Another new chapter, and two hundred words from our next milestone.

[SS]: Ignoring the last thing, I ask, “What do you want to call this one?”

I’m torn. I think, “A Kingdom and Still Not My People Enough” captures certain aspects but not thoroughly enough. Or perhaps, “A Kingdom Divided, And A Home Torn Asunder?” Which do you like?

[SS]: “Without knowing the full context, I’d say the second. Whether you felt like one of them, the Icari were your people. It’s okay that you searched for people more like yourself, but don’t forget the kindness Cinder showed you.”

Well spoken.

In this memory, we three stood outside of Nox’s Castle. All of Cinder waited behind us. Even Ementa, on mechanized stilts, disguised her council to attend the unprecedented event. I wanted her opinion on the supposed “Thailean mystic,” who drew a line in the red soil with blood. A faint glowing orb on his belt hinted at the Tritan beneath the robes. Energized by the promise of crossing that threshold, I dismissed the clue entirely from my mind. Because this was it.

A new beginning.

Xelan beamed. Nox concentrated with that pained frown of his. And I smirked.

Shocking, I know.

[SS]: He gets a certain smile from me for that one.

Lightning struck the blood line and ozone split the world apart. A dark, starry night over a desert peered at us through the other side.

“Fascinating. I wonder if the conduit occurs in a place or if he fashions it there? Are all conduits connected by the Seam? If so…” Xelan celebrated in his own way, but he withdrew me from my good mood. I worried about a relapse as the excitement threatened to drive him into another manic frenzy.

Even Nox gestured for me to stop his brother.

I knew one way to distract the Prince. With a pat on his back, I challenged him. “A race, Prince Xelan? Beat me to the campsite, and I will collect whatever samples you want.”

That did it. In response, my Prince raised his brow at me. “And if you win?”

Oh, many things came to mind. Not one I could say aloud given our present company. “Let me think on it.”

Refusing to be excluded this time, Nox announced, “If I win, I get to name the land mass.”

Hell. Yes.

The three of us again. “As your majesty wishes.”

When Xelan beamed at his brother, hope sparked that maybe Earth was truly a new beginning. He winked at me as he declared, “Fair race. No flying. Ready?”

I bent for the run. “Set.”

“Go!” Nox let loose like a rocket and still he claimed to hold back in his Verse.

This was the right way to venture into the new world. Together.

Well, until—

“We have a matter to discuss.” The Tritan disguised as a Thailean Mystic stepped in the way.

I wish I knew then it was Remorse hiding under that robe. I would’ve kicked his ass.

All of us disappointed, we delegated the scouting party and responsibilities while our King concerted with that Tritan trash. I watched him go, suspicious and put out.

Xelan spoke into my ear. “What do you get if you win?”

I stifled a shiver. As you know, that’s a sure way to improve my mood. “Find out when you lose.” I bolted through the conduit and didn’t look back. Not when I heard his steps in the sand. Or when he pulled into my peripheral. Because right then the air freshened from ash, and I crossed the site marked on our maps. A site hidden from the conduit by a dune.

I won.

Smirking, I faced him. Neither of us winded. Yet. “The scouts are not far behind us. No time for niceties or negotiations.”

Xelan watched me come to him and grinned when I pulled him by his tunic into a messy kiss. Smacking of lips and wet tongues. I gripped him through his slacks. My Prince never disappointed me. I broke us apart, breathless. “I want this. Under the stars.”

He gazed up at the night sky, and the constellations reflected in his midnight eyes. I knew this was his dream, and I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate that.

My Prince’s eyes never left mine as he stole the tiny flask tied to my belt. Sleh oil. Always come prepared. He put it to good use, turned me until my back arched to meet his front, and expressed his elation inside me.

Not much time for pretty. We fucked in the desert on a new planet under a velvet blanket littered with diamond dust. We both finished quietly to avoid detection. Satisfied and silly with endorphins, my heart raced as we crossed the desert to meet Nox.

[SS]: This is where I started snickering while reading Nox’s Verse.

Right. We forgot the most important rule of sneaking around—Fix your fucking hair. Nox poked so much fun at us in his Verse that I actually laughed aloud while reading it. We were good and caught. I’m still surprised he didn’t outright expose us.

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The rest of the night we discussed plans with my King as our people erected tents. Settlements designed. Colonies planned. Xelan insisted on constructing his stronghold. To my disappointment, Nox approved.

Overall, the “invasion” proved uneventful, but the threat of combusting under Earth’s sun motivated us to build faster.

When I left my tent after sunset the next day, I took in my surroundings. There. On a far off plateau, a figure stood on the horizon. Presumably, a human. I alerted Nox first. Xelan already left to scout locations for his site.

“What do you advise, General?”

I pulled my hair back from the heat as I considered his question. Eventually, I offered, “Let them come around. Our initial intelligence reported no signs of nacre integration as yet. They pose no threat to us, your majesty.”

Nox humphed. “You posed a threat.”

Fair point. “I want to build a fortress without interfering with their civilizations in the beginning. See if they acclimate to our presence. We have much to offer. Including a swift death if they try to engage us.”

Staring out at the horizon, I think Nox saw the fortress already completed. Envisioned the surrounding city. Planned everything in advance. When he showed me the construction of the walls, they expanded beyond any necessary bounds, but once the city came, it was the perfect size. My King’s frown lightened into something close to a smile. “I want to be present for any interactions. Make sure all of our people know to treat them as friendly unless they strike first. The locals are useful to our survival as allies in the sunlight.”

“Yes, your majesty. I will inform the perimeter guard and double it to increase the likelihood of contact.”

Nox opened the flap into his tent. “Very good. See me when you finished.”

I turned to walk away.

“General?”

Obviously, I turned back. “Yes, sire?”

“Have you seen Colita?”

Now that was an excellent question.

Two hours of scouting later—it took a while without wings—I found her at a small oasis surrounded by human males with dark skin, deep brown eyes, and hair all over. She let them touch her blond curls and gray skin. The clever viper even brought two barrels of sleh oil for her journey.

The two guards she “borrowed” from my personal garrison watched with a careful gaze as the humans smiled to their own reflections in the polished Icarean armor. Both looked displeased at their forced reassignment. Boredom. As if the native people posed no threat to them.

The humans wore very little clothes or ornamentation, but an intelligence burned behind their eyes. Their curiosity was quite beguiling.

“Correct. Our sun is red and swollen. It tries to burn us. We seek shelter here with you.”

I blinked at Colita, explaining our major weakness to the natives with the patience of a mother to a child.

The human male looked among his people before asking, “You have more like this?” He referred to the sleh oil.

“And many other resources we would like to trade with you. Will you come meet our leader?” She smeared some oil on the back of her hand and let them observe the shining softness of it. Half truths. It’s a great moisturizer, but her nacre upgrade from Nox certainly swayed more influence over her beauty. “If you cook food with it, it tastes delicious.” She handed them roasted meat of some sort.

They ate it, which surprised me. Our surveys showed they preferred raw meat in this region. Still, they made a few approving sounds.

Colita beamed at me. It was much less smug than I expected. She seemed genuinely interested in this diplomacy. “Our King awaits.”

On the way to the settlement, I needed to ask, “Oil and meat?”

Her curls bounced with her steps. “While you and the other boys raced to claim the planet, I prepared for meeting the local stock.”

Stock.

“These are quite beautiful people, are they not? I wonder how traits vary among other civilizations. Height. Hair. Complexion. Eye color. We Icari are all so similar.” Colita straightened one of her coils. “I have yet to meet another blond Icarus.”

These were all interesting observations of hers, but I was concerned with their heading. “Umbra used words like ‘stock’ to describe people.”

She shrugged. “So he did. I wonder…”

Rolling my eyes, I took the bait. “What?”

“Well. As long as I feed our gracious King, no Icarus will touch me. But perhaps…”

You know what? If it finally got her off and kept her from embarrassing Nox with her vicious mistreatment of people… “I encourage you to explore this new frontier. Although, I highly recommend speaking with our majesty beforehand. He may even approve of your caravans to other civilizations. You could become an ambassador.”

Colita grinned, and it was less wicked than expected. “The Icarean Ambassador. Thank you, General Korac. You may have incidentally provided me with more hope than you intended.”

Once we arrived at the settlement, she and Nox addressed the people. I let her shine a little brighter for having opened relations between us and the humans. I also sought other company.

I recognized Ementa’s tent by the cool air flowing from within it. The result of fans and some other temperature modifier. I knocked on the outside framework.

“Come in,” she called.

The space was artificially cooled. It felt and smelled wonderful—all of Earth smelled wonderful. I think the flow of it breezed through my hair at the door. I tried not to laugh at her open mouth and wide eyes. The poor, tiny woman blinked openly at me. I do love to make an entrance.

I smirked and spread my arms out. “Welcome to Earth.”

Recovered, Ementa beamed at me. “I am pleased to see you. We have an expedition planned. Do you wish to join us?” After brushing her asymmetrical yellow hair from her face, she rested her hand on her swollen belly.

I grinned, happy for her, but it raised some concerns I’d yet to consider, and she puzzled at my frown. Softly, she prodded, “What is it?”

“It never occurred to me before, but looking at you…” I gestured at her. “How badly do we want to affect the native species with our invasion? Because there is a very good chance any child born from inter-relations may bear a nacre.”

Ementa nodded, agreeing with me. “That is a tough conundrum to consider. We will do as the Icari choose, and I will ask the council to limit exposing humanity to our technology. Does this work for you?”

I hated to ask the next question, but I needed the clarity. “Ementa…” I smiled sadly at her. At my friend. “If I ever ask you to return to Cinder, would you? Now that you escaped that lonely island?”

“Without question. We refuse to make an enemy of the Icari. To challenge you means death. While our existence is less than what we aspire for, we know you and those brothers are the reason we live at all.”

Although some of her statements made me want to wince, I appreciated her loyalty. “Thank you, old friend. By the way, what are you naming your…”

Ementa’s brown eyes sparkled when she smiled. “A girl. In the tradition of Thailean Mystics, I number her first. She will choose her name when she comes of age.”

“Interesting tradition.” A thought occurred to me. “I stored your samples per your instructions. I want to give them to Xelan. But not yet. He… finds himself preoccupied with the settlement.”

“As do we all. Keep them stored and if he ever has questions, please forward them to me.” She grinned from all the way down there. Playfully, she shook a fist at me. “I curse my height. This late stage in the pregnancy makes it difficult to maneuver the stilts. But all you Icari are so tall.”

I winked. “And dashing.”

She pointed to the door. “Out, General. It was a pleasure as always.”

Thoroughly dismissed, I chuckled as I left to the sounds of her tsking and shooing.

Once outside, I gazed out over the horizon and imagined it all. The fortress, the settlement, and all the Icari living under the stars. Maybe one day we’d erect a Sphere to shield against the sun. Until then, the night would do.

[SS]: “What about Rayne’s Sphere? Wasn’t there an early iteration of it?”

You’re getting ahead of me, my impatient stenographer. Don’t pout. We’re getting there, and I’m well beyond my last milestone.

[SS]: “Give to me what you want.”

I shall take from you what I need.