{Cinder}

Tameka did not miss this place. The bloated star in the sky. The black rock of the castle. And the lonely girl trapped in the lake’s center at the bottom of a desolate pit.

Elden, she couldn’t bear to look at the Martyr Complex.

Two years. She lived in Enki for two years following the end of the war. And although the clinical smell of the interiors and the salty scent of the exterior offered little of home, the smell of Cinder took her straight to Hell.

The stink of ash only a reminder of the days following that hopeless encounter in Umbra’s Spire. The days Tameka waited to hear the news that Xelan died, and Nox captured Rayne.

The Progeny woman opened the eyes she shut the moment she stepped into the pit. Kyle stood at the bottom, accompanied by Para and Bones. He looked happy, but always a sadness lingered. As it should for fifty years.

The brown-haired man looked at her then and smiled hesitantly. He waved a hand holding a joint and called out, “Hey, thanks for doing this.”

“I’m doing this for Rayne.” Tameka walked down the ramp. She kept her gaze from the center of the room. “You need to find that woman you lost.”

Bones and Para shifted uncomfortably, averting their eyes.

Kyle winced. “I know. Okay. I know I fucked up again. I’ll find her.”

Tameka looked him over. The faint dark circles under his eyes implied he wasn’t resting enough. Even for the nacre. Worry drew his brows tighter than usual. Softening, she offered, “I know you will. I trust you to do that much.”

“I’ll keep you informed.” He headed out. “Bones. Para. I’ll see you on Earth.”

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Tameka bit the inside of her cheek. She wasn’t too hard on him, but… applying constant pressure on someone couldn’t be good for their morale. If morale went bad, so did the job. And Kyle’s job was important.

“He’ll be fine,” Bones offered, snapping Tameka out of it. She reached out and pulled him into a hug as he asked, “How is the glass prison?”

Tameka shook her head and drew Para into the hug. “Beautiful. And terrifying.”

Para pulled back with a resolute expression. “We’re ready when you need us.”

“Thanks, guys,” she muttered. Something about the Complex drew her gaze. She stared, transfixed, as if expecting Rayne to get out.

“Tameka.”

She startled and turned toward the two Icari. Shaky, she said, “I’m so sorry. I—”

“That’s the second time she’s done it, today,” Para confessed, meaning Rayne.

Bones opened his wings, looking grateful to leave the space. “Go see the King. I think she misses you, as do we all.” He smiled once more before flying out.

Para blew a kiss before following him.

Alone, Tameka walked over to the stereo. She selected a mix tape with plenty of Missy Elliot before heading to the lake. There, a glass skid appeared. Like in Enki. She allowed it to take her to the center where the Complex waited.

A mighty monument of solitude.

Stupid fucking martyrs.

“Why did you go?” Quiet. Soft. Sad.

No response.

“I know some choices were taken from you. I know, Rayne. The Weapon. The Tribunal. But… I know you.”

She paced around the glass coffin, gazing into the blood. Her friend’s serene face lay unresponsive in the glowing red.

“You needed to leave. To avoid everything and everyone. Without… without…”

The knife twisted in Tameka’s heart.

Tiny, small, she said, “He loved you so much. He wouldn’t want you to hide, Rayne. To volunteer yourself for this—”

Tameka scrubbed away the tears with the heels of her palms. She swallowed once, twice, before confessing, “I know you wanted this. To hide. So, I didn’t tell you then, but I’m telling you now… I have a son with Xelan. His name is Pax.” In a tearful half-laugh, she added, “You’re an auntie.”

For a long while, Tameka sat on the island in the lake and told her best friend everything about her son. His intelligence, his inquisitiveness, his kindness. His unluckiness with fish. All of it.

And Rayne listened to every word. Tameka wasn’t sure at first. But only moments into the talk, she peered into the casket and found the woman glowing. Not just smiling. No, Rayne glowed with a warm light.

“He’s our peace. We’ll make it out of this mess, and his future will be waiting. And this is how…”