I expected Jun to head straight back to our room after speaking to Keratily, not beeline for Okeria’s half-cracked door that had obviously been left open for us. If I was being honest, I didn’t really have any love for the Staura at that moment. They’d killed Nia, tried to rip me off multiple times, and then planned to completely erase Jun ‘for her own good’. There was a real danger that I’d develop a prejudice against Jun’s people before I ever set foot in Rainbow Basin.

“I heard.” Okeria spat before Jun had even stepped foot into Okeria’s room. “Get in. We need ta talk about that drowned old woman.”

Jun nodded in agreement, motioning for me to follow her in as Okeria opened the door wide for us. I blinked in surprise at Okeria’s outrage towards Keratily’s admission, since I’d thought of him as by far the worse of the two up until this point. Though now that I thought of it, there was a chance that he’d just been betrayed far worse than Jun or I had. A really good chance.

Okeria slammed the door shut behind me, and his rage somehow grew even hotter. “Sebastian. Did Keratily get ta the field before Persephonia died?” He demanded. “She told me that she couldn’t help Persephonia before it got too late. I need ta know if that was a lie.”

I shook my head. “No; she saved one of Addia’s chosen then went to help Jun. I know the woman’s a real bastard, but she didn’t know what was going to happen to Nia.”

“Right. Of course she didn’t.” Okeria snapped, whirling on his heel and stomping towards a table with three oily silver cubes on it. He picked up one in each hand, turned once again, and marched to give them to us. “Take these. They’re remote power nodes for my machines, and I can keep ‘em powered from anywhere on the all-world. We don’t know if Sebastian’s system message thing will keep working outside of this hazard or if it was a perk from being connected ta Mortician and the oilsea. I’ve programmed in an automatic shield and a first-aid protocol, so ya can feel safer without your armor on.”

Jun tilted her head as she examined it, then nodded. “Will it work while it's in my inventory, or do I have to keep it on my person?”

“Ya have ta keep it on your person. But ya can give it a command ta change inta a necklace, or a forearm wrap, or whatever ya can wear at all times. It won’t even take up a trinket slot, since I’m the one powering it.” Okeria explained. “I gave one of these ta Persephonia a long time ago. Gave one ta Keratily, too, but she’s never worn it even once. Keratily might not’ve helped Endra kill Persephonia, but she left Persephonia ta die out there ta lazer-focus on Juniper here. I forgave her when I thought Juniper was the first Keratily she’d found in a long time, but knowing what she’s done ta so many of her own…”

Okeria shook his head. “I can’t trust a single word that woman says. She lies as easily as she breathes.”

I fiddled with the cube until I found a switch on the side that, when pressed, melted the cube into an oily metal slurry. Yet it stayed in one piece no matter how far it stretched towards the floor. I unsummoned my gauntlet and pressed the slurry to my forearm and commanded it to change into a simple sleeve. It shifted and compressed until it pressed ever so slightly against my skin, fully covering my right arm from the middle of my bicep down to my wrist. A few flexes and wrist rotations proved that it wouldn’t hamper my motion at all, and I resummoned my gauntlet to see that neither Jun nor Okeria had spoken in the last thirty seconds. They both just sat there, staring at each other with mixtures of betrayal, anger, and sadness on their faces.

It fell to me to break the haze of hatred Keratily had spread. But not in a way that helped the woman. “Years of trust, broken in just a few days. Do you think her descendants are actually as bad as she said, or was that another lie too?”

“No. Haha, no.” Okeria laughed humourlessly. “I’ve met a few other Keratilys in my time. Up until earlier today, Juniper and Keratily were the only ones I wouldn’t fill with metal and leave bleeding on the streets.”

“That’s a little harsh. They can’t all be that bad, can they?”

Jun shifted in her seat and chuckled, then looked me in the eyes. “The Keratilys didn’t suddenly become bastards when they got to the all-world. They were horrible people on Sotrien, too. And I’m not a Keratily any more, Okeria, so please don’t lump me together with them.” She sighed. “The only reason I wasn’t an absolutely horrible person is because they pushed me away. Didn’t want anything to do with a daughter they wouldn’t see beyond her twenties, I guess, but to the abyss with them. My life’s all the better thanks to them not messing with it.”

Okeria snapped his fingers, then shifted into a strange half-open hand point at Jun. “Ya know, I can probably pull a few strings when we get ta Rainbow Basin ta keep Keratily all hung up for a little while. The problem with that is that the two of ya will have Endra on your heels no matter what, so ya won’t be able ta run much of anywhere. But I can keep her off ya for… fifty days at best. If ya find something or someone that can help ya get stronger in that time, then I’ll risk it ta help ya out. And if ya don’t mind me saying; how are ya going ta get Mortician out without Keratily finding out? Because I don’t think she’ll have a very kind reaction ta them now that I know the truth.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

That was a very good point, and one that I had been worrying about ever since Jun changed her name. And I did have a plan, but it wasn’t up to me to execute it. “We’ll have to get them out of the hazard before the rest of us leave. If we can make it look like Mortician is just a normal Staura that happened to be trying to get into the hazard we’re coming out of, Keratily won’t think anything’s wrong. The problem is… I don’t want to leave Jun alone with Keratily. And I’m the only one that can get the slyk pieces to Mortician.”

A short silence passed between us as Okeria grimaced in understanding. “Which leaves me on Keratily distraction duty.” He sighed, then leaned back and stared at the ceiling. “I guess I did just volunteer for that very thing when we get ta Rainbow Basin, so what’s a little early assignment? Send me a message whenever ya plan on making Mortician real, and I’ll make sure Keratily’s nowhere near the two of ya.”

“Thanks.” I said with a small smile. “It shouldn’t be dangerous, but it could turn bad in the blink of an eye. Be ready for that.”

“Ya don’t have ta tell me.” Okeria grumbled.

“No, seriously, thanks.” Jun echoed my sentiment with a little more gravity behind her words. “I know the stories behind Keratily, and you’re willing to gamble on us instead. When I finally get to talk to Moricla, either her or the silent god, I’ll put in a good word for you.”

“Don’t need it, but I really appreciate the sentiment. Oh, and congratulations on your engagement. When are ya planning on doing the deed?” Okeria asked with a smirk.

Oh, God. Not another one. I buried my face in my hands and let out a long groan, unwilling to look up to see how Okeria was enjoying my discomfort. Why were so many people interested in my sex life? No, no, there was a chance that I was wrong here. Maybe ‘doing the deed’ meant something different to a Staura, like giving an engagement ring or proposing. Yeah. That had to be it.

“Skies above, Okeria, that’s private! Gods, why would you even ask that?!” Jun asked in disbelief, removing any and all disbelief I had as to what Okeria meant by ‘doing the deed’. “What Seb and I do behind closed doors is none of your concern.”

Okeria chuckled to himself and held up his hands in surrender. “Alright, alright. Ya don’t gotta work yourself up; I just wanted ta know if this was a mutual thing, and not just something ya forced on poor old Sebastian. Ya weren’t exactly sneaky with how much ya wanted him.”

Jun froze at that. “Okeria!”

“What? The man deserves ta know that ya weren’t just coming ta him because he was the only one who could help ya. Skies above, I offered the Perek name ta her and she reacted with such visceral disgust that it hurt.” Okeria said, turning to me with a twinkle of mischief in his eye. “Watch out for that one, Sebastian. It’s the ones who seem innocent who’re actually the hungriest. Why, when Thraiv and I first became romantically involved, she didn’t let me leave for over two–”

I tried not to hear what Okeria finished his sentence with, but I had the misfortune of hearing ‘weeks’ out of his mouth. And that got me wondering exactly what he meant by that. Which pushed my imagination into places that I really, really didn’t want it exploring. Picturing Okeria without his clothes on was near the bottom of the list of things I’d expected from that day.

“Oh, don’t be a prude, Juniper. Sex is a natural thing, like eating or sleeping! Ya can’t keep life going without it, so why not enjoy the act when ya can?” Okeria said with a wide smile. There was a little more than a twinkle of mischief in his eyes now. “Ya got Sebastian here locked in, so why not go for it? Seems he’d be more than willing ta, especially since you're sharing a room for a little bit longer.”

“I-I… we… w-well…” Jun stuttered uncomfortably.

Okeria took that little mistake and ran with it. “Oh, so ya already did the deed! Well why didn’t ya say so? How’s it like with a human? Is Sebastian’s biology similar enough ta ours, or was it completely alien?”

“I–I am not talking about this.” Jun said firmly. “We are officially a couple, and we are doing everything that goes along with that. But that does not mean we are comfortable with talking about it in the open.”

I nodded when Okeria looked to me for confirmation. “She speaks for both of us on that topic.”

“Aw, ya prudes. Fine. I got what I wanted ta know, and my anger against Keratily’s simmering nicely in my gut thanks ta this little distraction. Well, if the two of ya are engaged, then ya should have some marking ta show it. It ain’t a cultural necessity, in case ya were wondering Sebastian, but it’ll stop people from asking questions if the two of ya can show matching tattoos or something.”

“Tatoos. When I can’t take off my armor.” I pointed out. “No, that’s not happening. What’s the traditional thing for the Staura?”

Jun shrugged. “A lot of things, really. Some cultures get matching tattoos, some get earrings, and some more extreme ones exchange eyes. Pretty much anything to show that two people have promised their lives to each other.”

I looked down at my hands and couldn’t help but stare at my ring finger. That was the only engagement custom from Earth that I knew, but there had to be so many more that I didn’t know about. And I’d be damned if I was going to settle for a ring when I had the chance to do something so much more different.