{Earth}

“But don’t lose hope, Sonya. It’s hard without our loved ones. I know firsthand. We can make new families, and it only gets better from here. Remember that none of the Progeny are related, but they’re closer than family. Hang in there…”

Chris leaned in the archway as Jack carried on his marathon Story Circle. The kid went nonstop for the last ten hours. The announcement to stop ingesting nacres did not go over well. So he ran interference to compensate. At this rate, his soft tissue repair would need a break from the damage to his vocal cords.

Karter looked up from one of Xelan’s many journals. Tens of thousands of them lined the hexagonal walls of his three-story study. The black fire flicked and flared within the fireplace. After catching Chris’ eye, the Valkyrie shook her head.

Ross traded out her volume for another. Softly, she muttered, “I don’t think I could live long enough to read all of this.”

Chris smiled sadly as Karter’s expression wilted. Xelan’s loss would never stop affecting the Shadow and so many more lives he touched.

“We’re also looking for someone. Please, if anyone knows where the Cult of Night took Bethany Roberts, we’d appreciate any information. I’ll repeat her description. White, no freckles. Fifteen years old. Dark brown curly hair. Golden brown eyes. Birthmark on her right shoulder. We lost her during the invasion. Please…”

Jack kept at it. The poor teenage King slumped his head into his hand, stretched across the desk’s surface. Tumu hooked them up with a Tritan comms device. It ranged beyond the many stories beneath the desert.

Xelan’s stronghold was part modern spa, part nifty alien museum. Chris imagined the Icarus with an eye patch swashbuckling across the Vast Collective gathering artifacts from precious locations. Tumu confirmed the suspicion, “That sounds right. Except there was this one heist he pulled sans eye patch and in the buff.”

Karter stood abruptly and stretched with a yawn. “I loved that Icarus to the end of the worlds and back, but he wrote for some dry material. Like bread crust and no spice. All tech manual, no drama. I’m headed for bed.” She turned to Ross. “We’ll pick it back up again tomorrow.”

“Bed sounds good,” Jack mumbled and rubbed his eyes. “How long was I on the air?”

“Forever,” Ross answered without looking up. Though she gave a small smile.

Chris put an arm around Karter with a grin in her direction. “Think we can find a bed big enough?”

She laughed, pure and rich. “I already checked. Though we should avoid the Progeny rooms. I think they stay down here sometimes.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“Who could blame them?” Jack stood and stretched with an audible crack. He slumped over to one wall and retrieved a volume. “Where are we up to?” he asked Ross as he sat beside her on the black leather couch.

“You must be exhausted. Go to bed. I’m fine up on my own.”

As the two teenagers carried on, Karter shot Chris a look with a nudge of her elbow. Oh, right. “Good night, you two.”

“Night.”

“See ya in the morning… afternoon… whatever time it’ll be.” Jack waved with the book before settling back on the sofa.

Chris was headed for the crazy chasm with the step-responsive glass when another elbow to his ribs stopped him. Karter put a finger to her lips and flattened herself against the wall near the study’s entrance.

“Eavesdropping?” Chris mouthed with a brow raised in disapproval.

She shrugged with a mischievous grin.

Batman joined her with a quick shuffle closer.

“Thank you, Jack, for trying so hard. And for… you know? Letting me come with you guys. It’s been a great way to stay in touch with Kyle and—”

“I like you, Ross. Sorry for interrupting. But I’ve been waiting for the best time to say it. And, with everything going on, it still doesn’t seem like the best time. But I need to get that off my chest. Regardless of if you think about me in the same way or if you just want to be friends, I’m finding your sister. Nothing would make me happier right now than reuniting the two of you. On that, I promise you.”

A silence stretched. The tension built until it hurt. Chris and Karter both almost leaned into the study. They exchanged a look with wide eyes. He offered a thumbs up to her, but she shook her head solemnly.

Damn.

Ross finally said, “I like you a lot, but I want to be as honest with you as you were with me. I haven’t thought much like that since Invasion Day. I miss my sister. And I can’t shake this feeling that we’re close to finding out if we can save her or if I lost her long ago. That said, I’m grateful to know you. I hope you understand.”

“I understand missing your sister. And I can feel it. We’ll find her. Soon. I’m almost certain of it.”

“Thanks, Jack.”

Chris wanted to pat the kid on the back. Rough shut down, but completely understandable. No more matchmaking until after they found Bethany.

Karter took his hand and led him through the glass maze and down a tunnel some floors above the common space. He asked, “Do you think Kyle got any intel off the Imminent prisoner you caught?”

Several doors lined the quiet corridor. Their voices echoed.

Karter explained, “No. When the strikeforce hit the apartment building, the scumbag was just waiting for us. He expected us to find him.”

“What do you think this all means?” Chris took in the concern etched in her high cheekbones and striking brows.

She dragged him into a room as she confessed, “That we may not get much private time in the near future, so I’m taking advantage of it while I can.”

The floors, ceiling, and carpet were black. The bed was black. It was an abyss. She lit a candle and another. Twelve candles in the vacuous space.

He’d longed to do this for the past several days. Chris loosened her braids, slowly, appreciating the soft curled rainbow hair that he freed. They met eye-to-eye at her height. She kissed him with a purr. He pulled Karter up by gripping under her thighs, and she wrapped her legs around him. Mercifully, she untied her red shirt and ripped it open.

The saint.

Karter’s complexion struck him as unusually dark compared to the rest of the Icari. Charcoal against his deep brown skin. He liked their hands locked together with the contrast. And that’s what she did. She laced their hands together, and they both stared.

As if they had all the time in the world.