“I can’t believe you’d agree to this.” Benham leaned over their table. “Especially without me. I’m a scout and a good pilot. We haven’t really worked separate since we got back to Iruedim.” He set narrow eyes on Meladee. “What are you going to do if you need to cast and pilot at the same time?”

Meladee inclined her head. “Well, I’ve done it before, and also, if I have to cast, we probably have to go back in time and get a do-over.”

Benham pushed his chair back. “You’re not scared at all?”

“No, I’m scared. I don’t want to hang out in the Volanter’s backyard, but Rooks asked me. If I don’t do it, then she’ll send Inez or someone else who’s either all battle mage or all spell writer.” Meladee crossed her arms. “I can’t let that happen. I’m the best balance.” Meladee shrugged. “I mean…Camellia and Eva are going. What am I supposed to do?”

“I get it. Just wish I could come along.” Benham bowed his head. He didn’t seem okay with the situation from where Meladee stood. Benham paced towards the door. “We should look over the Halfmoon one more time. Before you fly away.”

“Alas.” Meladee put her hand to her forehead. “You may never see me again. I may affect my noble sacrifice, and you will have to live your life alone on Iruedim forever missing me – Meladee.”

Meladee didn’t get a chance to finish. Benham squeezed her tight.

“Don’t say that,” he said. “You’ve my favorite person on Iruedim.”

Meladee patted his shoulders, and then, hugged him back. “Don’t worry. No sacrifices here. I’m real good at surviving desolate situations. I had a talent for it before I met Camellia.”

“Ice shipping.” Benham slowly relaxed his embrace, and Meladee could see his face. He was as sad as she’d ever seen him.

“Look, I don’t want to do this. I’m doing it because I want to escape back home. Plus, we’ve got that extra security of do-overs. I won’t even have to remember what goes bad.”

Benham made a face. “You would really appreciate that.”

“Yeah.” Meladee nodded with vigor. “I wish we could have a do-over for the entire adventure.” She spread her arms. “But, only Pan knows the powerful time message spell. If she could reach that far back in time, we Iruedians would still be out here on our own. Her spell would only help the Scaldin.”

“I hope she doesn’t get the idea to…” Benham rubbed the back of his neck slow and absentminded.

“She can’t reach that far. I hope.” Meladee dismissed her concern with a wave of her hand, as if shooing it over her shoulder. “Look, let’s have some fun before I go.”

Benham perked up. “Okay.”

Meladee grinned. She grabbed his arm and pulled him after. “And, when I’m away, you go stick around Sten or Florian. It’ll be good for you.”

Benham trotted to catch up with Meladee, more so to catch up with his runaway arm. “I could do that. But, I don’t have the same friendship with them that you have with Camellia and Eva.”

“Eh. Close enough,” Meladee said.

Eva knew it was coming.

Sten held a device before her. It was a metal box. Though it looked simple, Eva knew it was anything but. A wire protruded from the box and snaked around in a messy coil.

“Let me do a quick copy.”

“No,” Eva said. “There’s no point in a quick copy. Do it on yourself.” Eva turned away.

“I’m not leaving on a dangerous endeavor.”

“There’s little risk in it.” Eva gathered up all her weapons. She placed two guns in their holsters and slid her staff into a holder across her back. In hindsight, she probably shouldn’t have touched her weapons the moment she tried to convince him that the venture involved little risk. “We’re going to be able to rewind time. We can do the mission as many times as necessary.”

“There may not be a scenario in which you come back safely.” Sten held the box out to her. “Let me just.”

Eva pushed the box back. “No. If you put me in that thing, will it really be me?”

Sten pulled the box close to his chest. “I’ve never known a robot so averse to a backup. Then again, you’re the first robot I’ve met who was concerned with her soul.”

“That’s just one part of it.” Eva fastened her belt, closed her bag, and considered herself ready for the journey.

Sten snorted. “I know you’re worried about how it will feel; you’re worried about having copies of yourself. You don’t need to worry about either of those things. When it comes to copies, I would never do that. I can only handle one of you at a time. As for how things will feel, the copy can be made to sleep, you wouldn’t know the situation.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Eva didn’t smile. “And, how long would I have to exist? Indefinitely?”

Sten frowned. Then, his eyes went wide. “Oh, I see the problem.” He placed the box on a nearby chair. “You realized that Meladee and Camellia will eventually die, and you don’t want to live an eternity.”

Eva froze, and a moment of silence passed between them. “Yes,” she breathed.

Sten smiled sadly. “Most people fear dying, Eva. You fear forever.” Sten glanced at the box. “We will forgo the copy then.”

Eva said, “If you must divert your attention from our task at hand, I would rather you drop this idea of copies. Instead, return to your old endeavor and try to engage me in romantic pursuits.”

Sten’s eyes came alight. “Really? Is this something you welcome, or something you grudgingly accept?”

Eva’s other fear reared its head. She struggled for an answer. She frowned. “Grudingly accept, I suppose.”

Sten slumped. “Never mind then. And, Benham thought Meladee moved slow. If we have forever, take your time. I am very patient. And…come back safe.”

Eva looked him up and down.

Pan laid on her bed and picked up stuffed animal after stuffed animal. She came to the doll, Little Pan, and held it above her face. The doll might creep her new companions out, and that could be fun – or a problem.

Pan thought of Camellia and that look the anthropologist had given her. Camellia was not happy with Pan. Pan could make it worse, or she could refrain.

Pan put the doll back in the pile. Little Pan would not make a good traveling companion for this adventure. Pan stuck her hands inside the plush mountain and felt the familiar furs. She pulled no one free because her mind wandered, set on someone else.

Camellia thought Pan’s suggestion was cruel, and upon reflection, Pan wondered if it was. Destroying the Volanter’s timeless home was a red act, not gold. It would be an endeavor of determination and anger. Revenge.

Now, if things went according to plan, the Volanter would just lose their home and not their lives, but they could die. If they died, then Pan might have enough ghosts to fill a world.

Imagine if they sought me out the way that Brynn did.

Something hit Pan’s chest. She withdrew her hands from the animals, and frowning, picked up a small, flat object – the lover’s card. Pan turned her head and found Sotir at her bedside.

“You sleep here on and off ever since Hagen visited. I don’t believe what he said.”

Pan looked at the card.

“And, you shouldn’t either.”

Pan put the card on her nightstand. “He says I see through my dragon’s eyes, but I don’t remember that.”

“No, and it was just a dream. Hagen might have interpreted wrong. He says it’s like a memory, but he forgets that you’ve flown a ship and seen the ground from high vantage points. You have memories like that, from which to build a dragon’s viewpoint.” Sotir balanced his staff against the wall and found the seam of his shirt.

Pan watched him “You want to stay over?”

Sotir smiled. “If you can make room for me.” He gestured to the stuffed animals. “Looks pretty busy.”

“They don’t mind.” Pan plowed the animals off her bed.

They fell over the edge, still smiling, and puffed on the floor, barely making a sound.

“Ah, plenty of room for you now.”

Camellia didn’t know if she would be able to sleep well. She thought nightmares might be ahead. She slipped between the covers and laid on her side.

Florian slid into the other half of the bed and faced her. “You could stay behind.”

“I think Rooks wants me to be there in case something of the cultural variety can help the mission.” Camellia tucked her hand beneath her cheek.

“I guessed as much. I would go in your place.”

“Meladee and Eva might find it a bit awkward. Plus, you don’t have telepathy.” Camellia studied his face. She didn’t see anger there, just a hint of concern.

“That pesky telepathy. It’s very useful in a lot of situations. You could have used it during ethnographic studies.” Florian tucked his arm beneath the pillow. “Certainly, would be a shortcut.”

“He said we shouldn’t do that, and he never looked in my head. Now that I really think about it, I think he probably did sneak some peeks. If I’d ever found out, he would have said it was because he was too powerful and couldn’t control himself.” Camellia rolled to her back.

“Who? Sorin?”

“Of course. I don’t know how he could stay in such good standing, while Cernunnos and I were on the edges, practically jokes.”

Florian promised, “That doesn’t happen anymore.”

Camellia twisted to the nightside table. “Oh, here.” She grabbed an envelope. “I wrote the thank you note. Since it’s supposed to be from both of us, you should sign your name. Then, we can deliver it.”

Camellia joked, of course. They could never deliver the letter to Cernunnos.

Florian took the envelope. “I wonder who he left the gift with. He must have put it in someone’s possession to pass on to us.”

“He really planned ahead.” Camellia rolled back to her side and dragged herself across the space between them. Camellia put her head on Florian’s shoulder, not bothered by the hardness of his bone. Dhampirs could find stone comfortable.

Florian opened the envelope. Camellia tried to read over her lines, but she drifted to sleep instead.

Gavain wrapped his arms around Aria. He spooned her, and as he slipped into the position, she could hear him spitting her curls out of his mouth. He swept them aside, up onto the pillow.

“There,” he whispered. Louder, he said, “We’ve got one more appointment tomorrow.”

Aria twisted her head and put her ear close to his mouth. “What for?”

“I don’t know exactly, but I’m afraid it’s for you.”

Aria strained to remember. She’d been examined every way the doctors could think of. Some of the tests hurt; some were just uncomfortable. All were hopeless.

Aria’s aura cut close to her person and looked more grey than blue. “Can we put it off till we get home? It’s too much for me right now.”

“Why not get it over with?” Gavain snuggled Aria, not feeling the stiffness in her body language. “I’ll be with you, and once it’s over with, we can get our records transferred and figure this out.”

Aria tried to relax her neck and head. She let them sink into the pillow. Once they got through the last of the tests, Aria was probably in for a lot more pain. She wished there was some way she could just ask a Volanter to heal her. So many circles resided in Pan’s book that there had to be a healing circle devoted solely to Aria’s kind of pain.

There were circles to call ghosts, circles to hold them in one place, and circles to see them. Healing circles seemed the same; though, Pan talked about them less. She would have said if she found one. Then again, Aria could ask an Iruedian to write her a spell. But who?

She didn’t know anyone well enough. She would never ask Meladee or Inez or Eder to write such a personal circle.

Aria would think about it all later. She’d think about the test later too. She didn’t plan on doing it the following day. They couldn’t make her.