{Enki | Medical Bay}

Would Karter want Korac for a son?

The question scraped at the Icarean General’s skull no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. His knee bounced with it as he sat, waiting for his mother to regain consciousness. Chris, too, and that was a separate consideration. Was the human equivalent to a step-father for Korac? Or was Para more qualified? How did this family thing work?

A heavy sigh left him.

“Uncertainty left you bare in new birth.”

Beside Korac, T.a.o. was her own kind of helpful. Her cryptic language in madness contributed gentle insights here and there, reminding him she was fully alert in that twisted labyrinth of her mind.

He looked away from the hands steepled in his lap and gave T.a.o. his full attention. She smiled sweetly at Korac. He said, “Damn, I missed your disarming fae-ish ways.”

Something caught T.a.o.’s attention behind him, her Atramentous eyes flicked to it while she said, “Not every second. Not by half.”

A bustle erupted behind him, and Korac whirled to find Sagan smashing into him. She fell on him so haphazardly it sent him crashing back into the chair, holding her steady. He chuckled at the welcome distraction. “Aren’t you supposed to shout ‘incoming’ before barreling at me like a missile—Hey, what’s wrong?”

Sagan trembled with a sob, and it cracked her voice as she said, “I held her. I held her for an entire minute. How long did I cost her?”

Rayne.

Korac smoothed his hand along Sagan’s back and kissed under her ear. “Shh… I know it was worth it.” He opened his eyes to see Xelan step from the conduit.

Before his Prince could hide it, Korac glimpsed the graveness in Xelan’s eyes. Then he plastered on a grin before Andrew, Bones, and Lamassau followed into the Medical Bay. The Prince confirmed, “It was worth every second, and there will be more seconds, Sagan.”

Andrew darted a wary glance at their leader. The knowledge behind the look filled Korac with further anxiety. As if he needed more.

Did Andrew know something the others didn’t—

Sagan squeezed Korac, speaking into his chest. “I hope so, too, Xelan. Until then, I’m just gonna hang on to my General, if that’s okay?”

The vein in Xelan’s forehead pulsed faintly, but he agreed. “Do what you need to do. I’ll be ready to leave once I talk to Pablo.” He disappeared into the main bay.

Lamassau addressed Korac as he nodded at T.a.o. “Do you mind if we trade Seamswalkers for a bit? We need to check on Tumi and Torrentus.”

T.a.o. peered up at him from where she sat, turning her head this way and that.

Could she see him in the Probability Matrix since Razor exposed her to Cascading Light? Was she sifting through a million instances of the green Tritan to discern his place in her grasp on this reality?

Korac muttered to her, “Will you go with them?”

“Toasty toes?”

Bones audibly strained to contain his laughter, but gave up in the end at the sight of Lamassau’s nonplussed frown.

Andrew winked at her. “Toasty toes. And soon.”

They shared some freaky Matrix connection before T.a.o. hopped to her feet. “Ready. More seconds to count. Down they go. Not much longer.”

Triss screeched loud enough for the sound to careen like ricochet throughout every bay.

Korac shifted his and Sagan’s axes slightly to help with their embrace, while he brushed her hair soothingly with his fingers. Mostly, he was shifting the pocket beneath her in his robes to hide the contents inside. Waiting to ask Sagan was wreaking havoc with Korac’s nerves, but the right moment would come—

Xelan hurried around the corner. “Karter’s awake. Para said she’s asking for you.”

Urgently, Korac and Sagan sat up together and rushed to the bay’s entrance. Xelan waited, watching with a warm smile on his face. Before taking the corner, Korac hesitated, and the two Icari locked gazes.

For all his existence, Korac had wanted to find his people and where he’d come from. The closest he’d ever had to finding a family was on Cinder. The Princes, specifically the youngest Prince, contributed to that belonging.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

But after Gait, everything had changed. Korac had a father, currently residing inside him. And a mother, waiting for him upstairs.

Xelan was there for all of it. Tears shone in the Prince of Cinder’s eyes. He nodded and gripped Korac’s shoulder. “She’s waiting for you.”

Korac swallowed, and when a tiny hand squeezed his, he turned and smiled down at Sagan’s teary eyes. “Let’s go and meet her properly.”

T.a.o. nodded beyond Sagan.

Yes.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Korac reached the top of the bay first. Sagan followed. Xelan remained downstairs.

Para sat on the end of Karter’s bed, catching the taller woman up on all the Shadow news. “…and Jack can fly now. He’s so strong, Karter. You’d be proud. I think Ross is, if you know what I mean—Oh, hey, Korac. Sagan. C’mon over.”

Karter’s deep gray skin shimmered with the nacre filament implants from a previous near-death experience. It took away from the frailty of her lying in an infirmary bed. That and her substantial muscle mass paired with her height. She always was a force to be reckoned with.

Korac’s mother turned and smiled a thousand-watt beam at him, half-green, half-black eyes sparkling. He didn’t realize he’d squeezed Sagan’s hand until she returned the gesture.

Composure.

This wasn’t completely unfamiliar territory to Korac. Karter had practically raised him with Para and Savis. She was always a warm presence in his memory, but this moment felt monumental, and something shifted inside of him.

Sagan climbed all the way on her tip-toes to whisper at his jaw, not quite tall enough to reach his ear. “I’ll check on Triss.”

Perfect understanding.

Korac brought her fingers to his lips and kissed her knuckles, grateful. Sagan walked away, holding his hand until their arms reached for each other, breaking only when she descended the stairs.

Para looked between Karter and Korac before leaning down and kissing the former’s cheek. “I’ll check on Bones before he goes with Xelan. Give you two some privacy.”

Karter smiled her gratitude, and her gaze lingered on Para’s short-clad ass the whole way out. “I love watching that female move.”

Korac barked out a laugh, completely unexpected. His mother was an addict. “Well, that’s a weight off my shoulders.” He moved around some pods to her bedside.

“How is that?” Her eyes watched him with a gentleness he feared.

He swallowed before answering, “You two are the longest lasting relationship I’ve ever known. It’s a record to beat.”

Her laughter was soft and warm. It ended with an affectionate tone. “You couldn’t have chosen a more worthy female.”

Korac shook his head. “She chose me, and every day I thank Elden for it.” He flipped his hair over his shoulder to give his words a cavalier air, but there was no taking the weight from them. “I love her.”

Karter beamed. “Trust me. The entire Vast Collective knows.” Again, that laugh. “Will you union with her?”

Korac gave a conspiratorial look left, then right. All clear. He retrieved the nacre glass box from his pocket and held it out for Karter to see.

With a gasp, Karter reached for the ring. “An Earth custom. How touching. But isn’t that…?”

With a smirk, he nodded. “Yes. Yes, it is. Of course, I wanted it to dazzle her.”

“Oh, it certainly will. It took my breath away.”

As the subject of his love for Sagan dissipated between them, the gravity of everything else consumed the conversation.

“I wish I’d known—”

“I think I felt it from the start—”

They both spoke at once, stared at each other in their pause, and laughed. It stretched into a long moment, rich with their memories of each other. Karter lifted her hand out to him, and he clasped it in his, gripping as warriors do.

She mused, “All those times I utterly destroyed you in our sparring matches…”

He shook his head in good humor and reminded her, “I suppose you’ll take genetic credit for all the times I defeated you as well.”

“You know it.”

Leaning over her, Korac’s hair fell into his face again. Karter reached with her free hand to brush it back. “My son…”

He prided himself on his composure, his facade, but with only Karter here…

A tear fell on her combat suit, and it was Korac’s. “Mother.”

Karter sat up and wrapped her arms around him.

That was it.

The Vacating, losing Nox, damned near losing Xelan forever, confronting Razor, reliving his past, Sagan’s distress—

The dam unlocked, and Korac cried into his mother’s caring embrace. Like earlier with Sagan, Karter smoothed her hand down his hair, soothing.

Abruptly, he pulled away from Karter and scanned her face. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you? I’ll kill Remorse, myself—”

“Shh. Shh. I’m all right, son. Silence protected us.”

That’s right. Para and T.a.o. had told them so. It was hard to believe, Silence being the mother of Imminent and all that, but damned if Korac didn’t owe her some gratitude. “Good.”

They both turned and peered at the pod beside them as if its occupant had uttered a sound.

Korac nodded at Chris, still unconscious. “Is he yours?”

Karter smiled brilliantly at her human lover. “He is.”

“I suppose he’s a worthy mate?” Funny how finding out she was his mother suddenly made him protective of her.

The warmth in her eyes made it all better. “I wouldn’t tolerate anything less. Plus, Para likes him. We’ll need a big house once we win this war.” With that, Karter made to stand.

Korac stepped back. “You’re joining the campaign?”

Sheer confidence greeted him in her grin. “There’s no way I’m missing this.” She looked over at Chris. “I want to wait until he wakes, but I’m afraid he’ll insist on enlisting.”

With a frown, Korac asked, “Is that a problem?”

Her voice was soft as she said, “He suffered more than the rest of us. I worry about him here.” She touched a hand over her chest.

Korac took Karter’s free hand and sighed. “Stay with Chris.”

She frowned. “The battle—”

“That’s an order.”

The Valkyrie came to attention with a disappointed frown.

Korac stared at her hand and its unnatural glint. “Don’t leave him. If my mental health had suffered the way his has, I wouldn’t want to wake without Sagan here. Then, after he clears with Dr. Suarez, you can both join. You should have your revenge together.”

The click of her tongue brought Korac’s eyes back to Karter’s face. She looked so put-out, and with a roll of her eyes, she said, “Fine. But don’t think you get to order your mother around more than once a century, child. I brought you into this world…”

“I’m the Atheneum, remember, mother? It’ll take more than you to take me out.”

“Keep pushing, son. We’ll see.”

“I can’t wait… mom.”