can work together. Her two oldest children go on to live with Mrdini to help them in the fight.
It’s a fine book, but I remember loving it more when I was younger. I hate it when an adult read takes a bit of the glow off a younger memory.