I want to start a new chapter here. This one will cover everything leading up to our first invasion of Earth.

[SS]: “What would you like to call it?”

How does “Fables in Ruin” sound?

[SS]: “It sounds sad.” He’s even gazing at the floor as if his head is too heavy to hold up.

It’ll be short and bittersweet. A bridge between the beginning and the end. Are you ready, amos?

[SS]: I smile and nod for him.

Good. In a few hundred more words, you’re mine.

[SS]: There’s an eye roll meant only for your significant other. It’s half irritation, half desire, and all love. I’m rolling my eyes right now.

Let’s begin with an uninvited complication, and a perfect example of how I didn’t agree with every one of Nox’s decisions.

“Thank you, Colita. Your input was invaluable. You may go now.” Xelan dismissed her with a friendly wave over his shoulder while he and I poised to lift a clumsy bag of Vittle seedlings together.

At his nod, I started the countdown. “One. Two—”

“Are you sure I can help with nothing else? I can alleviate your stress later in the evening.” Tall and delicately framed, the blond Icarean nurse spent entirely too much time in my Prince’s company. Her familiar behavior grated on my nerves.

As if he sensed it, Xelan grinned teasingly at me. “No. Thank you. I appreciate the offer, but I already made plans.” His wink smoothed over my irritation. At his nod, we carefully handled the seedlings into their new cold frame.

It was Xelan’s hope that the cooler air within would stimulate growth despite the constant heat radiating from Li through Elden’s Sphere. We worked together, planting the sprouts with hopeful smiles and light conversation. It took us a few hours.

Once finished, I looked over Xelan’s shoulder and spied Colita once again standing in the doorway. I glared, feeling the ice in my veins. I didn’t like her. She fancied herself Cinder’s first Queen, regardless of which Prince she had to climb to claim the title.

With that notion, sprite, have I ever told you how awesome it is that you made yourself a fucking King? There are no queens on Cinder. You’re such a badass.

[SS]: We spend a minute grinning at each other. It probably seems bizarre to say, but Korac and I are both so proud of you, your fucking majesty.

Back on topic.

At the stony mask on my face, Xelan lost his smile and faced her. “Oh. You came back. You flatter me, but your persistence raises some concerns—”

I gripped his shoulder, and when he turned to me, I shook my head grimly. There was something wrong with Colita’s expression. This wasn’t a personal errand.

Colita flattened her palms to her thighs and bowed deeply. “Your highness. Korac. Please follow me to your mother’s chambers. She sent for both of you.”

Fuck. No, no. Please, no.

The bright light of hope in Xelan’s eyes from the Vittle project collapsed like a cave-in. He didn’t speak. Just nodded for me to follow, and we took off for the Spire’s royal wing. The nurses and staff that usually filled the hall vanished. An eerie, lonesome breeze took advantage of their absence. It smelled of salt.

That’s when I spied Nox. He was sitting against my door across the hall. I’d never seen him look so small.

“She wants Korac first.” His voice was hoarse and thick.

I offered Xelan a small reassuring smile and waved my thanks to my future King. Inside, Savis’ chambers looked like a congregation of ghosts. Thin, gauzy sheets billowed from the ceiling. They captured the smell of rain as hefty drops of the black water fell from the sky. As if it, too, lamented her loss.

“My son.”

I almost cried. I… I don’t even like reliving this.

[SS]: Korac keeps squeezing his eyes shut tightly. He even stopped his pacing to perch on the edge of the bed, looking out the window instead of at me.

“Mother.”

Savis opened her iridescent eyes, unseeing. The condition left her almost blind. As weak as she was, she held her arms out to me. “I never thought you would say it.”

I hung my head in shame as I went to her. I took both her hands and squeezed, but she didn’t react. “Forgive me for taking so long.”

“No, my son. You do what you please at your own pace. It is your way. In carrying on, you honor me.”

Carefully, I folded her hands back to her chest and brushed her hair from her face. “Can you not stay with us?”

When she shook her head, the movement was stiff, and I think it dizzied her. Her voice was air. “Now you must forgive me. For leaving our family, and for leaving you with your brothers in turmoil.”

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I didn’t realize what she meant by that, but I knew I wanted her to leave on a joyous note. “Mother. Please keep this secret. My Prince asked me not to share, but I want you to know—”

Her icy hand on my cheek startled me. Softly, she shushed me before confessing, “I know. He is such a silly boy for hiding you, but one day, he will come to his senses. I promise you.”

I gripped her hand where it cupped my face and gently squeezed. Tears I couldn’t stop fell from my eyes. He was a silly boy.

“Remember… all I taught you, my son. My Korac. The beautiful, feral boy who grew up into such a confident and elegant young man. And soon, a General. Take care of my sons, child. I will find you all in Eternity, but you will guarantee it will take them a long lifetime.”

My breath hitched in my efforts to contain my sobs as I kissed her cool cheek.

“Please send in Xelan next.”

I paused at the door before exiting her chambers to compose myself. I knew she understood and so left me to it. Nox stood on the other side, to my surprise. He asked after her and offered to get me something to drink. He seemed more haunted than bereaved. I pat his shoulder to reassure him before announcing, “She wants to see Xelan.”

My Prince stopped pacing and searched my face. I pride myself on my composure, but that day I failed. The state of me left Xelan’s chin quivering. The baby losing his mother. Sadly, Nox was there, and per Xelan’s request, I kept the affection to a minimum. Even his mother already knew! This was… torture, and it was unnecessary.

I brushed by Xelan with a solemn nod—an acceptable display of affection—before taking up the post at my door.

Despite my sullen disappointment souring my grief, the brothers nearly demolished me. Nox pulled Xelan into a ferocious hug. I swore I heard the younger brother’s ribs crack. Xelan let him, cried into his brother’s chest seeking only the comfort a close sibling could provide when losing a parent.

But then, I wouldn’t know.

Well. What did you think of this entry in Nox’s Verse, amos? And, sprite, one day you and I will have a long conversation about its impact on you.

[SS]: “It shook me. The entire unfolding of events left me more sad than Nox’s childhood.”

Korac is nodding along with me.

I lived it and still understood so little of it. Not until I read his Verse did I fully grasp the events of that day.

Nox fretted like a caged animal until Xelan exited Savis’ chambers. My Prince was devastated. I tried to reach him, but the stubborn ass flew out of the parapet. Torn between the two, I followed the younger one. Far more afraid of whatever damage Xelan might cause in his grief than Nox.

While I raced through the Spire to its tallest peak, Savis died with Nox as witness. Or so he told us. In his Verse, he confessed to murdering the dying woman. In mercy. In cold blood. In vengeance.

So complicated. So tragic. I don’t judge him for it. I can’t.

Meanwhile, I heard Umbra shouting at Xelan at the very top of the central tower. I took the stairs four at a time. When I arrived, Xelan coolly narrowed the door closed. “Guard the room.”

“My Prince, perhaps—”

“It was an order.” He shut the door in my face.

Order. Order. Order me? All our nights sleeping together. “Be my secret.” “My first lover.” All that—To order me…

I was almost happy to let Nox in when he arrived.

We both opened the door to a sight we’d never erase from our memories. Xelan twisted and bent Umbra against his side and cinched swift and hard. Broke the man’s back in half. He casually dropped his father’s body to the stone and kicked it. “Lower than dirt.”

I shut my eyes. When I opened them, I focused on the glassless windows.

The rain stopped.

The brothers went on to discuss matters of the state. About the vacuum Umbra’s death created and so on. Yet there I was, reeling. Savis was dead. Xelan killed Umbra, and everything was about to change.

Of course, that’s when I spied Colita lingering at the bottom of the stairs. Her cherubic curls belying the sinister hunger in her sky-blue eyes. My best friend and my lover warred beside me, and this bitch lapped up the misery as one more stone to step across to her throne.

I barely listened to Xelan’s accusations that Nox acted as an accomplice to Umbra poisoning Savis all this time. I knew it wasn’t true. I felt it. But when Xelan said he refused to move to Nox’s new castle, I did a double-take.

How were we to sleep together if we lived in separate homes?

I posed that exact question later that night. With him in my arms, obviously. I’m not the monster you thought me to be. My lover lost both his parents that day. Despite my hurt feelings, I made myself available for his solace.

Chafing my arms around him, Xelan assured, “We will figure it out. We are both resourceful. I can always fly to visit you. I require space to work on my research without Nox’s oversight and his requests for experiments that compromise my ethics.”

All of those arguments sounded fair, but I knew if they stopped living together, then we’d never interact as friends again. I worried that without opportunities for fun and peace, the two of them would only engage in anger. Afraid to express my fear, I kissed his shoulder and squeezed him. “I will miss your persistent requests for a lab rat. You know with him as King, you will never be far from his reach. You may as well try for civility.”

Xelan nodded. “I know Colita spies on me for him, but she helps in the lab and seems enthusiastic about learning. I will keep her on staff. Feed her news of me to send to Nox. I cannot see forgiveness in our future. His crime… it was unthinkable. How could he let that monster hurt our mother all these millions of years?”

He asked, but not of me. Like he expected the dark room to answer him.

Over time, I might reach Xelan. Convince him that Nox couldn’t possibly know. He’d never hurt Savis. I changed the subject. “What do you make of Imminent?”

The warmth of him shifted where I cradled him against me. Until he rolled over and faced me entirely. “An enemy of my father’s. None of our concern. What can you remember about them from Gait?”

“The man who always dressed nice. The one I told you about?”

He nodded.

The movement messed up Xelan’s hair, so I brushed it from his lashes. “He spoke of them once in association with the slave labor in the Vast Collective. I think they profited off the labor force in some way.” That reminded me. “Xelan, about the Vittle research?”

He nodded. It messed up his hair again. This time I saw his grin in the dark as I fixed the loose strands once more. Cheeky bastard. Intentionally mussing his hair to steal my affections.

“I have a source of research that might interest you. Have you considered creating an alternative produce that supplements the nourishment of the Vittle crop?” Finally, I could bring up Ementa without inconveniencing him.

Xelan yawned spearmint breath in my face and answered, “Of course. I provide something similar to the army. Although, I admit, the bars taste less than delicious.”

“Would a comparison of the two products interest you? I can provide samples.”

His eyes glittered in the dark. “I would love that. Anything that could help. Even a mysterious supplier.” Xelan winked at me before nuzzling his head under my chin. “I need to sleep. So much to do in the coming weeks. Not all of it pleasant.”

Xelan was right.

Markers to honor Savis and at least to flag Umbra’s grave. Arrangements for Nox’s coronation. My promotion to General. More Vittle sprouts to load into the cold frame.

Momentous days ahead, and many grand entrances to come.

Him snuggling against me fortified my resolve to not only endure these coming moments, but look magnificent while doing it. As my eyes closed for the night, a sudden recollection twinged my heart and soured my blood. “My Prince?”

Sleepily, Xelan responded with a, “hmm?”

“If you ever order me around again, I will have to teach you a lesson.”

A single chuckle answered me in the dark.

“I would love to see you try.”