How long had Kyle been inside Razor’s memory?

Eighteen hours.

And he still didn’t know shit about the Eternal Bind. Razor wasn’t lying when he said his family straight-up neglected him. All the Aegis turned their backs on Razor’s view, which made Kyle wonder if they knew what he was destined for. But thinking this began the ‘chicken and the egg’ spiral or ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ loop over and over until Kyle finally gave up.

“There’s nothing here.”

Only two things came out of this. First, Celindria could walk through Shadows and manipulate them as Korac had once described in his Verse. Tameka and Ross also witnessed this ability. It had been frightful to see as Celindria’s blue eyes hovered in stark relief against the inky darkness. Second, One went in search of a way to repair the damage the Aegis had caused to the universe when they entered it. And Zero’s first-born son still hadn’t returned by the time Razor’s brothers ripped out his fingernails.

Which was fiercely more painful than Kyle had ever imagined. Their nails came from their finger bones.

Kyle blew the air from his cheeks and admitted defeat. Begrudgingly, he said, “Thanks, Razor.”

I owed you one.

This hardly made up for the damage done to Bethany, but whatever…

The image in this chalkboard was stuck on the Aegis observing Rayne in the flames of the Probability Matrix. In tears, dying alone and afraid. It choked Kyle to see it. To know it had come true.

Call him an optimist, but Kyle always thought she’d survive or come back. Like Xelan. Shit, or even like Razor. Nothing could keep Rayne down.

Kyle took one last look at the image before turning and heading down the aisle. In case Razor wanted to contribute a last-minute surprise, he checked the sheet music on his clipboard.

She wasn’t afraid.

Well, that was something.

When the aisle spilled into the hub, Kyle called, “Ross? Did you find anything?”

Ross came around the corner with her eyes a little wide, looking white as a sheet.

“What is it?” Kyle couldn’t hide the concern in his voice.

She looked up at him and blinked before saying, “I didn’t know some of those positions were possible…”

Fucking Razor.

Nope.

Kyle would not look down at the clipboard to see a string of chuckles. Razor wouldn’t claim that satisfaction from him.

Ross shook herself and sighed. “I found nothing. About the Eternal Bind, Celindria, or Bethany.”

Thanks, Sagan, for converting Razor into something halfway decent.

Kyle pulled Ross in for a hug to say, “Bethany’s happy, you know it, right?”

“I know.”

They returned to the lab to find Jack and Iuo loitering among their equipment with—

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Oh, thank Eternity.

Munchies.

“Thanks, man.” Kyle clasped hands with Iuo and snagged some pizza off the lab table. “This is divine.”

Jack hugged Ross, asking, “Did you two find anything in that monster’s head?”

Kyle wasn’t about to lie. Hearing someone call Razor a monster felt weird after seeing his childhood. He said, “Naw. It’s a wonder Razor ever learned anything about anything.” As Kyle took a bite of pepperoni, he made an obscene noise before asking, “How was council?”

Iuo, sitting on the table, was looking at Kyle funny before he shook himself to say, “Well, F8 surprised us by voting against nacre advancements in volition defense.”

Ross’ frown matched Kyle’s as he asked, “But why?”

Jack sounded disappointed. “She and the other naysayers claimed it violates the upgrade freedom clause of the Elect charter. The Empire can’t enforce upgrades on planets and species in a mandatory fashion.”

Ross said, “I wish we could tell them Celindria was out there. Then they might take it seriously.”

“True, but they would also tear each other apart to find her. Especially if they believed there was a reward.” Iuo spoke the truth, unfortunately.

A thought struck Kyle. “Hey, Iuo. Do you know anything about the Eternal Bind besides the fairytale? Like in your lifetime of staging history for the Tritans, did you learn anything?”

Iuo swung his legs as he sat on the edge of the table, thinking. Eventually, he said, “Aegis lore was always kept vague. Intentionally, I’m sure.”

“One would know.”

They all turned to find Smith standing in the doorway with a smile on his face.

Iuo waved and gestured to the pizza. “You’d think one would know, but I don’t.”

“Do you think Korac has asked his father yet?” Even though Ross had moved onto Jack, she still had a certain softness in her voice when speaking of the Icarean General.

Kyle supposed he owed some brotherly gratitude to Korac for never taking advantage of Ross. Not that Kyle would ever admit it out loud.

Jack said, “I think the official report is that Zero doesn’t know, but he also thinks the Probabilities shrinking is the natural order of things. He doesn’t want us to interfere.”

Shit.

Kyle wished he could ask Razor if that was true.

Wait…

One is still missing.

One would know.

Trying to keep his face composed, Kyle looked over at Smith, who took a bite of some pizza. The man was smiling while he chewed. It was a particular smile.

Smith knew something the Shadow didn’t and wasn’t too inclined to disclose it.

Kyle snorted at the thought. Knowing important things and keeping them secret made up Smith’s DNA—The voyeuristic human in which Imminent saw enough value to initiate with Cascading Light.

What exactly did Smith contribute to their organization?

“Kyle?”

Ross sounded as if she’d called him more than once.

“Yeah?” He hated talking with his mouth full, but she’d startled him.

She was standing between Jack’s knees where he sat on the table like Iuo. Only, unlike Iuo, Jack was snuggling with Kyle’s sister. Ross said, “I got a missive from Tameka asking if we have any reason not to let Bethany join Matt and Lucy on another mission. This time it’s in Ishkur, at least.”

What could Kyle say? The only issue he saw between Bethany’s camaraderie with the annihilation squad was sometimes she looked at Matt in that way. Also Lucy. Like Rayne and Sagan, apparently, Bethany didn’t discriminate based on gender. Sure, there was plenty to crush on between the two, Kyle supposed, but it felt icky sending his baby sister off with two adults lacking in moral decency. Or whatever.

An idea struck Kyle. “Hey, Iuo, you free for movie night this weekend?”

“I’m always down for movies. Can we watch Kung Fu Hustle again or how about Pitch Black and the Riddick films? We could make a marathon of it? Smith, you coming?”

Smith nodded with a grin and grabbed more pizza.

Kyle tried not to narrow his eyes and moved on. “Ross, I’m thinking we bring in the squad and see Bethany before sending them back out. Does that work for you two?” The last word came out a little dry, and Kyle needed to swallow after saying it.

Jack smiled, oblivious. “I could use the hang time.”

Ross beamed. “Me, too.”

Great. An entire night of watching them cuddle. Xelan’s Verse was more than enough, thanks.

In the same vein, Kyle looked forward to whatever Silence would wear to the event—At once realizing his hypocrisy against Matt and Lucy for all their public sexing.

“Great.” Kyle went over to the table with the nacre they’d stored Razor’s memories within. He held it up and looked through it, considering the life inside. All the solitude and wasted potential, but also all the pain Razor had inflicted. Like he’d wanted to punish the galaxy for his daddy issues.

On movie night, Kyle would tell Xelan about Razor and the Ouija Board. The Pain Curator didn’t deserve it, but maybe he could help with Ishkur.

Smith glanced in his direction. Smiling.

Kyle would also tell Xelan about One.