{Enki}

Sagan stared at the ceiling of Tameka’s Enki bungalow. The salty breeze from the open glass panels carried the fresh smell of the ocean. The soft sheets breathed like Earth cotton. No lumps in the pad beneath her. Her family’s comforting breathing surrounded her. Comforting aside from Tumu, who stayed and snored like a foghorn. And if the redhead beside her would quit kicking her, maybe Sagan could close her eyes long enough to sleep. Her only consolation? The tiny redhead in her best friend’s arms kicked his mommy more. What went around came around.

With that in mind, she muttered a prayer to Elden for her friends in the galaxy, staging payback against Imminent. She hated leaving them to T.a.o. with everything they suspected of her. But they reassured the youngest Seamswalker of her own mission and restored her faith in theirs.

Okay. One dilemma solved. Truthfully, nothing would ease her completely. Except…

Itch. Twitch. Pinch. A gnawing need. Sagan craved pain. The sear of fire, the lash of a whip, the concussion of a good right hook. All of it. Any of it. Top it off with a trip to the prison and engage the real thing at Korac’s expert hands… A cocktail better than sex.

She needed to stop. If the gala proved fruitless, Sagan would refuse the next experience and detox. The entire balance of the arrangement fell off kilter with Razor landing on top. Never again. She’d never allow a man made of control to exploit her ever again. Addictions of her own making, included.

That said, she absolutely planned to sneak to the prison for a nap. There was no better sleep than snuggling with her Icarus.

And food. Delicious food. Her mouth watered at the thought of barbecued bore and steamed Caprent pike. Starved, she looked at her hands and frowned. Her already dainty wrist lost some mass. Forearm muscles lessened and overly defined. She burned more fuel than she put in the tank. But nothing appealed to her aside from the Emporium’s buffet. Promising herself to eat before she left, Sagan closed her eyes.

Exhaustion claimed the Seamswalker eventually. Sometime later, she awoke to a tiny kick. Too tiny for Tameka, Sagan opened her eyes and restrained from gushing at the sight of Pax tucked into her. His curly red hair laid against the dark freckles on his cheeks. Thick red lashes fanned above them. The poor baby would run if he knew he slept against her. Toddler crush.

But that led to an interesting question. Where was Tameka? Not in the blanket palace. Probably her room. Now seemed like a good time to seek guidance regarding the addiction. Sagan stood and Seamswalked into the master suite.

“Tameka, I—”

Oh. My. Elden.

Knocking.

Knocking would’ve been good.

Tameka sat on her bed and gaped at Sagan, bewildered. Her eyes grew wide and glittered like shocked emeralds. Caedes didn’t bother looking up from where he fed on the bend of Fury’s arm. The sucking sounds of the intimate act never to be forgotten. Nor the gruff Icarus’ gentle purring.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

Sagan immediately Seamswalked back to the living space. Well, almost. As she hurried away from Tameka, the blond Progeny paused in the Seam.

The moment her feet touched the bone-white stone, she sensed it. A shift. A change. A—new. Something new. The young woman spun in a circle, trying to catch it. In the corner of her eye, she swore a shadow jumped between the cathedral’s pillars.

“Hello?”

The empty never responded… before today. A rush of incoherent whispers flooded Sagan. Some from a distance. Some directly in her ear. It startled her, and she batted at it. Unarmed and dressed in her pajamas, she never imagined facing a threat in this unpopulated place. Terrified and overstimulated, she closed her eyes and breathed. Deep inhale through the nose. Exhale through the mouth. Center and focused, like Xelan taught her.

Whispers. Soft. Rushed. Couldn’t make them out. Couldn’t understand—

“Atheneum.”

The voices formed into a chorus and repeated the single word until the whispers shouted at her. “Atheneum.”

Sagan clutched her chain and blindly Seamswalked the fuck out of there—

“There you are. Here I thought you finally learned to knock—Sagan, what’s wrong?!” Tameka clutched Sagan’s biceps to keep her from falling.

She was back in Tameka’s place. In the second-floor hallway by the master bedroom. Everything was fine. She was safe here. The Seamswalker backed against the wall and sank to the floor. Not on the verge of tears. No. On the verge of screaming. For hours. Days, even.

That place was dead. It was empty. Where did those voices come from—

“I don’t know what happened, but I can see you’re spiraling.” The redhead took the blond’s hand in a warm, familiar grip. Safe. She even brushed a strand of Sagan’s hair behind her ear. “It’s okay. You’re home. Nothing can touch us here. Tell me what happened.”

“Atheneum.”

Tameka recoiled. “That old legend? About a library? There was a brief mention of it in the archives here. Is it significant?”

So she didn’t hallucinate it. The voices. The word. It was real.

Sagan gripped her best friend by the shoulders and tried to contain the crazy as she demanded, “Tell. Me. Everything. Tameka, the Seam. It told me to look for it.”

Okay, back to the wide green eyes. “The Seam? It talks?”

“It did. Just now.”

“Sorry to say, there isn’t much to tell. Some old text mentioned a library, kinda like Alexandria on Earth. The Tritans searched for it and never found it. Contains a lot of knowledge about the Ancients, so they wanted it.” Shoving Sagan’s bangs aside, Tameka checked her for a fever. “Your nacre seems fine despite that ugly port thing.”

Sagan gently nudged away the concerned gesture. “I’m fine. I need to find the library. Who would—Razor might know. I can ask him.”

Fury folded her arms and glowered at the Seamswalker. “You know you picked up Rayne’s habit of sleep-talking. You mentioned Razor a few times.”

That shut all kinds of things down in Sagan’s brain. “I did?”

“Mhmm.”

Oh, shit. Did she do that around Korac? She tried to conceal the panic from her friend. The topic was a little sensitive. Speaking of, “Sorry for earlier. I—”

“Save it. Learn to knock. And not that I need to defend myself to anyone, but I want to be clear. I fed him potent enough blood to help him heal properly. That’s all.” The redhead shifted uncomfortably before changing the subject, “We need to visit Karter before you pick up your dress from Lucas.” She rolled her eyes at the last. “Dancing with the enemy. You and Rayne. I swear…”

“The storms… do you think Rayne knows what day it is?”

Tameka’s eyes softened. She stood and held out a hand. “There’s no way she couldn’t. Rayne’s connected to us, so even unconscious, she knows.”

Sagan took the offered hand and stood. Both girls gripped their chains. Today was hard on all of them. They honored it each year. It was the reason they tried. The reason they hoped. And the reason they loved.

We will always remain.