{Cinder}

“Get Rayne and get out! Now!”

The warm light. His signature grin. His last smile.

Tameka knew without waking that tears spilled from her eyes. She relived this moment many nights in her dreams. Lately, it came less frequently. Did that mean something? Was she moving on? How does one move on from a tall, sexy alien lover with gorgeous hair and a nice ass? Or was his presence fading—

A new development. A change in the narrative. This time Tameka stayed and clung to Xelan. The light kissed her skin with its devotion. Not blinding or painful like Rayne’s eyes. No. He fought with his love for them. And Tameka wouldn’t let Nox take him this time.

The scenery shifted. A beach replaced the parapet in Umbra’s Spire. The sand so white it reflected the sun. The boardwalk stretched into the ocean. A storm formed on the horizon.

With the storm behind him, Nox—the immense, rueful half of the similar sibling pair—stood across from them, no longer maniacal. His expression… neutral, waiting. Not with anticipation, but with unending patience. It made no sense to Tameka.

Until Rayne stepped out from behind him. Nox’s face mirrored hers. They both waited.

“Rayne… what’s happening?” Tameka reached out to her.

Both Kings of Cinder took a step out of reach and shook their heads. The blue-eyed woman looked into the distant storm and assured, “Not yet.”

Nox mirrored her every move. They both watched the lightning strike the water. Serene and somber.

“It’s not time.” Tameka jumped at Xelan’s whisper in her ear.

“Time for what?”

Her fallen lover kissed a tear from her cheek and looked at Rayne. The young woman’s face fell, and her eyes brimmed with tears. Nox’s mournful expression matched hers.

Rayne’s voice layered in six pitches. Three hers and three his. “Time to end it. And then it will be time to say goodbye.”

“No. I won’t lose you, too.” The redhead lunged for the girl. To embrace her despite the no-touching rule. To hold her and share in their grief.

But her form dissipated like shadow in her arms. Nox disappeared with her. Only Xelan remained.

The sun set behind him as he smiled down at her with so much love.

Tameka looked into his midnight eyes from mere inches away. Her voice broke as she begged, “Please, don’t go.”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

“Protect Pax and be ready. Just a little longer, Tameka.”

“Xelan!”

“Tameka.”

She startled at John’s voice. He sat on the sofa looking lost. Couldn’t blame him. With each gasping breath, Tameka regained her reality. The pit. Asleep on a pallet of blankets. She and John waited for Para and Bones to relieve them while Tumu arranged their return to Enki.

Thunder cracked and echoed through the vent. The storms raged over the last two days. What did Rayne confront inside her dreams? Or was she worried about them?

The Osage human still peered at her from the leather two-seater. She waved him off with a promise, “I’m fine, John.”

“Been a while since—”

“I know.” She didn’t mean to cut him off so sharply, but the uncontrollable aspects of her grief were private. Softening her tone, she added, “All the stress got to me. It’s perfectly natural.”

He turned back to the TV as Tameka unfolded and stretched. She heard the voices before they breached the chamber. Tumu and—

“Eminent Abresson, this isn’t necessary. Rayne is perfectly safe under Progeny guard.”

They entered the pit, and the short, dark Tritan paused at the top of the ramp. Abresson, former Officer of the Fifth, stared down at the Complex. Even at this distance, Tameka watched the possession and greed pass in his round eyes. His voice filled with it as he muttered, “Truly lovely. The Probabilities harmonize into a chorus around her as she sleeps, unaware of the destruction she wrought.” Banging his fist once on the banister, he added with a snarl, “Curse Nox.”

The source of Abresson’s life hummed to Tameka, and the thirsty well inside her beckoned like a siren’s fury. Her voice went low, not yet Atramentous, “What the hell do you—”

Behind the Eminent, Tumu shook his head in a flurry. His eyes stern, and his mouth tightened into a thin line. A warning.

What the fuck was happening?

“Eminent, it’s so nice to see you.” John hopped off the couch and stepped over. He managed the professional facade far better than Tameka wanted to.

The dark blue Tritan smiled at John. As they shook hands, Abresson’s robe fell back, revealing scars stark white against his navy skin. “Educator, I’m always pleased to see the only Earthling I’ve met with manners.” He tossed a jeer at the redheaded Progeny.

Her Atramentous flashed. She couldn’t stop it. Tumu caught her gaze with a raised brow. He mouthed, “Remain. Calm.”

“Fascinating,” Eminent Abresson said before dismissing them with his back. He stared out at Rayne. “We’re appointing one Tritan guard to accompany her Progeny fan club.”

Tumu stepped in. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s unnecessary. And only a Primary can order—”

“Primary Bol’s orders.” The dark Tritan held out his palm and displayed a projected missive in a language Tameka didn’t understand.

The friendlier Tritan read aloud, “‘Instated once we lift the Progeny embargo.’ Embargo?” Even with a nacre, Tameka sometimes found it hard to make out the expressions on a Tritan’s face. They didn’t have lips or raised noses. No eyebrows either. But as Tumu comprehended the exact meaning of the message, the look of terror in his almond-shaped eyes was unmistakable. He breathed one awful word, “No.”

“Yes.”

“But, Eminent, if Enki enacted an embargo on the Progeny then…” John shared the same horrified expression as the Officer of the Third.

The two good men turned simultaneously and looked at Tameka. Both in panic. Wordlessly, both asked the same thing of her, but she couldn’t quite decipher it.

Anxious, she searched for their meaning. “What? What does that mean?”

Abresson answered with his back to her, “It means Enki is closed to hybrids until further notice. King Jack, a Progeny inherent, contracted a deadly virus. We must place your kind under quarantine while we investigate.” He turned with his signature smug grin as he announced, “You can’t return until I say.”

And then there were no more lights on Cinder.