The thick press of the forest at night made darker under Nox’s Sphere suffocated Sagan. She still hated the dark after the Invasion Day battle at J.A. Fair high school. The smoke crowded the emergency lights the same way the trees crowded the waning moon. It stole away her path to freedom.

Only a few steps further and she surpassed the limits of Tritan vision from the cabin. Then she could try again. Underbrush crackled nearby and a faint fresh scent carried downwind. Busted.

“I know where you’re going. She wouldn’t like it. You’re endangering yourself.” Tameka was right, as always. She emerged from behind a broad tree wearing all black summer clothes and combat boots. Her twisted red hair tied back from her clean face.

“I have to try.”

She stepped up to Sagan and patted her arm. “You need to train with me, first. Now. We haven’t tested our abilities and we need to work on it before we go on this Iona-29 mission.”

“We need Rayne.”

“Then wouldn’t it be useful if the next time you sneak off to find her you were more practiced in your Seamswalking and combat skills?”

Every night, Sagan snuck off to search Nox’s Castle for Rayne. The gigantic monolith filled with twisting corridors and endless rooms provided a dizzying labyrinth for Sagan to lose hours in to no avail. The kitchens, libraries, galleries, one room with a giant pyre and only a bed, some huge balcony with a throne meant for a Gargantuan Tritan. Everywhere.

One time, Sagan spent so long searching that she tired herself out and couldn’t Seamswalk for an hour. A terrifying hour. She hoped to get more information from Korac today, but he made it clear he didn’t want her there. She was sure the next time she would find Rayne.

But then what? Tameka was right. What would Sagan do when she found her? Surely they left her guarded. How would they escape if she never trained in fighting while Seamswalking? What would happen if Nox found her? She shuddered. Best not think on it.

Sagan sighed. “You’re right.”

Tameka smiled. “Okay, take us somewhere where Tumu won’t see us.”

She groaned. “I want to tell Tumu.”

Shaking her head, Tameka looked into the trees. After a quiet moment passed, she explained, “He’s not Xelan. We can’t trust him like that.”

Sagan leaned into Tameka’s line of sight. “I understand.” Offering her hand, she smiled at her close friend. “Let’s find us a Thunder Dome.”

Tameka genuinely beamed, melting Sagan. She worried so much about her. Hopefully, this was a small step toward acceptance. She placed her tawny hand on Sagan’s paler one, and they went through a conduit to the Seam.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Sagan learned over the last few weeks that Seamswalking with others meant she alone stepped foot into the Seam. Everyone else stepped over it without contact. She tried with Tameka once, but she couldn’t find purchase there. It made the road more lonely. She often recalled Xelan’s explanation:

“It’s T.A.O.’s ability. You have it. The others called it an affliction, but that’s not quite why. She could travel to other worlds. The vastness of it combined with her isolation from her own people—It drove her mad.”

“What do they call people like me?”

“There are no people like you. She was the first and only since.”

No people like her. Sagan suffered from headaches under the strain to will herself on this plane at all times. She told no one. Who was there to tell? Xelan’s gone, and Tumu wasn’t trustworthy. A constant maintenance to stay here. The Seam required no concentration or effort. It just took her. Maybe Lucas or Korac—

“Where are we?” Tameka’s voice held so much wonder it made Sagan look up to the sky. Diamond dust scattered across black silk through an amber lens. The canyon walls stratified in red sediment spilled into the gorge below, acting as a basin for a waterfall left thirsty from the summer’s heat. The lake reflected the night with a seductive shimmer. Breathtaking.

“I just wanted somewhere nearby with some light.”

The two girls looked at each other and shared the same radiant smile. They stripped off most of their clothes and raced to the cliff’s edge. So far down. They already survived a fall from higher on Cinder, but Sagan’s heart raced as she looked over the edge. An updraft tampered with wisps of her blond hair.

Tameka took her hand. “I’ll catch you.” Not at all envious of the redhead’s wings, Sagan sometimes wondered how she came by them, though. The Progeny never bore them from birth. Stronger Icari gifted them through blood. In any case, Sagan trusted her. Grinning, she gave the other girl’s hand a shake.

“One. Two. Three.”

They shrieked in unison as they took the step off the edge. So. High. Gravity drank them. Eyes shut, Sagan’s heart careened into her skull and held on tight. Arms and legs flailed. Forever. Both girls opened their eyes and stared at each other the second before they hit the water. If they went, they went together.

The water cooled her sweltering skin. The exhilaration and fresh air diffused some of her stress. Tameka’s hand still locked in hers anchored Sagan to this world with little effort. This felt like home give or take a few members of their scattered family.

“We have to bring the others.” Tameka read her mind.

But Rayne…

Sagan set her jaw. “The sooner we get started, the sooner I can bring her here. And then we’ll all jump together.”

Tameka grinned. “Bring it, girl.”

Sagan Seamswalked behind Tameka and tapped her on the shoulder.

She growled, “Ugh, let’s get out of the water first. I think I felt something on my leg.”

The blond clasped the redhead and took them both to shore. Wet clay squished between her bare toes. Boots and clothes left on the cliff tops.

They faced off in perfect form. Tameka threw a punch so fast Sagan glitched into the Seam to dodge it on reflex. “Yea, blondie! That’s what I’m talking about!”

She walked back onto Earth and leg swept the other girl who landed with a gleam in her eyes. Sagan stomped the other woman. Tameka caught her foot and held on. Her eyes changed. Atramentous. Solid green with a single black stripe down the center like a cat’s eye.

Sagan swayed. So tired. So weak.

The other girl knocked her away and kip up-ed onto her feet. “Are you all right?”

“You’re a cheater now.” Sagan groaned and rolled in the sand.

“Just like you.”

She nodded, making a distressed sand angel. “Give me a minute.”

“We get this down. We save Iona-29. Then we’ll save Rayne.”

Weakly, Sagan held her fist up. Tameka bumped it.