Rayne fell back on the messy sheets, her hair cushioning the fall. Everything felt raw and overly sensitized, tingling her skin under the cool air. Her throat was sore from all her cries and from letting Nox inside. She’d need more practice to get it right.

Nox didn’t seem to mind as he fell back on the sheets, their legs entwined from the very stimulating position they’d spent the last thirty minutes enjoying. He laid on his side, facing Rayne as she laid on her side, facing him. Both of them were panting against their dampened hair.

Rayne’s eyelids were heavy, blinking languidly as they stared at one another. She wanted to ask if Nox found it satisfying, but one, she couldn’t form the question, and two, the answer was plain on his face. Ecstasy and elation. They both blinked at each other, drifting into exhausted rest.

Did Rayne dream of Nox reaching across the bed to brush her hair from her face?

Did she dream of him whispering, “Until Eternity takes me…”?

Dream or not, Rayne breathed, “I’m yours,” before she let sleep take her.

“Silence, I will not permit this.”

“You arrogant, mortal being! How dare you speak to me in such a way when I created you? Elden, I am your maker.”

“Then stay.”

“You cannot cease what already comes.”

“I want no war with them. Do not unmake this paradise.”

“Elden, your paradise is my prison. I must complete the mission.”

“Then proceed knowing you risk your creation for chaos. The iron of your will could silence the stars. See the threat for what it is. Silence…”

A baby’s cry echoed from down the hall.

Savis.

“Is she not enough, Silence?”

Forty-eight hours later, every search party returned with the same news. “We cannot find her.”

And for each of those forty-eight hours, Elden wished he’d asked her to stay for him. Not their people, the Icarean Prerogative, nor their child. But for love of their union.

On Silence’s throne outside the audience house, Elden considered best how to proceed. There was no doubt in his mind the foreigners were behind her disappearance, and they would require interrogation. The Icarean forces Silence had established were mighty in power and great in number. With the right dispensation of Coalition upgrades, they could intimidate the foreigners to give up Silence’s location.

Elden dismissed the search party with a nod and made his way to the red hall, seeking council from the Coalition.

Was it ever right to seek the obliteration of an entire species?

Without Silence, what did it matter? Elden would rattle the stars to find her—

“Great Elden.”

“We seek an audience.”

The owners of the voices at his back… They smelled… Sterile like One and Tumu.

Elden kept his back to them, saying, “Foreigners, welcome to Cinder. Your visit is convenient and expected. Why have you sought me?”

“We would like to propose an alliance, and we come bearing gifts.” The first man’s voice was deep, and Elden closed his eyes to better taste the cadence. Authority. Superiority. Antiquated—Older than even Silence. This man was like Silence’s father, Quet. A Tritan Primary.

The second man’s annunciation was rich and enticing—Offering lies disguised as pleasures. He was related to One. A brother, perhaps. “In exchange for an accord, I will grant you a special fire. This flame is extraordinary and will show you what you most desire.”

Silence.

There was only one course of action available to Elden. He opened his Atramentous eyes and let Li shine forth. The men behind him shouted in agony, but thanks to One, Elden was swift. Within heartbeats, he sank his teeth into One’s brother at the bend of his neck and drank deep. His blood opened a corridor of spiraling threads into other worlds—As bright as Li, only half as painful.

With more force and speed than Elden had expected, One’s brother slammed Elden back against a column. The air rushed out of Elden and left his lungs sore, coughing to retrieve it. He closed his eyes from the impact, shuttering Li, and freeing the foreigners into retreat.

“Elden?” Vinco’s familiar voice dialed back Elden’s defenses.

He took the offered hand to help stand and patted Vinco on the back, saying, “Thank you, cousin.”

Perplexed, the only Icarus Elden had ever seen with red hair frowned as he asked, “Who were those figures?”

Elden said, without a doubt, “The Foreigners who took Silence from us. Send a squadron to pursue them and locate their point of entry.”

“Will you join us?” Vinco rested his poleaxe on the red floor, ready for battle.

With a shake of his head, Elden gazed over the eaves of the courtyard and said, “I have other business.”

One hour later, he stood at the top of the highest mountain, named after their sun, and waited.

“You performed admirably,” One said as he alighted and retracted Icarean wings.

Elden narrowed his gaze, asking, “How did you come by them?”

Like the Icari, One cocked his head in an avian tilt, saying, “Through nasty contamination of my beautiful DNA. Thanks to your contributions, I become more like an Icarus with each meeting.”

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This was obscene. With a bitter taste in his mouth, Elden said, “You care not for consent and infiltrate my people. What is your cause, One? What aim are you hoping to achieve?!”

“Paradise. The same as you, friend. Unfortunately, I must achieve it through you—Your DNA, your people, and your name. Far into the future, all the peoples of the galaxy will still speak of you and your great Prerogative. Is that not worth the torment I inflict on you?”

Lightning struck and lit up the sky. Elden’s fury.

Thunder rolled and shook the ground. Elden’s pain.

“Where.

“Is.

“Silence?”

Unphased, One ran a hand through his white hair, kiting in the wind. He stared with black stars in his white eyes, calculating his next words. After another heartbeat, One said, “I will not tell you where she is, but I will tell you I am protecting her. And this time, I will free her at the right time.” Regret twisted his features as he added, “Forgive me, friend, but you will be long gone by then.”

No.

Elden sank to his knees as the sky opened up and released a downpour of his sorrow. In the thunder, he bellowed, “I will not relent! I will find her!”

“By all means, search for Silence. Tear down the foreigners to find her.” One’s voice shifted into something more coaxing, as he said, “The foreigner you drank today possessed special gifts you should share with your Coalition.”

Elden peered up at One, soaked and entreating. Elden asked, “What gifts?”

It took more trust than Elden wanted to spare for One to teach him how to open the conduits to other worlds.

“In there, between the worlds, that is my home—No, no. Do not try to invade the Seam and seek revenge on me. You cannot enter without my help, Elden, but I admire your spirit.” For a being who’d tortured Elden, One seemed rather fond of his experiment. One continued, “Use this gift to enter the world of the foreigners and make them pay for sending Silence away. For separating a two so perfectly matched as you.”

Elden stared into a world of glass and white stone. It smelled as sterile as those two men today. This was the way to find Silence. With hesitation, Elden put his fist to his chest, a gesture to thank One.

The partial Icarus shook his head. “No. Never thank me, friend. My journey is still long yet. I wish you luck on yours. There are other gifts, for instance. Share the blood, but only with your Coalition—Not Umbra. I will see you perhaps twice more, and then our time will end. Until then, watch your back. You have made expensive enemies this day. Until the next time.”

One fell backward off a cliff in a dramatic exit before Elden glimpsed him flying away.

Share with the Coalition.

Invade the foreigners.

Find Silence.

Nothing could stop Elden now.

Rayne woke and stretched, feeling a little bruised. But not in a bad way. No. Her body felt well used for a purpose she’d put off exploring for what felt like lifetimes.

Nox stiffened behind her. As if he wasn’t sure what he should do with himself now that she’d stirred.

Rayne understood the feeling, but she wanted something from him. Something only Nox could give her. She snuggled back into him until he curled against her. Then she took his arm and draped it over her side.

Nox held his breath, and it broke Rayne’s heart.

Like all beings with a pulse, he feared rejection, and given their history, she should reject him. But for once, Rayne thought of her happiness. Her peace.

Fuck history.

Nox had proven more than enough times that he cared for Rayne. Loved her. That he wanted to be a man worthy of her love, and since his resurrection, he was such a man to her.

The Icarus’ massive body relaxed one muscle at a time until Nox warmed Rayne’s back and legs. He tucked his knees into the bend of hers and curled around her. He pulled her tight against him.

Snuggled unlike anytime before in her life, Rayne drifted back into sleep.

Food cooking.

No, wait… Burning.

Nox swearing.

Rayne opened her eyes to smoke rising from the kitchen. She was completely naked and immediately thought of Nox naked. For the last however many hours…

What time was it?

After wrapping herself in a sheet, Rayne reached for her tab on the bedside dresser.

It was the next night and late into it, too.

They’d had sex for twenty-four hours.

How do they proceed forward? They’d had sex. Lots and lots of sex. Every which way. Nox knew every inch of Rayne. And he told her in his promise, she could know every inch of him if she wanted to.

Rayne was surprised to find that she did. Want to.

But after every place Nox had explored on her with his tongue while he gazed at Rayne enjoying every second—How could she just sit across from him eating eggs and... She sniffed the air... Burnt toast?

Rayne snickered. And giggled. And laughed.

She laughed so hard he called up to her. “I’m glad you’re in a pleasant mood, because I believe I’ve ruined our dinner.”

Not ruined. This disaster was exactly what Rayne needed to proceed as naturally as possible. She started to grow some clothes when she noticed Nox’s t-shirt on the floor. She pulled it on instead, and it swallowed her.

Perfect.

Rayne ran down the stairs and around the corners, while tucking the sleeves to set her elbows free. When she looked up, she caught Nox in his pajama bottoms, staring at her in wonder.

He pivoted back to cooking and cleared his throat twice before saying in a thick voice, “It suits you.”

Nox loved Rayne, but did she love him? Did the answer matter? They were here, together, and enjoying each other. Why was her brain trying to ruin the moment with over thinking—

Despite the smells indicating otherwise, Nox set a pretty plate in front of Rayne. As well as an enormous glass of water.

Hydration. Yes.

Rayne couldn’t quite lift her eyes to meet his while they ate in comfortable silence.

There was something from her dream of Elden’s past that Rayne had wanted to tell Nox.

What was it—

Oh!

“One, whoever he is, made himself into an Icarus using Elden’s DNA.”

Nox stopped mid-bite and peered at Rayne.

She nodded, reaffirming her statement. “I know it’s strange. Elden also bit Razor and drinking his blood gave him the abilities the Coalition eventually passed onto the Progeny after Celindria selected them like Xelan said in his Verse.”

Nox cleared their plates and went to washing dishes, asking, “How reliable are these dreams? Are they clear to you?”

Rayne hopped backward onto the counter beside the nanite dishwasher. “Crystal clear. It’s like when I lived your life with you.”

“Are you sore?”

The sudden change of subject took Rayne aback. She blinked, assessing herself, before muttering, “A little—Nox, what’re you doing?!”

He lifted her in a princess carry and headed for the door to the water filtration system. “Servicing you.”

Rayne didn’t put up a fight. Instead, she threw her arms around Nox’s neck and pressed her lips against his shoulder. He beamed down at her as they submerged in the water.

This was ridiculous and wonderful at the same time as Nox gently lowered Rayne into the steaming spring. She laughed, incredulously. He winked.

It felt great.

As she waded away, the heat soothed Rayne while the water cleansed the last twenty-four hours away. Nox’s shirt clung to her, and his pants clung to him below the water’s milky surface.

“Rayne.”

She knew what Nox was about to say before she turned and faced him. It was the very emotion which gave so much weight to how he said her name. Rayne answered, “Nox.”

“I love you.” He confessed it with the same sincerity in which he always said it. Only now there was an uncertainty hidden behind it.

How did Rayne feel about Nox? About their relationship and their work? Their lives together here on Thailea?

Without question, Rayne could stay this way forever, but love?

“In the beginning, you were a good man meant to save his people. Along the way, you lost too much and with it all, you lost your way. But you know you made decisions, having nothing to do with hereditary mental illness or your less than healthy upbringing. You made those decisions, and they made a man not worthy of love.” All the while Rayne spoke, Nox tried to conceal the effect her words had on him until the last. His face fell, but she reached up and cradled his cheek. “Every decision you’ve made and every action you’ve committed since has made you a great man, worthy not only of love, but of forgiveness. Still, I…”

Nox looked into Rayne’s eyes, and understanding filled his.

Not yet. Maybe never.

Rayne reached up with her other hand and took Nox’s face in both. “Please. I feel so much for you, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else. But… There’s too much between us. It’s all in the way. You deserve someone who loves you, if you ever feel I’m holding you back from that—”

Nox kissed her, swallowing her words. He swept her up into his arms and held on even after he broke the kiss to say, “You martyr… It’s enough to know where we stand. It’s all I ask.”

Rayne smiled into the love in his eyes and said, “If it ever changes, you’ll be the first to know.”