The entire desert shifted and came alive. Rayne stared in awe as she and Xelan sank into the sand. The surface beneath her feet resembled steel hidden under layers of sediment.

“Brace yourself,” Xelan said.

Although Rayne thought she’d done an excellent job centering her stance and loosening her muscles for some kind of impact, the event took her breath away and jolted every bone in her body. They dropped. For miles. Her ears popped with a fierce protest. Along the way down, she gripped onto Xelan for dear life, and he held her with ease.

“Xelan!” Rayne cried, terrified of the bottom.

“I got you.”

And like that, her fear subsided, although her liver still somersaulted over her stomach.

When the bottom of the cylinder chute finally reached them, they hit an ease and then halted altogether. Like soft closed drawers. Xelan explained, “It’s gravity dampeners.”

Rayne nodded.

Humor laced his voice as he added, “It’s all right. You can let go now.”

Oh, right. God, this entire ordeal took Rayne back to the early days when she’d first met him. Almost five years had passed, and Xelan still left her in awe of him.

Another chapter of the Xelan mystery.

Rayne smiled brilliantly at him as she let go. “All right, Superman. Show me your stronghold.” Rushing off the platform, she charged in the only open direction, a short tunnel with a blue shimmering distortion at the end. It reminded her of the strange cloud on Nox’s face during her dreams. “Xelan?”

“You can walk right through it,” he answered from close behind. “It’s a barrier technology I adapted from Gait. Without a nacre, it won’t give you trouble. With a nacre? Well, the voltage might stop your heart.”

Xelan’s warm hand took hers and placed it on the disk again. The shimmering energy dissipated.

Rayne asked, “Gait?”

“I’ll tell you about it sometime.” He glanced at the entrance.

Poised on the brink, Rayne’s pulse fluttered and her heart raced. Xelan’s home. His proper home just beyond. She gave him one more excited grin.

Xelan nodded, beaming at her.

With his permission, Rayne bolted inside and stopped breathing. Waterfalls. A collection of lush plants with beautiful, vibrant blooms and deep green foliage. Underground. Fresh air in a rock cavern lined in drywall and stylish wood planks. Koi fish swam in pools lining hardwood walkways. Perimeter lighting gave a soft glow to the ceiling and floors along the walls. Everything was done in the same black, gray, and white palette he seemed to prefer.

Rayne couldn’t hold back anymore. “Why do you always decorate in these colors?”

Xelan chuckled. “Again, all this and you ask about something off the wall. It’s just like when I first told you about the Icari. Do you remember?

“I asked why your planet was called Cinder.” Rayne shoved him. “How could I forget?”

Xelan cleared his throat and explained, “You’ll understand better when you have a nacre. It sharpens the contrast of your vision and your ability to appreciate color.”

“Okay. I’ll pretend I follow, but wouldn’t you want…” Rayne waved at the nearest bright white wall. “Color to appreciate?”

Xelan approached the towering vine climbing the two-story wooden accent wall. Gently, he handled one of the exotic violet blooms against the white. He said, “The neutral color palette allows things like this to stand out. Even the green leaves pop against the blank canvas.”

Rayne grinned as she spun again, taking in the expansive space. Running to a waterfall and splashing in it with her manicured hands, she admitted, “I have so many questions about how this place works. I mean this waterfall comes from so far up I can’t even imagine the source.” The wall went on forever.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

“There’s more to see.” Xelan walked around the giant pillar in the center of the room.

Abandoning the waterfall, Rayne followed, ready for more wonders.

Xelan did not disappoint. There was a giant rectangular chasm, like an elevator shaft. The biggest elevator shaft imaginable. No discernible bottom, and the ceiling must reach the desert surface above. Tunnels, identical to their current space, waited on each side and at varying heights throughout. Strange glass cubes were suspended in the air at different heights and positions in the chasm as if forming floors. The cubes contained diverse items.

Unaware, Rayne ventured out of their tunnel and into the void. Xelan never moved to stop her. Heart thundering in her chest, she glanced at him. He grinned back at her with a nod at her feet. Looking down at a bottomless pit took more strength than she wanted to admit. A glass square had formed beneath her feet.

“Uhm… Okay.” Rayne peeled her eyes from it to ask Xelan, “What’s going on?”

“It’s something I borrowed from Enki. It will form in squares like that wherever you step. Up or down.”

Rayne teased, “Enki. Gait. Did you check for patents?”

Xelan smirked and walked across thin air to her. The squares formed underfoot. He expanded his arms. “This is my collection. Millions of years in this space.”

Rayne gaped at him. “Millions? You hoarder.”

Xelan chuckled and started ascending. The magic floor formed under his steps up to the next level. “You coming?”

Rayne followed, eager, yet careful with her step. “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. Is all of Enki like this?”

“It does boggle the mind.” He stopped at a glass plate.

She peered through the other side. A scroll with familiar script was pressed in the center. Glancing at Xelan beyond the parchment, Rayne asked, “Elden’s Verse?”

“The original.” At her mischievous grin, he added, “I don’t think they missed it.”

“You’re a thief!”

Xelan toured Rayne around two floors of artifacts pointing out statuary, scrolls, weapons, and other sentimental items from around the Vast Collective. Eventually, they walked across the vaporous glass floor into another tunnel. The three-story room they sauntered into sent her bookstore nostalgia alight.

Walls and walls of shelves were packed with leather-bound books. The tallest shelf, three stories above the entrance, contained the oldest volumes and from there, tomes worked their way around the hexagon and downward until the newer books settled across the room from Rayne beside an excessively large, roaring fireplace. The flames were black. Like the pyre from her dreams with Nox.

Dizzy and overwhelmed, Rayne puzzled her way to a plush white armchair. As her head swam, she leaned forward until she cradled it between her knees.

A warm hand settled on her exposed back, and she groaned in relief.

Xelan said, “I can imagine it’s a little overwhelming for a human.”

Rayne gave a muffled response, “That’s one way to put it.”

Soft circles. Comforting. Like a parent. A pang hit her square in the chest, and she sat up, suddenly. “What is all this?”

Xelan stepped away from her and made his way to the next available space on the shelf. “My legacy.” Out of his backpack, he retrieved an aged leather-covered notebook and reverently placed it with the others.

Rayne stared at the six high walls with her mouth open. “You wrote all these?”

“We never forget things. Nacre memories are perfect.” Xelan turned back to her. “But I’ve loved people who couldn’t live as long as I and who retain knowledge for even less time. This is for them.” He peered up and took the room in.

Rayne stared into the black flames. “You must’ve had some great parties here.”

“You’re the first person I’ve let into my home since the First Progeny were born.”

Startled, Rayne peered around at him. “What? Why?”

For a long minute, Xelan stared at the floor. When he gazed at her, his eyes shone with zeal. “I brought you—” He took two steps toward her, then stopped. “Even as I thought it. I knew it wouldn’t work.”

“Why don’t you try telling me your idea, and maybe we can go from there?”

Xelan said, “I want you safe, Rayne. I want you to consider staying down here until the war is over.” As she went to shake her head, he sat down on the edge of the chair closest to her. “Nox could never find this place, and even if he did, he could never get in.”

“You know I can’t do that.”

Xelan shoved his fingers in his hair. “I know you won’t.” He peered at the fire then. “It’s the safest course of action. I wish I could give you a nacre and lock you behind the barrier. But I know you, Rayne.” The firelight cast his face in shadow when he turned back to her. “You’d tear this place apart until you escaped, hauled your ass that one hour to Nox’s Fortress, and died trying to finish the war alone.” He ducked his head. “Before then you’d be so mad at me, I’d never see you again. All I want is to protect you.”

Rayne reached out and took Xelan’s hand. He gazed up at her as she said, “I love you, Superman.” She heard him swallow, even with the distance between them. “But I can’t just leave you guys up there fighting alone. Imagine if I’d hid months ago. Would John still be alive? Would you even evacuate all those children from the compounds we razed? Would we have our supply of gold? Our Shadow needs both of us. Now, on your feet, soldier.” She released his hand and hopped off the chair.

Xelan wiped his hand down his face and stood as if pulled by strings. His whole body tensed when Rayne reached up and hugged him, careful not to smear makeup on his black shirt. After a crackle or two of the bizarre fire, he enveloped her with his arms and gave the gentlest of squeezes. He kissed between the two buns on her head.

Leaning back, Rayne beamed into the warmth of Xelan’s expression and said, “Let’s go save the worlds.”