{Enki | New Cinder}

“Thanks, kid.”

On all fours in his own consciousness, Chris focused sharply on the manifestation of Celindria, who glared at him with no small amount of alarm inside his mind.

The words. Came from his mouth. His actual mouth, currently under her volition control, but somehow—some fucking how—Chris had managed to speak.

This was it.

The volition exchanged hands by forfeiture from his own lips.

“I give up.”

That didn’t work.

“I give my will back.”

Still nothing, but now Chris was so desperate to see this through that he refused to look at the Shadow watching him from their cell. Their hopeful gazes would put too much pressure on this delicate operation.

Already, Chris sensed Bones and Para crowding the cell’s bars. Jack’s eager hopefulness and Ross’ undeserved kindness both emanated optimistic radiation. Devis and Andrius gasped, crowding the unconscious Seamswalker, T.a.o., and the love of Chris’ life, Karter. Both women would receive medical help once Chris got his shit together, returned his volition, and they all escaped.

Likewise, he couldn’t look at Celindria inside his mind. She would figure out a way to subdue him any minute. Chris only knew this because, out of his periphery, her eyes were doing something truly terrifying.

Spark.

Dull.

Live wire.

Lights out.

Think! What had Karter said when Remorse relinquished control of Karter only two hours ago? Celindria was hurting the Valkyrie leader, hurting the Tritan inside her by default, and Primary Rem had screamed—

“I relent!”

The words came out of Chris’ mouth on a bellow, and everything changed.

Ears popped. Eyes strained. Every muscle contracted. Tendons tightened—

Pulled.

Chris was being pulled inside-out. Would he fall unconscious like Karter? Why was he awake and aware but blind and deaf at the same time—

Sound hit him all at once.

“Chris! Chris, it’s Jack. Can you hear me?!”

Para’s sweet voice cracked. “Chris! Please tell me you’re all right?!”

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Everyone came loud and clear, but he still couldn’t see—

Oh.

Chris’ eyes were closed. He opened them and found himself on all fours, staring at a rug on the cave floor. Blood dripped onto it—His blood from his mouth. With a lick of his lips, Chris knew he’d bit his tongue in the process.

All the while, the others shouted.

Alone.

Chris was alone in his body, in his consciousness. The space he’d shared with Celindria was gone. “I’m me.” His voice sounded rough.

A metallic shriek ripped through the mad woman’s laboratory as bars were wrenched apart. Pandemonium ensued. All at once, Jack knelt beside Chris, talking while Para ordered the others to retreat back to Cinder’s Shrine.

Jack asked, “Are you okay, man?”

Para said, “Fury completed the mission. We need to leave.”

Devis and Andrius weighed in. “Yes. We must go before Celindria returns.” “Collect Pax before we escape.”

Bones carried Karter in his arms and nodded at Ross. “Can you get him for us?”

Wait.

Tameka had said something important before Celindria took her away. “Don’t forget Chris. Leave Pax to me.”

There was a reason why she’d said it that way—

Chris momentarily forgot what thinking was and why he even had a brain when Jack threw Chris’ arm over his shoulder to lift him.

The older man groaned in agony, and the young King Regent muttered, “I got ya, buddy.”

Meanwhile, Ross marched right up to the door to Celindria’s bedroom, opened it, and screamed. While she backed away from the door, Celindria stepped through it. A breeze from nowhere flowed through her skirts and lifted her braids and locs back from her face.

“Fuck.” Bones said it all.

Para shouted, “Get Pax and get out!” She speared the First Progeny into the nearest wall, and the air currents of Celindria’s power formed a tunnel centered on their fight.

Bones handed Karter over to Andrius. He and T.a.o. Seamswalked Karter to safety, much to Chris’ relief. Free of his charge, Bones jumped into the fray with Celindria.

Para, the smallest Valkyrie, moved so fast Chris couldn’t track her, but Celindria didn’t seem concerned. She took two hits to the face and three blows to ribs. Chris heard the bones break from across the lab—

Para shrieked in agony and crumpled to the floor at Celindria’s feet. Chris didn’t even see the other woman land a punch, so why—

Blood spurted from Para’s mouth.

Para’s lover, Bones, heaved Celindria back and smashed her face into the cave wall. He grated her skull along the rough basalt rock—

Without so much as a hand on him, Bones went flying across the lab.

Celindria faced the room and—what a face! Skin and muscle hung off, yet no blood welled or dripped. It was just ground meat with bits of rock in it. With her beautiful skin ruined, Celindria crossed the room to Jack and Chris in easy strides. No one could stand in her way—

Devis stepped between them. He held out his hand with something small pinched between his fingers. “Take it, Celindria. Take it and end all this.”

It was a tiny capsule. Chris thought he’d remembered Sagan describing something like this technology from Razor’s Emporium of Exotic Experiences.

Devis opened it, and it contained a small pin. “It’s a memory. One of my own. I believe it’s what you need.”

Celindria tilted her head to the side, with a comprehending light in her alien eyes.

Bones crawled to Para to check on her. Ross crouched in a corner, terrified to move, but still inched toward the bedroom door. T.a.o. was due back any second.

Celindria reached out to Devis, and the ground shook. At first, Chris thought the earthquake which had sent glass shattering from shelves and left them all hanging on for shelter, was Celindria’s doing, but she peered around as confused as the rest of them. With the first quake, she retreated from Devis’ offer and a look of dismay and panic crossed Devis’ face.

Chris would never forget it. There was something between those two.

When Celindria backed into the darkest corner, the rock split open, and something enormous reached in and snatched her from the room. Something Chris hadn’t seen since the Volcano Day battle. On that day, Tumu had broken some galactic rule and decompressed to his full sixty-five feet of height.

The hand which had taken Celindria belonged to a Gargantuan Tritan.

Remorse had returned for some payback in time to save their lives.