{Enki | Two Years Later}

Sagan learned to Seamswalk outside exterior doors and knock. People often freaked if she popped in unannounced. And there was that one time when she walked in on Lynn and Pablo experimenting with—

Tameka answered while muttering, “John, how do you keep locking yourself out? The door responds to your face—” She gaped once she finally looked up from the kid with hair as red as her own attached to her leg. “Sagan… Where the hell have you been?!”

Sagan winced and brushed a strand of barely long enough blond hair behind her ear. The two axes holstered on her hips shifted with her movements. Her best friend—sister, really—had the most beautiful green eyes that hardened to glass when riled. Properly scolded, Sagan mustered an explanation for her absence, “Sorry for the long wait. It’s hard to keep time when Seamswalking. I know three months—”

“Try six.”

Shit. “I’m sorry.”

“Mommy? Who’s dat?” Pax searched Sagan with eyes identical to Xelan’s. Black with a midnight blue ring on the outside.

A twinge of grief twisted her heart and took her breath away.

Tameka caught it and offered her a sympathetic look before answering, “This is your auntie who forgets to visit from her travels.”

He took his fingers out of his mouth and peered up at Sagan. “Will you eat dinner, Auntie?”

Melted on the spot, Sagan glanced at Tameka for permission.

The redheaded mommy clicked her tongue. “No matter how long you’re gone, you’re always welcome home.” She breezed away in her wrapped skirt and crop top, leaving the door open.

Pax held on for the ride with his topaz complexion blending with hers. He called out, “When you twavel again, can I go with you?”

Sagan pulled the hood back on her mauve duster and unzipped the corset-tight bodice. She liked the way the long material flared around her. Honestly, she commissioned it from the Lyriks because the color matched her eyes and she thought a certain former Icarean General might find it sexy.

The longer she waited to answer the little boy, the glassier Pax’s eyes became. “Cross my heart and hope to die. I’ll take you to see new worlds when you’re old enough.”

Tameka scoffed as she crossed a bridge over the pool of water in the middle of her house to the kitchen.

Pax peered up at his mother.

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She beamed down at her son. “You’ll never be old enough to go without me.”

Cutest. Pout. Ever. The kid abandoned his crutch and played with fish in the water.

Sagan leaned on the counter and watched her bestie navigate the cabinets and heating units. Tameka glowed. Her red three-c curls foamed in all their glory to her waist. The white beachy clothes complimented the ocean bungalow surroundings and contrasted beautifully against her brown skin. Dark freckles popped high on her cheeks.

“These six months were good to you and Pax.”

Tameka shrugged and fiddled with a chain around her neck. “For the first time in my life, I don’t want for anything. Nacres are a marvel. Sometimes I wonder about our lives before and after the invasion. I can’t always make sense of it.” She nodded at Pax. “But I’ll tell you one thing. I love that little boy to death.”

Enki’s equivalent of a catfish clomped onto his arm, prompting him to cry out. Tameka laughed and rushed to him with a mother’s practiced patience.

Sagan admired them. “So precious and so cute.”

“Takes after his mother,” a gravelly voice called from a plank above her. The Icarus dropped to the first floor and snatched the nearest green apple with a satisfying crunch.

“Caedes, it’s good to see you.” Sagan smiled with genuine warmth.

Dressed in all black—as if he wore anything else—one of their best soldiers ducked his gaze at her fondness. Changing the subject, he muttered, “That’s the second time this week he let a fish get the better of him.”

He wasn’t looking at Pax. He was looking at Tameka. Sagan leaned in, dying to know. “So have you two… you know?”

Caedes startled and dropped his apple, choking.

Tameka called out without looking back at them, “Everything okay?”

Sagan snickered. “Fine! How’s the fish?”

“I think Pax caught dinner.”

A little red in the face, Caedes looked Sagan over before answering, “No. But I can wait. And if she never… Well, that’s fine too. She’s worth it.”

“Damn straight she is.” Sagan turned back and glimpsed the loss and longing in her friend’s gaze as Tameka kissed her son on the head. Sadly, she added for Caedes, “But you may be waiting for a while.” The axes dug in when she shifted as a reminder of her own longing.

After dinner, Tameka set Pax to work on a Tritan puzzle box. She laid out on a chaise with the ocean serving as her backdrop. “So all this traveling… you know it’s not healthy, right?”

The blond Progeny tried to shrug the focus off of her. “I know. I just had to keep busy.”

Caedes fiddled with a comms device beside Sagan on the couch. His shaved head shone in the light of the star powering the Dyson’s Sphere. Obviously a deep-thinker, he stuck out his tongue to help him concentrate.

Tameka nodded as her hands idly traced the seam of the furniture. “Trying to keep your mind off of him in prison?”

Damn. Right for the throat. Trademark Tameka.

Sagan fell back against the couch and stared up at the sky with a groan. “Prison isn’t the problem. It’s Enki. They’ve been processing him for the last two years.” She sat forward and folded her hands together. “But it’s finally his arrival day. I’ll go show my support. You wanna come?”

The redhead recoiled. “And take my child to see the man who did nothing to stop his father’s murder? No thanks.”

Sagan winced. “Oh, c’mon, Tameka. It wasn’t like that and you know it. You read Nox’s Verse.”

“Don’t mention that name in front of me again.” Tameka folded her arms and looked away.

Caedes spoke up from his task, “I can watch Pax. You can go support Sagan. It doesn’t need to be about Korac.”

Sagan jumped up and kissed his cheek. “I always said you were a prince.”

The Icarus chuffed with his pretend-grumpy self.

Tameka’s voice came out soft, “I’m not ready yet. But I wish you safe travels.”

Sagan nodded her understanding. “I want to be there for him.”

Tameka and Caedes shared a look. “I don’t think they allow visitors on Gait.”

“They don’t have a policy on Seamswalking.”