So I waited for the good news from the Yu brothers. I know you're excited about it. Patience, Rayne. A door must open first.

The entire Icarean race attended the conduit's opening. We arranged the affair to occur during nighttime on Earth, as we'd yet to find a solution to the radiation. Xelan assured me that he worked day and night cultivating ideas. I had faith in him. With he and Korac beside me for the ceremony, I had faith in our race to thrive on our new planet.

The Physician disguised himself as a Thailean Mystic, compressing to a quarter of his usual height. The Mystics were tiny people in elegant robes. They guarded the tombs of the Ancients from which Xelan needed ore to continue his cross-breeding research. All in due time.

We concentrated on the Tritan. When offered this arrangement, he used the words, "Allow a conduit to open." Only now did it strike me as unusual.

With a device, he spread nanites within his blood in a line across the rocky road outside my castle. Seconds later, a pressure built in the air, and my hair lifted from my shoulders. Lightning danced in a cloudless sky. The air suddenly smelled not of ash but of ozone. The pressure mounted until a bolt struck the very ground he marked. The world split apart.

A desert waited on the other side. The night there was darker than any on Cinder. Stars twinkled beyond the clouds. A cool breeze carried the scent of sand and oxygen. Fresh. Not like the ash here.

Xelan gaped, "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..." He carried on appreciating the event as only my brother could by pacing a cognition-fueled rut into the dirt.

I indicated Korac to him.

The General patted my brother hard enough on the back to break his mania. "A race, Prince Xelan? Beat me to the campsite, and I will collect whatever samples you want."

He raised an eyebrow. "And if you win?"

Korac grinned. "Let me think on it." A gleam sparkled in his pale eyes.

"If I win, I get to name the land mass."

At my inclusion, Korac crooked his grin into a smirk. "As your majesty wishes."

Even Xelan beamed at me. "Fair race. No flying. Ready?"

Korac bent in a runner's stance. "Set."

"Go!" I bolted with half my speed. I wanted to enjoy this time with my brothers. Enjoy our first step onto this new planet. And just when I thought I might have a moment of peace, the Mystic-disguised Tritan stepped in my way.

"We have a matter to discuss."

I hated him.

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The other two stopped with me, and I waved for them to go on. Send the best of the Icarean race in first.

To the waiting crowd, I announced, "One scouting party of four thousand warriors and five hundred citizens await orders from Prince Xelan and General Korac. Answer to them as if they were your King. Salvation is at hand."

My people cheered, and my chest swelled. So close. Appease the Tritan and move on. Simple.

We moved to the side of the awaiting migration at the base of my castle. He peered at the construct. "Impressive. You are not the ruler I expected, given your father."

The compliment took me by surprise, but I waited for the backhand. "Thank you, Primary."

"Brief me on your meeting with Bin."

I suspected that after all this time under his tutelage the man could tell deception from truth. Half-truth might do. "He makes for an interesting character. He did not stay long. Which I believe you already knew after increasing your monitoring on our conduit."

Xelan and Korac returned and directed the scouting party to follow. An extra swagger in Korac's step told me he won. But I suspected Xelan let him, if only out of his tenacious curiosity.

The Tritan nodded. "Did he ask anything of you?"

"He asked me some vague questions regarding my health. I dismissed them as mild curiosity, much like Xelan."

He smiled at the mention of my brother. "You must be impatient to join him. I admit, I gained some satisfaction opening the door to your new world. You have no idea how much potential you gained. The Probabilities. Go. Set foot on the Third and begin your longest journey yet. I will keep a close watch on your interactions with Bin."

I shirked the implications of his words as I approached the conduit properly for the first time. The cool desert air called to me. My family waited for me and Earth with them.

The loneliness of the gray hall between the conduits couldn't dampen my mood. My boot touched sand, and I knew I never wanted to leave this place.

Stars. So many beautiful stars in a sky that reminded me of Xelan's eyes. The desert was desolate enough to prevent homesickness, but with a breeze fresh enough to renew my vigor. Tents already buffeted against the wind. My people settled in.

Xelan and Korac intercepted me on the way to the Royal tent. I almost gawked at them. For the first time since he moved in with us, Korac's hair was mussed. Did they know they were being so obvious? How absurd that these two Icari, trained in covert diplomacy, were so bad at hiding a tryst.

I lost the fight and laughed in their confused faces.

Xelan caught on and nudged the General who hurried to straighten his hair. My brother offered, "We rescued a wayward tent. It led us on quite the adventure."

I didn't even dignify that bullshit with a response. Shaking my head, I entered the tent. "How long will it take to map the terrain for construction? We need to build shelters."

Korac reported, "Mapping is underway. It may take two days at the most. We can begin in this location tomorrow."

I rapped my knuckles on the chair. "How does a fortress sound to you?"

"Ideal. I recommend--"

"I plan to live here. On Earth." Xelan tensed as if preparing for a blow.

Korac stared at him, taken aback.

I blinked. "We all do."

He shook his head. "I mean elsewhere from here. Alone."

I was almost too upset to notice a flicker in Korac's stony facade. Hurt. I felt it in the flutter of his heartbeat.

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Must you insist?"

"Nox, I need space to work. Privacy. No assistants. No visitors." Xelan held out his hands. "Please."

Internally, I cursed. Not even as children could I turn him away. "Will you need help to construct it?"

Korac's eyes widened a touch. He'd hoped I wouldn't concede, but he underestimated how much I would give for my brother's happiness. Including widening the gulf between us at his request.

"No. Thank you. And now that we are here, I want to apologize."

I raised an eyebrow.

"You were right about coming here. It could be our salvation." Xelan broke into a fantastic grin that made all of this worth it. "Real stars."

The two Icari in my tent smiled in equal measure. Yes. It was all worth it. And I will never forget how happy we were in this moment. On the eve of the end.