[SS]: We took a break. It feels good to leave some of these serious issues and hug the people that matter. Well, I hugged. Korac graced them with his magnificent presence.

It’s weird talking to Xelan. I mean, for one, he’s alive. For another, I’m looking at him differently after some of these revelations. I still love him just as much, but now I want to hug him more. For taking care of us while dealing with his own issues. Like a certain martyr King I know.

We’re back.

Colita looked after the fortress and Earth-side affairs while the brothers and I entertained the Progeny at Nox’s Castle on Cinder.

At Celindria’s request.

Things got weird. I want to highlight a few moments between myself and the lesser known First Wave Progeny. T.a.o., Devis, Andrius, and Merit. Each of them intriguing for their own reasons and worthy of mention.

Let’s begin with Devis.

One night I leaned in the drawing room’s entryway while Nox and Xelan told their stories to the delight of our guests. Devis had left the room and when he returned, stood opposite of me in the arch.

He folded his dark arms, well-honed from working at his forge. Back then, his head was hairless and shiny, and he had trouble being still. Dusting off his clothes, pulling on his earlobe, rubbing his head—anything to fidget.

It grated on my nerves.

Eventually, he worked himself up to ask with a nod at my hip, “The whip works for you, General Korac?”

“Hmm.” Rude, I know. But the nature of the Progeny disturbed me. Entire adults made in a lab. Not grown from children. One day—Poof! People. Fucking weird.

Devis picked under his fingernails as he dropped the next icebreaker. “You ever consider something a bit more stout?”

I finally let him see my gaze. “Like what? A sword?” Boring. Uninteresting.

Sprite, your staff, Night Killer, was a fucking inspiration. Well done.

Again, the First Wave Progeny shifted his weight. “No, actually. A sword is unfitting for your form. You need a weapon heavier on the top. Like a mace. Or an axe.”

Indeed. I gave him an approving nod.

“If you like, I could forge one for you—Are they fucking hugging again?” He all but snarled at the last.

We both rolled our eyes as Nox and Celindria parted. She turned and hugged Xelan in excited eagerness over whichever story this time. That was the most physical contact I’d ever witnessed from Nox with someone other than his brother.

Devis confided, “I wonder if I should discourage her from becoming overly attached to this place and your—our—King. Xelan will eventually return us to the stronghold.”

I was tempted to ask him where that was, but I didn’t want to encroach on Xelan’s privacy. Instead, I conspired with the six-month-old grown adult next to me. “Yes. While my King is most happy with your visit, and therefore so am I, I find myself concerned with their growing fondness for one another.”

The other man nodded. “We leave soon, with many return visits ahead of us. Our maker mentions this place and you often. He misses this life terribly. We want to create ways to contribute so we can integrate. So he can return.”

Ahh. That’s why the forge offer. “In that case, we can meet in an hour in my study. I require some new armor designs to better suit the desert environment but that adapt to mountains as well. We plan to explore soon. How does that sound?”

The man’s smile was actually quite beautiful, almost feminine, and with dazzling teeth. “That sounds good to me, General. One hour.” Then the little reprobate pat me on the shoulder and returned to his original seat at Celindria’s side.

Merit.

Far more gentle than Tameka, but similarly optimistic. That woman was a ray of sunshine.

A week after my meeting with Devis, he busied himself determining average measurements for new mail. While he toiled away with those duties, I spent time in places expecting to see Xelan. The library in Nox’s Castle scaled five stories high on all four walls. No windows. Perfect for an afternoon read and possibly a surprise tryst.

“No. This is all so unfamiliar. I swear, it was two lefts and the last right. But, now…”

A female voice woke me from where I fell asleep on a sofa. The back was high, so the wandering woman never saw me.

“Hmm. Well. Maybe I took a wrong turn.”

Once I realized it wasn’t Celindria, I glanced over the back to that waterfall of red hair. Merit breezed into the library in a royal blue dress with gold accents that truly complimented her warm complexion and bright green eyes. The woman could accessorize. Gold bangles circled her considerable biceps and swan neck. I smirked when I saw the gold ribboned throughout her hair.

Stunning.

I made sure to straighten my clothes when I stood. “Merit, are you lost?”

She looked pretty when startled. Words only a predator could say. Her eyes and mouth gaped, and a hand touched her chest delicately. But the fighter in her recovered quickly. “General Korac.” Merit bowed, and I really was quite jealous of her hair. “Yes, sir. I lost my way to the kitchens. The cooks promised to teach me to make bread today.” Her smile was infectious.

“I can escort you there.” The longer I spent around the Progeny, the less their making unnerved me. Only Celindria—even the thought of her—rankled. But for Merit, I easily held out my arm.

She took it with another thousand-watt beam. “Thank you, General. This is a lovely library. I wonder if Xelan spends anytime here.” With every step we took toward the kitchen, she kept her gaze on me while she glided elegantly, without stumbling.

I covered my disappointed frown at the topic with a mask. “Not as such, but perhaps the Prince will see it on this visit.”

“I could bring him. I found sometimes he requires a good nudge to do certain things. Like this journey? Celindria begged and swore if he refused any longer, she would find herself another means to meet King Nox.”

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Really? Interesting. “Why is that?”

Merit shrugged with a small frown. “She has her own ways. Very persistent—”

“Where the fuck did you get that dress?!”

Colita.

In an angry fit, the Icarean female stomped down the stairs in the foyer, and she sounded especially bitter.

I noticed this time that Merit didn’t startle. She leveled her gaze coolly at the intrusive woman who intercepted us on our walk. “You know exactly where.”

I looked between them, perplexed and bemused. “You two are acquainted?”

Incredulous, Colita stamped her heel. “Of course not! But somehow she copied a dress I had made naught but a week ago.”

Merit tsked and shook her head before correcting the other woman. “I was in the shop when you refused to pay the merchant for it.”

I allowed my brows to raise in astonishment. “Colita, is this true?”

Watching that viper coil for another strike always unnerved me. Her body assumed a relaxed stance, her face cooled, and the anger seeped from her eyes, replaced with icy hard calculation. “It was a human merchant. I wanted to favor him by wearing a design he created for me. To advertise for him. But he operates in our city, so payment—especially from me—is not a fair exchange for my promotion.”

Again, Merit redressed the viper’s behavior. “I found his price was perfectly fair, and the dress is beautiful. Even Xelan said so.”

I started to sense something from Merit regarding her maker, but this wasn’t the time to ask.

“Oh, did he now?” Apparently, Colita thought it was the time. “Did you buy it with him in mind? The experiment in love with her creator. How pathetic—”

“More so than the blood whore in love with her King?” I couldn’t keep listening to this. This entire situation left me conflicted in my own investment. I reserved no small amount of concern for the newly-made person in front of me, with obvious feelings for my lover. But Colita’s lack of compassion was too reminiscent of Amolot and Triss. Simply non-existent.

Briefly, something flickered in the viper’s eyes. It choked her voice. “Korac. I thought you—” Whatever it was, it died before she finished her sentence. “Enjoy entertaining the lab rats.”

“This rat will gnaw on your bones.”

Wow.

Colita gaped at the Progeny.

I wasn’t expecting that.

Merit’s voice was turbulent with anger, and her eyes burned like emerald fire. “Treat people better or one day they may rip you apart.”

Colita dismissed us with a wave before rushing up the stairs.

I let Merit see how impressed I was with her. She smiled with that beguiling innocence, belying the ferocity beneath it. I liked her, and I mourned her loss as another one of those genuine people the world seems to take from us so easily.

Andrius.

This encounter was… different. When you were at Nox’s Castle, did any of you know about the baths?

[SS]: “There are baths?! Damn. I definitely would’ve used those.”

More like hot springs. And yes, they’re beneath the kitchens stemming from an old fault. I’ll show you sometime if we can ever go back.

[SS]: He’s winking, and it reminds me of his father from a few days ago. Eerie.

In the week since I ran into Merit, Xelan and I spent some time together. We avoided all conversation related to anything but us. It was nice, but while his Progeny duties called, I sought the quiet relaxation of the baths. I soaked there maybe an hour before the door to the cavern creaked open.

I might’ve groaned in agitation. The castle was entirely too full of people with permission to wander wherever they like. For instance, this young man with dark skin and a wealth of box braids offered me an apologetic smile but continued to dip his toes in.

This was “me” time. Not “me and someone else” time. “Andrius, yes?”

“Yes, General Korac.” He answered as he dropped his robe. While I politely averted my gaze, the Progeny ran across the brick and jumped into the water with a most impressive splash.

Drenching my face and my hair twisted on my head.

More of it sprayed from his hair when he surfaced and whipped the braids back. He smiled at me. Not grinned. Not smirked. Just a friendly, easy curve to his lips. A sparkle in his teal eyes. “Sorry for interrupting, but I find myself sore after Xelan’s stress test.”

Of course he was. I made to get out, but for some reason I sat back down in the water.

While I tried and failed again, the young man confessed, “I really am sorry, but I also wanted to talk to you. Alone.”

Confounded, I faced him. “About?” We kept our distance. Bathing was communal on Cinder, among Icari, therefore not unusual.

I swear Andrius looked to the left and then to the right before speaking, “Celindria.”

“Go on.” I could stand to listen to this.

He sighed, as if relieved to have an ear for once. “She is highly intelligent. More than she is letting on. I am unsure why she applies a pretense.”

My gaze narrowed. “For us? The King and I?”

“And Xelan. She hides it from our maker. I worry…” He trailed his fingertip across the surface of the water.

I let him take his time, keeping my usual facade up while underneath, I burned to know.

Eventually, Andrius decided how much he wanted to convey to me. “My sister was born knowing her place in the universe, and no force in it can stop her.”

I clenched my jaw to keep from raising my brows. I pressed, “Is her purpose a dangerous one?”

“I am most certain.”

Already expecting that answer, I nodded solemnly. “Are you in danger for telling me?”

“Most definitely. But Devis, Merit, and I can look after ourselves. I worry only for T.a.o.” He drifted a bit before adding, “I have no evidence to corroborate my concerns. Just the behavior I witnessed from Celindria, and the way she looks at the King.”

Coaxing wasn’t my thing. I preferred direct communication, but for the lost look on his face, I could try. “Yes?”

His sudden smile was unexpected and a little goofy. “I think I found someone. I love her.” Fucking weird subject change, but I let him go on. “Celindria looks at King Nox, not like the woman I love looks at me, but like Devis looked at that steak from two nights ago. Like she wants him for food.”

I almost gaped. “You have a way with words.”

Andrius’ smile shied in the most endearing way. “You are not the first to say so.”

“Your words have not fallen on deaf ears.” I assured as I climbed out of the bath and let my hair down. “I will monitor Celindria closely. Although, if what you say about the universe is true, I am uncertain what I could do to hinder her.”

The young man submerged to his chin. “I know your vigilance alone will make a difference. I only hope I warned you in time.”

In time? In time for what? Something in his eyes—the sadness, the hopelessness—kept me from asking. And considering everything we know now, I regret not taking more action sooner.

[SS]: I’m shaking my head at him. “It’s not your fault. It’s not Nox’s. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not Xelan’s. But I know you feel differently about that.”

Korac’s eyes are so sad.

I wish I were more like you. That I believed Xelan missed all the forewarning circumstances rather than ignored them. In his love for her—hell, in our love for anyone—we can overlook signals. But Celindria was a beacon of wrong.

[SS]: “I hope you don’t mind, I’m redacting this. Again, I don’t think this conjecture is fair until he gives his own account.”

Conjecture? You’re so sexy when you let your brilliance show.

[SS]: “Focus, mister. You have one more Progeny to go.”

Oh, trust me. I will dedicate plenty of this Verse to T.a.o. But not yet. I’ll briefly mention here that she was always flitting around and speaking in her mad dialect. She was endearing and innocent. Even more so than you, amos. As a six-month-old being, she understood nothing and felt compassion for everything.

During one dinner, Nox toasted the entire table. It was warm and touching. He went on about the future represented in us, and his hopes for a return to a complete family. It was more memorable because his feelings choked the words from him. He even looked away for a moment, as if we’d find tears forming in his eyes.

T.a.o. stood and disappeared—

—And Nox startled. The tiny woman clutched him with all the strength in her little body with her head only at his stomach. We know now that it cost him time from his “leash” for this interaction.

“T.a.o.” Xelan jumped from his chair like he feared Nox’s temper. He stopped still when my King brushed the first Seamswalker’s back, gently.

Nox muttered something to her. We couldn’t hear.

She turned those purple eyes to him and beamed. It was infectious enough that Xelan smiled at the unexpected display. I gave in and smirked. The other Progeny joined us.

But not Celindria. No. She glared at Nox’s hand on T.a.o.’s back. As soon as she noticed me watching, she smiled with an absence of warmth.

That aside, I’ll dedicate later segments only to my friendship with the first Seamswalker. In our first few interactions, she was simply the sweetest person I’ve ever met. And tragically the most insane.

[SS]: “Where do we go from here?”

The descent.