"Smith, I titled the next entry. What did I call it?"

Smith shot me a quick smirk before reading, "'A Transcript of the Most Unusual Conversation of My Life.'"

Beside me, Tameka gave a half-laugh. "If it was with Razor, I can say the same is true for me, too."

There were a few agreeing sounds throughout the room.

I stood across a kitchen counter from the man who looked so very similar to my former lover, yet I felt the need to guard my curiosity in his presence. The voice in my head said Razor would value my interest and exact a price in exchange for sating it. Wanting something from this stranger, who Lucas referred to as the "Pain Curator," was dangerous.

Once Razor finished outlining his proposal, I let all my skepticism into my voice as I asked, "Security? Is that all you want from the Traitor Prince of Cinder?"

Something moved in Razor's eyes as he searched mine. After a long moment of silence, he declared, "You are not your brother."

My laughter was bitter and...

Laughter?

How long ago did I last laugh? I straightened from leaning on the counter and shook my head. "Sir, you are indeed observant."

Triss, further down the expansive counter with Lucas, made a sound one might call a giggle, but the same hardness which permeated her smile steeled the rich noise.

Meanwhile, Lucas—Your eyes never left us. There was such an intensity in them which I mistook then as diplomatic nerves, but it went deeper, yes?

In my study, Lucas answered, "Yes, your imperial majesty. I needed you to like and trust Razor, but the man possessed an uncanny ability to put off most people when he was in certain moods."

In the story, Razor smirked at me and rolled back the sleeves on a button-down—foreign clothing to me. A heavy timepiece encircled his pale wrist with tiny gems inside. While at the task, he said, "Ask your questions, dear Prince, and I will answer them honestly to earn your trust."

"How can I trust your brand of honesty?"

The Pain Curator's smirk crooked further. "Because I like you, and now I want you to stay for your intellectual company more than your physical capabilities."

I understood the sentiment. After a thoughtful pause, I opened with the most burning question. "How did you become a prisoner of Enki?"

Vaguely, I sensed the other two in the room react, but I placed my focus on Razor. What felt like an hour passed before he blinked. After which, the Pain Curator spoke in a voice so deep it bubbled goosebumps along my skin and resonated in my chest. "I could insult your intelligence and ask what you mean by that, but this once, I think I will skip the pretense. Instead, I want to know how you came to this conclusion. If I like your answer, I will tell you." At the last, the Pain Curator smiled again.

"Gait is exceptionally advanced in its technology and civilization, making it older than most planets and rather entangled with Enki. A relationship of give and take. Gait houses the criminals too scientifically valuable to execute, and Enki provides the tech to do so. Tell me, Pain Curator, why do you live on a planet inside Enki and are there any others?" Razor raised his brows, impressed, and I pointed skyward. "No stars or moons in the sky. There's also an artificial component in the atmosphere, leftover from before the Tritans terraformed Gait. This world tastes of Dyson's Sphere."

In my study, people gaped or raised their brows or smirked.

Tameka beamed at me. "You knew from the start?"

From the nearest pallet, Pax said, "Dad knows everything."

My son's confidence may have puffed out my chest a bit.

"Hee." Little you takes so much delight in this.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Lucas confirmed, "He impressed Razor so much, the Pain Curator confessed much of the truth."

"I made a bad deal once, and for my penance, I was Gait's first resident."

The first?

Razor was ancient.

I gaped.

Razor smirked, as if gleaning my thoughts, and remarked, "You have no idea, but never mind that. As long as I ingratiate myself to Enki, I can do as I like. As you can see, I established a lucrative business spanning the galaxy. I would like to offer you a place in my organization, but outsiders will only see a fresh addition to my security detail. In return, I will give you any and all information I gather about Celindria from my sources within Enki and the Vast Collective. As a show of good faith, I will provide her next destination: Monarch 3. A planet I understand you are familiar with. Work for me, and you can travel freely through the conduits with a team of your own recruitment."

It was my turn to shoot my brows up. This offer was beyond generous. I glanced over at Lucas, who bowed his head. I took it to mean if anything went wrong, he would be there to help me out. Beside him, Triss smiled like a diamond. Bright and ready to cut glass.

Still cautious, I said, "This is more than I could hope for, but... And forgive my manners... What do you gain from my employment here?" I held up my hand before he could restate his earlier reasoning. "Beside my 'intellectual company?'"

Razor kept smiling while something danced in his eyes. He folded his arms on the counter and leaned forward, conspiratorially. "A little adventure and a little mischief. You may not be aware of this, but the trouble Celindria has caused brought attention from Enki to your rogue Progeny experiment. They want me to use my resources to investigate whether you are a galactic threat. In meeting you, I can see there is not a single threatening bone in your body, but... They want tabs all the same. Easier kept with you in my facilities, and I cannot wait to see what you do next, Traitor Prince."

In my study, I confessed, "In the spirit of this Verse, I wish Razor could give his account."

Korac said nothing while Sagan took his hand in hers. She smiled. He did not.

Noticing the conflicted expressions in the room, I pressed, "Everyone gets so quiet now whenever Razor's mentioned."

With a little encouragement from his wife, the Iona General finally admitted, "I'll never understand how he could do those things to me, to Bethany, and to Sagan, but show you and T.a.o. a completely different side of himself. He gave us an abbreviation of his Verse, but it still wasn't enough to understand his motivations aside from pettiness stacked on top of a massive inferiority complex of which I'm no longer certain was entirely his fault. But it doesn't matter because he died in an act of heroism meant to confound us and scholars until Eternity takes us all."

This elicited a few nods and thoughtful looks.

From the northwest corner, Matt set aside a sandwich, stood, and said, "Razor's clientele kept comparing me to you as Razor's protégé."

Lucy stood and rubbed his back. Bethany watched the two of them from the same corner as their crew, fully integrated into the pride.

I thought a minute before saying, "All those years ago, I knew I could trust you because you were so young and still unformed in your... talents. You needed guidance. I never imagined you would ever face Razor. If I may ask, how was it, looking into that mirror?"

Matt said, "We got along in a way which felt comfortable at times, but while I knew I could learn from him, I wanted to be better than him. I think that came from wanting to live up to your expectations, even when you were dead."

I winced. I always winced when someone mentions that Nox had sent me to Eternity for a few years. Still, I preferred it to someone saying 'when I was gone.' To him, I said, "Thanks, Matt. Did you have a question?"

The freckled-face young man glanced around the room before asking, "What did they mean by protégé? I wasn't exactly entertaining his clients through song and dance when they were comparing me to you."

I glanced at Tameka, Korac, and Sagan. I needed to clear my throat to say, "I think Razor was gifted in motivating people and could tailor his trials to each person."

Pehton humphed. "No shit."

"He liked to stretch boundaries. Perhaps until you were so far gone, you found yourself in regret. On day one, I gave him my pain as an experiment in exchange for credits. As for my working responsibilities, I never killed for Razor and I never knew about the basement. I'm not even sure the Numbered were down there at that time—"

Bethany stood up beside Matt and Lucy. Korac clicked his tongue and crossed the room. While the couple watched on, giving Bethany space, Korac offered, "Would you like to go for a walk, Bethany?"

She nodded, and my heart broke. I said, "I'm so sorry."

Korac shot me a look before leading her out. Matt and Lucy followed to flank the doorway for their return. I burned with shame.

Preteen you folds the blanket and straightens the pillow on the couch, not meeting my eyes as you admonish, "Listen to and respect their experiences. They all understand you knew a different Razor from them."

Like I should understand you knew a different Nox?

You tilt your head before saying, "If that's how you choose to look at it, but it's not a combative arena. Your brother versus Korac's brother. 'Only one man will earn the title of Iona.'"

Your succinct summation of it earned an abrupt laugh. One I maybe didn't deserve.

You're right. I am excluding others' experiences and not appreciating enough that they differ from my own.

To my loved ones in the study, I said, "Let's move onto some adventures where I met so many of our friends and converted enemies to allies, but not before one of them tried to eat me."