We Are Stardust
As the youngest daughter in a family of eight, Rowan Kolb had gotten used to an overlooked existence. It doesn't bother her. Not at all! She has her friends, and her family has always been supportive of her, whenever their busy schedules let her have some of their time. The only thing she's interested in is finding her place within her family's House and attending the Summit one day, where she might be able to make a difference in the world.
So, when she's shoved into the presence of Asher Cerullis, the heir to her family's rival House, you'd think she'd want to take advantage of the situation. That's what she should do.
She really should.
Instead, Rowan forms a bond with Asher. Should she explore that bond further. Should she consider finding friendship outside of her safe and secure House? These are questions that Rowan will have to consider before her visit with House Cerullis comes to an end.
Oh. And also, aliens have invaded the planet with hostile intent. And civilization might be coming to an end. Maybe Rowan should consider handling those problems too.
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This project has been on hiatus for a very long time. We've been trying to resolve the struggle between Rowan and her mother found in the latest chapters for years, but none of the solutions we've come up with feel correct or authentic enough. Because of this, there's a chance we may never finish this story, although we sincerely hope that doesn't happen.

Planetfall
Book One of Five

Chapter 1: The Adventure Begins... I Think
They were going to lose this fight. Ixix, Corrupted God of the Harvest, roared their fury at the group with their tangle of vined hair flying around their writhing face, and despite how much the people around the god had been wailing on them, they looked none the worse for it, which made sense. Their group was a mere irritant against their near invincibility. 

 Two of them were down, although Rowan wasn’t sure if they’d fully succumbed to death yet, and their druid, who’d done a—frankly— incredible job of keeping them alive until now, was almost out of spells. Rowan could tell by their panting and how much their shoulders were drooping. 

 As for her? She couldn’t keep their enemy’s attention on her. Rowan was the strongest of them, wearing the best armor, which meant Ixix needed to be swinging their building-sized fists at her, but her taunts weren’t working. Ixix kept turning toward the last member of their group: a lithe female with her flashing sword. 

 Growling, Rowan shoved her own blade into Ixix’s toe, and ponderously, they turned toward her. Good. Now, if she could keep the god’s focus on her and if their druid downed a few potions to replenish their spells… 

 “Fuck this. I’m out!’ 

 Finishing a last string of swings into Ixix’s ankle, the girl with the swords spun— 

 “No! Run, wait!” 

 —and sprinted into the darkness around them. 

 With a shout, Rowan stabbed Ixix, cursing as she withdrew her blade, and after taking stock of the situation, she gritted her teeth. 

 As she dodged a bunch of knuckles, slamming into the earth, she shouted, “Toad, get out of here! I’ll draw Ixix away.” 

 The druid froze halfway through drawing runes in the air. 

 “But-” they started. 

 “Toad! Go!” 

 Slowly, Rowan backed off, parrying and dodging the strikes that she could, but still, some glanced off of her armor, cracking her bones and jarring internal organs. When the druid transformed into a snow leopard and sped away, Rowan breathed a thankful prayer to the gods, those who remained uncorrupted at least. 

 Ixix didn’t take kindly to that, punching at her with a bellow to shake the heavens. Rowan saw mossy, curled fingers rushing her way and… 

 ‘You Have Died’ flashed onto her screen with the option to resurrect below it, and she slammed her palms onto her desk, rattling her keyboard and mouse. 

 “Avan damn it all!” 

 Rowan took a moment to calm down, slowly breathing in and out, before tuning back into the game. Of course, her party was bickering, so she cut in with a shouted ‘Quiet!’ They shut up quickly enough, even if she could feel their resentment burning down the connection. 

 “Toad, did you make it out of the dungeon?” she asked. 

 “Almost,” Potatoad said. “Give me two minutes, and I can revive everyone outside.” 

 “Anyone want to explain what the fuck happened in there?” Brassassin, their rogue, asked. 

 For once, the group could throw plenty of blame around for their party wipe. The overall reason that everyone had died was that they hadn’t stood against Ixix together, but individuals in their party had made mistakes as well. 

 GothicFlash, their sorceress, had once again been too enthusiastic when entering the fight, pulling Ixix to her instead of letting Rowan do it. Potatoad couldn’t output enough healing to keep them alive, and once two of their damage dealers had dropped, they’d been screwed. 

 None of that had truly been their fault, though, considering they’d had a shitty party   composition when going into the dungeon. Druids like Potatoad and warriors, Rowan’s class, were supposed to be secondary healers and tanks, at best, but Brassassin had insisted that they should go in anyway. And to top it off, Rerunner, or Run the samurai… had run. 

 They could all take some of the blame for this, but if Rowan let them, GothicFlash, Rerunner, and Brassassin would sit here, arguing about it, for the rest of the night, and while Rowan was about done with playing for the night—with her guild at least—she didn’t want to leave Potatoad with this mess. They were far too empathetic and easily swayed to mediate a disagreement like this. 

 “It’s on me, guys,” she said. “I couldn’t hold threat. Sorry.” 

 “No, Fable! Don’t do that,” Potatoad said. “You always take the blame for the guild’s screwups, even when it’s not your fault.” 

 At their words, the rest fell silent, and before Rowan could protest that, as the guild’s leader, it was her place to fall on her sword, her screen flashed white, leaving her revived character standing outside of the dungeon with her guildmates. 

 There was an awkward pause until GothicFlash cleared her throat. 

 “Toad’s right,” she said. “You can’t be our scapegoat for forever.” 

 Rowan very well could be, but hell if she’d say that right now. 

 “Yeah! You’re not even supposed to tank for us.” Brassassin said. “If Gramps were here or… now that I think of it, Willow too, Ixix would have gone down easy. No offense, Toad. Priests beat druids in healing, hands down.” 

 “None taken,” Potatoad said. 

 As usual, they’d stayed in leopard form. Potatoad had always said that the best part of playing as a druid was that they didn’t have to look humanoid and therefore, pick a gender. 

 “Don’t try to pin this on Mia and Thomas. They’re attending a board meeting at their father’s insistence tonight,” Rowan said, “although it is running a little long.” 

 As one, her guildmates’ characters turned toward her, and she winced. 

 “Willow and Gramps,” she said. “Sorry.” 

 In their guild, using real names was anathema when walking through the world of Nedrya. Here, they were everyone and no one. Here, they could talk without extraneous details getting in the way. 

 Brassassin—a gremlin with his legendary daggers at his side—wasn’t Quillan Vaessa, a man only spoken of in whispers. Potatoad—a human typically masquerading as a snow leopard—wasn’t Avery Kirst, someone whose name wasn’t often heard outside of their city. Rerunner—a gorgeously tall human, dressed like a ninja—wasn’t Dottie Clostar, soon to be married off for convivence’s sake. GothicFlash—a Dullahan forever draped in black—wasn’t Nomi Zan, rumored to have a harem numbering in the hundreds. 

 And Rowan was simply FatalisticFable—a succubus stubbornly dressed in the most modest of armor—not the youngest daughter of House Kolb. 

 Here, these characters were all they were, nothing more or less, and to break that immersion was one of Nedrya’s gravest sins, in their guild at least. Thank avan the others had decided to ignore her mistake. 

 “I almost feel bad for those two, even with the consequences to us,” Rerunner said. “Atharian businesses and the families that run them are-” 

 She made a noise like she was shuddering. 

 “Gramps and Willow aren’t like that, though,” Potatoad quietly added. 

 “No. They’re all right,” Rerunner agreed. “So, are we running this dungeon again, or should we wait another day for our vaunted healer and tank?” 

 “I think it would be best to wait, don’t you?” Rowan said. “Plus, it’s getting late here. Four-hour time difference, remember?” 

 “Yes,” Brassassin drawled. “You Atharians are like the elderly in that: going to bed at the earliest of hours.” 

 Snorting, Rowan shook her head. Brassassin had always been the most difficult of her guildmates to get along with. 

 “I’d like to see how ‘late’ you’d stay up if you lived here,” Rowan said, “but anyway. Wait a day to run Ixix again. All in favor?” 

 A chorus of ayes, both enthusiastic and surly, rang from her headphones. 

 “All right. Until then,” Rowan said. “Thanks for the run, everyone. I had fun, regardless of how hard we wiped.” 

 After a mix of farewells, she logged out, only to sign right back in on her alternate account. She wasn’t ready for bed, no matter what she’d told her guildmates. 

 For a while, she ran around Nedrya’s Icefields, killing mobs and doing quests for faction experience, and yes, these activities could be mind-numbingly boring sometimes, but she needed something to dull her mind right now. 

 An hour or so into this, ‘AutumnWillow has come online’ popped into the corner of Rowan’s screen, and she stopped what she’d been doing to request a private connection. When it was accepted, tension drained from her. 

 “Why are you still awake?” Mia asked. 

 “Couldn’t sleep,” Rowan said, “and don’t lecture me. I don’t want to hear it tonight.” 

 “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Mia said. “Am I joining you in the Icefields?” 

 “Yes, please.” 

 A few seconds later, Mia’s white-clad, blonde-hair priest flashed into being beside Rowan, rotating to observe the swath of disappearing gnoll bodies around them. 

 “You’ve been busy,” she said. 

 “What else was I supposed to do while waiting for you? I didn’t want to get ahead on quests,” Rowan said. “How’s Thomas, by the way? Will he be joining us?” 

 “No,” Mia said with a long sigh. “You know how he is when it comes to the family business. He went straight to bed after the meeting. He sends his love, though.” 

 At her answer, Rowan closed one eye, hissing in a breath. Thomas loved playing Durya’s Breaking, or Break. He was the only one in their guild to have a vaunted reputation with all of Nedrya’s various factions as well as the best gear a player could get for a paladin. If he’d gone to bed before logging in, at least for a minute, the board meeting must have gone swimmingly. 

 “Should I ask?” Rowan said. 

 “Best not. It was bad enough that I didn’t want to be there,” Mia said. “Let’s just go, ok? Thomas won’t mind missing out on a few quests. He’s done them often enough.” 

 As they mounted up, Rowan wondered what could have bothered Mia so badly that she’d wanted to leave the meeting. She had a bit of an obsession when it came to economics and marketing, going off about things like product placement all the time. Usually, this meant she enjoyed any part of handling the company that her father let her get away with. 

 Rowan worried at this puzzle for a while, happy to have something besides monotonous quests to keep her mind off of her own problems. As they retrieved lost baubles or kill crazed bears for quest givers, Mia rambled on about… something. Rowan gave her what little attention she could, but it was difficult to do with her head so muddled. 

 Eventually, she blinked at her screen and noticed that Mia’s priest had fallen far behind her, getting swarmed by a mob. Cursing, Rowan returned to her, diving in to save her life. 

 “What was that?” she asked once they were safe. “You almost left me behind!” 

 “Sorry.” 

 Sighing, Rowan rubbed her sandpaper eyes. 

 “Tomorrow’s got me…” 

 She trailed off, knowing she didn’t have to finish that thought. 

 “Ah. Tony, then?” Mia said. 

 Pushing back into her chair, Rowan let her hands fall off her keyboard and mouse. 

 “No, it’s not him. I’m happy for him, wish him all the best,” she said, “but the wedding itself…” 

 While Mia made sympathetic noises, Rowan bit her lip. She knew tomorrow would be hell, even if she couldn’t put a finger on why that was. She enjoyed social events, which her brother’s wedding would most definitely be. She liked being in a crowd, loved the energy found in one that was celebrating, but for some reason, the idea of tomorrow’s ceremony only raised her hackles. 

 Maybe it was because it would involve her family instead of a friend or a classmate. 

 “It’s too bad I won’t be there,” Mia said. “I’d love to distract you.” 

 Narrowing her eyes, Rowan said, “Distract me how?” 

 Mia laughed, low and breathy. 

 “However you like, Rowan Kolb,” she said. 

 Smiling, Rowan sucked on her lower lip, humming to herself. 

 “Then, yes. It’s too bad you won’t be there,” she said, “but come on, Mia. You know a noble House like mine wouldn’t lower itself to inviting an untitled, especially not one associated with Shalen Corp, to their eldest son’s wedding.” 

 Mia snorted at Rowan’s sarcasm before dissolving into a giggling fit. Closing her eyes, Rowan blissfully listened to every jarring bit of it, frowning when it tapered off. 

 “Seriously, though,” she said. “All of my family, including Tony and my parents, wanted to invite you and Thomas but fucking Jessica Sono…” 

 “That stuck-up bitch,” Mia said. 

 “Truly. I don’t know what my brother sees in her.” 

 “A powerful alliance?” Mia suggested. “Sono’s an influential House in Roswines, right?” 

 Rowan shook her head. 

 “It’s not just that,” she said. “You haven’t seen the way he looks at her. It’s sickening enough that even I’ve noticed it.” 

 “And that’s saying something,” Mia said with a laugh. 

 Rowan stuck her tongue out at Mia, even knowing the other woman couldn’t see it. 

 “I’m sorry you can’t come,” she said. 

 “Who says I wanted to?” Mia said in a teasing tone. “I bet tomorrow’s ceremony and after-party will be as passion-filled as an accountant’s might be. None of you nobles know how to have proper fun.” 

 “Hey! I’m fun.” 

 “Mmhmm. You keep telling yourself that, sweetie.” 

 Mumbling vitriolic comments under her breath, Rowan reached for her keyboard and mouse, starting her snoozing succubus off toward the closest town. 

 “Why do I put up with you again?” she said. 

 “Because I make you laugh. Also, Thomas and I are the only people who can get you out of that ivory tower of a manse that you call home,” Mia said. “And I’m the only one who knows how to make you scream with-” 

 “Shut it! Shut up. Shut your hole,” Rowan shouted, high-pitched and a little panicked. “You’re not the only one who can do… that.” 

 “Sure about that, sweetheart?” 

 Rowan glared at Mia’s priest, sedately riding alongside her, for a while. 

 “I hate you,” she eventually said. 

 “No, you don’t,” Mia said with amusement in her voice. “So, is that it? The wedding’s why you’re online instead of asleep?” 

 “I mean, yeah,” Rowan said. “I’m not sure why I’m so worked up about it, though.” 

 “You don’t like being lonely,” Mia said under her breath. 

 But Rowan still heard it. A jerking finger almost had her warrior careening off of a cliff. 

 “What was that?” she asked. 

 Sighing, Mia said, “Nothing, Rowan. I’m sure tomorrow will be fine, and after it’s over, you’ve got this year’s Summit to look forward to, right?” 

 Wiggling in her seat, Rowan happily hummed. Every year, Lutov’s noble families traveled to Novadracht, the neutral zone at the center of this big, incredible landmass that they called home. There, the Houses traded news, threw grand parties, and did everything in their power to outperform each other. It was the one time of the year when Lutov’s four nations—or their nobles, at least—truly co-mingled, and it all took place in the single most magnificent city in the world. 

 “Icrodon,” Rowan breathed. “Have you ever been?” 

 Scoffing, Mia said, “When would I go? During the Summit when only nobles are allowed over Novadracht’s border? Or the rest of the year when that neutral zone’s abandoned?” 

 “Right,” Rowan muttered. 

 Sometimes, she forgot about the luxuries she enjoyed that Mia would never have, not that the other woman would ever complain about them. As the daughter of Shalen Corp’s founder, Mia had a separate string of benefits to enjoy, ones Rowan would never touch, but Novadracht? The Summit? Those were sore subjects for the many corp families flung across Lutov. 

 “I don’t get why the nobles still meet in Icrodon. It’s been centuries since the royal family’s assassination. The Houses no longer come together to pledge their yearly fealty to their emperor but to preen instead. Holding the Summit in the old empire’s capital serves no purpose,” Mia said, “but don’t let me bring you down, Rowan. You should enjoy it. You deserve to go. Finally.” 

 “No, you’re right. A lot of things about the Summit are messed up, and its location is one of the worst problems,” Rowan said. “People say we meet in Novadracht because it’s neutral ground, but I say that’s bullshit. If our world is to have a chance at gaining greater understanding between the nations, we need to spend time in the ones that aren’t our own, and what better time to do that than during the Summit? 

 “Sure, changing how we run the event would be rocky at first. We’d have to reach a majority consensus on how we’d choose a location, and the chances of sabotage and espionage would jump for the first few years. If we kept with it, though, a change like this could benefit everyone, consolidating the Houses into one, functioning unit instead of so many squabbling parties. 

 “Maybe after we’ve done that, we can focus on Lutov’s bigger problems but… Oh, shit. I’ve gone off on a tirade again, haven’t I?” 

 The world snapped back into focus, leaving Rowan sitting in front of her storecase in her darkened room instead of once more getting lost in her head. At some point, Mia’s priest and her warrior had returned to the closest quest hub, and they were both sitting in place there. 

 “Mm. I don’t mind. Listening to you talk politics is kinda sexy,” Mia practically purred, “but if you’re done, we should turn in our quests, and you should go to bed.” 

 “But I’m not tired-” 

 “Rowan Kolb, you do as I say, or I swear to avan, I will call your parents and tell them you’re still awake,” Mia said. “Do they know you’re playing Break right now?” 

 “No,” Rowan sulkily said. 

 “Then, log the fuck off,” Mia said. “You’ll thank me tomorrow when you don’t fall asleep in your brother’s wedding cake.” 

 “…Bossy bitch,” Rowan said. “Thanks, Mia.” 

 “Anytime, you hopeless dumbass.” 

 Rowan didn’t turn any quests in, leaving that as a nice surprise for the next time she logged on. Instead, she scurried her succubus to the closest inn before closing Durya’s Breaking and stretching her arms overhead. 

 After turning her storecase off, she used her wristcom’s flashlight to fumble around her room, and once she’d removed her clothing, she paused to run a finger along the softly crisp fabric of tomorrow’s dress. It had been hanging over her closet door all night, a potent reminder of what was coming in the morning. 

 Closing her eyes, Rowan imagined that she was touching her college graduation gown from a few months ago. A tiny, selfish part of her hoped that the same small number of people who’d attended her significant life event would show up for Anthony’s, but the second that petty desire rose, she smacked it down. 

 Slowly breathing out, Rowan drew her lips into a thin line and dropped her arm. With her eyes still closed, she crossed her room and collapsed into bed.

Chapter 2: Consecrated Love and Public Humiliation
Anthony and Jessica had chosen to get married on the shores of Lake Voxmore instead of in House Kolb’s courtyard, as was custom. Maybe this act of defiance was why Rowan hadn’t been allowed to invite her friends today. Maybe it was why she hadn’t been asked to stand as a witness for her brother. 

 Instead, that honor had gone to Paisley and Logan, two more of her siblings, who were standing beside Anthony. As dapper as ever, he was wearing a navy suit with a pastel blue button-down shirt underneath it, one set to match Jessica’s cocktail dress. The lake’s wind kept whipping her auburn hair into her face, and her frustration with this as well as her inability to fix it had put a soft smile on Anthony’s face. 

 They were angled toward their gathered guests with Rowan’s parents standing behind them. Veronica, the head of their House, had clasped the couple’s joined hands while her wife, Bay, hovered at her shoulder. 

 “Today, we bring two people together as one, merging the noble blood of one to the other,” she said. “May it be marked and known throughout the land.” 

 “It is known,” Rowan intoned alongside everyone else. 

 While they’d been planning this ceremony, Rowan didn’t know how many arguments had broken out between Jessica’s parents and hers. After all, the people of Athari and Roswines made marriages official in different, quite non-compatible ways. In the end, Veronica had agreed to do things Roswines’ way, so long as House Sono would let the newlyweds spend their first year together in Athari with them. 

 She’d also insisted on leading the ceremony. Rowan could see her mother’s tension and dislike of the next bit in the slight twitch of her eyes and in how ramrod straight she’d made her spine. Still, Veronica smiled, refusing to upset her son on this most momentous of days, and pride for her mom swelled in Rowan’s heart. 

 “A married couple should be tied together in the deepest of senses: one body to another, blood to blood, and soul to spark of soul,” she said. “The first is something the couple must do on their own, whether later tonight or several months ago, as we all know has probably occurred.” 

 While Jessica ducked her head, flushing, Anthony laughed, wild and carefree as he always was, and it infected the gathered people, spreading to anyone who’d been unsure about Veronica’s impromptu addition to the ceremony. Smirking, she waited until they’d settled before continuing. 

 “The last is something no one will ever see, something to be worked at throughout your lives, and I, as well as everyone here, wish you all the best with it.” 

 Resting one hand each on Jessica and Anthony’s shoulders, she squeezed them before letting her hands fall away, much like the pleasure warming her eyes dropped. 

 “As for blood, that is a joining we can witness here and now,” she said. “Jessica Sono. Anthony Kolb. Show your love to those gathered here this day.” 

 Taking a deep breath, Anthony kissed Jessica’s cheek before shrugging out of his jacket. Paisley, chewing on her lip, accepted it while Logan offered their oldest brother a knife with his face closed off. Once he was finished with rolling up a sleeve, Anthony accepted it, turning to match Jessica’s pose. Carefully, he joined her in setting the blade’s edge against his skin, exactly where she’d showed him a few weeks ago, and Rowan tightened her hands around one another. 

 As he dragged the blade down his arm, running parallel to the vein that would have seen him dead if it had been opened, Anthony didn’t flinch. He never flinched, a perfect child of House Kolb, so Rowan did it for him. She didn’t like seeing red droplets trickling over her brother’s arm and hated what she couldn’t help but view as a barbaric ceremony, no matter how symbolic this near-drain-of-life from the couple might be. 

 Jessica didn’t handle her marking nearly as well as Anthony, wobbling so much that he took her elbow to steady her. Rowan wondered why Jessica’s sister, standing as a witness like Logan and Paisley, hadn’t done that for her. 

 With an encouraging smile, Anthony pressed their bloodied wounds together before hooking his elbow around hers. Together, they bent to their lover’s arm, sucking on each other’s presented cuts, and when they rose, Anthony grabbed Jessica’s head, kissing his new wife. He didn’t seem to care about the crimson smears around their mouth or an ooze of that same color, ruining his shirt, but honestly? Rowan couldn’t blame him for that. He was finally married to the woman he’d been chasing for years, and Rowan couldn’t keep this bubbly glow inside of her to herself. 

 She was the first person on her feet, clapping and hollering, but other people quickly followed suit. The newlyweds turned to them, rightfully pleased, while the lake’s wind buffeted their hair and clothing against their bodies. 

 A few hours later, Rowan was watching them laugh and playfully swat one another at the other end of the receiving hall with her arms crossed and her lip caught in her teeth. She was glad Anthony was happy. As House Kolb’s heir, he was always under so much pressure, so it was good to see that burden taken from him, if only for a short time. 

 She wished his happiness had been extended to her, though. Considering how well today had gone, Rowan didn’t know why she had a gaping pit in her stomach right now. 

 After coming home from Lake Voxmore, the evening had started with a bang. Literally. Several hand-picked Kolb troopers had fired a round of blank projectiles into the air while Jessica and Anthony had dashed into the receiving hall, laughing the whole way. Dinner had been a thing of beauty, full of artfully crafted dishes that Rowan had eaten way too much of, and as people had finished their meals, they’d risen to mingle on the terrace outside or along the edge of the room. A few brave souls had even started dancing, formal stuff that only made Rowan cringe, but not many guests had joined them yet. 

 Rowan wondered how her home appeared to the citizens in the greater city tonight. Did they see the warm lights glowing from the reception hall’s windows and wish Anthony Kolb, the son of their most favored house, all the best? Or did they curse the nobles for having another damnable party while they went home to their shoe-box apartments? 

 Clicking her tongue, Rowan turned away from her view of the newlyweds. She must be drunk. She only got this maudlin after she’d had a few, and she had already drunk several glasses of champagne. She wasn’t sure how many, losing count after the third. 

 Out of reflex, she looked for her family members, hoping one of them wasn’t occupied. 

 Her parents were, of course, busy keeping Lord and Lady Sono entertained. Avan help them if the head of another House got bored at their party. The scandal of it! 

 But seriously, if Bay and Veronica didn’t show those two prudes a good time, the Sono family could use it to pressure Rowan’s parents into holding future social gatherings at their home, and social gatherings were where the noble Houses’ political maneuverings took place, as could be seen tonight. 

 Rowan’s twin brothers, Henry and John, were busy chatting up the middle child of House Mistral, or rather, Henry was doing that while John provided backup. Their target might be rather famous for his good looks, but he was a he, and John didn’t play for that team, unlike his twin. John was also Rowan’s favorite brother, the most thoughtlessly giving of them, but shh! The other boys didn’t need to know that. 

 Paisley had somehow gained the misfortune of keeping Jessica’s sister company tonight, which she was loathing. When she was unhappy, Rowan’s sister got that same twitch in the corner of her eyes as their mother, although her eyes’ murky blue color didn’t conceal the tic as nicely as their family’s signature green did for Veronica. 

 Her last brother, Logan, had gotten himself surrounded by House Breyham’s daughters with the lot of them probably discussing money right now. Breyham was currently the wealthiest of Athari’s noble families, not through inheritance but through those girls’ shrewd investments in corps over the last decade. Considering Logan managed the family’s finances with great enthusiasm, Rowan wasn’t surprised that the four of them had found one another so quickly. 

 Which left her, the youngest child of House Kolb. The most disposable daughter with the least useful talents, although her family would probably slap anyone who said such a thing out loud. 

 Except for her. If Rowan voiced thoughts like that, she’d probably get drowned in hugs and reminders of her many good qualities. Those qualities hadn’t helped her with finding company tonight. As usual, she was on the outskirts, watching other people shine, but that was ok. She’d accepted that this was her role in life. 

 She had. 

 Even given her relative uselessness in the world of nobles, people had been approaching her. Rowan had done her best to charm anyone who came to chat with her, but a lack of shared interests had usually ended those conversations quickly. 

 But most of the people who’d given her their time had been boys, asking for a dance. Rowan had tried to turn them down as politely as possible, but her irritation over their requests had jumped with the hour and how much champagne she’d had to drink. 

 She didn’t dance, not in the way people were doing it tonight at least. Here, everything was carefully controlled with every movement measured. If Rowan was going to dance, she wanted to throw herself into it. She wanted the music, no matter what type, to flow through her, intermingling with her cells and the spark of neurotransmitters between her nerves. She didn’t want to be… graceful. A marionette on strings. 

 She’d been to enough social events in Athari that many of the boys here should know her preferences by now, but still, they kept coming. It only made her drink faster. 

 Seeing an attendant coming her way, holding a tray with champagne flutes on it, Rowan downed her current drink, swapping it out for a full one. Some of her new glass’s liquid splashed over its lip, pattering on the silver lace of her dress’s bodice, and hunching to wipe at it, she took a sip, despite her head’s awkward angle. A handkerchief slid into view, and glancing up, Rowan met the eyes of the next boy who’d come to pester her. 

 At least this one was somewhat aesthetically appealing. Despite the steadily strengthening veil around her, one that had been fuzzing the world throughout the night, Rowan clearly saw his black hair, well matched with his amber skin tone and brown eyes, although his face was just a little too soft, but that was compensated by a well-built body in a… violet suit?  

 That was new. 

 “For your dress,” he said, gently bobbing his offered handkerchief at Rowan. 

 As she accepted it, Rowan drew her eyebrows together, and when she straightened, she teetered a little. 

 “Thank… you?” she said. 

 Oh, damn. She couldn’t remember what she was supposed to do next in this sort of interaction. Did she ask for his name? What if she was supposed to know it? He looked familiar… 

 That suit really was nice. Rowan wondered how Mia or Thomas would look in it, although they’d probably scoff at wearing something so fancy. 

 Why was she holding a handkerchief again? 

 Frowning, Rowan filled her mouth with champagne instead of words that might get her in trouble, looking for somewhere to put what she was holding. 

 “Are you all right?” 

 Oh, yeah. There’d been a boy. She should talk to him. Right? 

 “‘m fine. My brother just got married. Hurrah,” Rowan said, barely slurring her words. “Are you ok?” 

 She poked him before quickly retracting her finger. What the fuck, Rowan? One did not touch an unknown noble without an invitation. 

 Fortunately, he didn’t seem upset, more curious. He’d narrowed his eyes, tilting his head almost to his shoulder. 

 “This might not be so bad after all,” he said under his breath. 

 Maybe he’d thought Rowan wouldn’t hear him or had been too drunk to understand, but those words had definitely parsed in her head and oh… she’d gone ice cold. 

 “Exc use me? No. Wait. Excuse you.” 

 Rowan took a step into his personal space, not caring how much he towered over her. 

 “Do you have a problem with me, mister?” she said. “I don’t even know who you are, and you’ve already insulted me.” 

 Frowning, the boy didn’t back away from her as she’d hoped. 

 “You’re right. That was rude of me. I’m sorry,” he said. “I only came to request a dance, but I… dislike danc-” 

 “He wants a dance, everyone,” Rowan said in a loud voice. 

 With her hands slightly raised, she turned in a circle, taking in the people who’d started staring at her. 

 “Did the other two dozen guys I’ve refused not give you a clue about what my answer would be? I do. not. want. to dance. with anyone.” 

 For the last bit, Rowan had shoved her palm into his shoulder, putting greater force behind it with each word, and on the last push, he stumbled away from her, running into an attendant. The woman tried to keep her tray aloft, but it tipped over, spilling canapes and drinks all over the boy, and Rowan’s mouth dropped open at the rate of his climb to his feet. Oh avan, he was glaring at her. 

 What had she just done? What the hell had she just done? 

 “Um,” she said into the dead quiet with every eye on her. 

 Before Rowan could make more of a fool of herself, someone grabbed her elbow, tugging on her, while Henry slid between her and the boy. 

 “Well! That was exciting,” he said. “Let’s get you cleaned up, good sir, and we can…” 

 The rest of his words got swallowed by the room’s swelling murmurs, ones that Rowan barely paid attention to, what with John swiftly dragging her through a door. Even after they’d entered the main house and the danger of running into a guest was gone, he didn’t let up, but Rowan hardly noticed. She kept replaying what had happened in her head. 

 The boy’s clumsy dance to stay on his feet. Thinly sliced tomatoes on his violet suit’s jacket. Sticky, black locks partially obscuring the most hateful glower she’d seen in her life. 

 “Shit,” Rowan muttered. 

 Glancing at her, John shook his head. 

 “Yep,” he said. “You done fucked up, itty-bitty baby bean.” 

 And Rowan was so caught up in absolute mortification that she didn’t protest her brother’s use of that hated pet name.

Chapter 3: Consequences
Bay and Veronica looked… well. They looked empty, showing Rowan the most neutral of faces, and that, more than anything else, told her exactly how much trouble she was in. 

 Her moms took a laid-back approach to parenting, especially when it came to her, but Rowan was still well-versed in the many annoyed expressions of mother dearest. The severity of their rolled eyes or exasperated sighs usually escalated with how badly she’d messed up, but their carefully controlled look had never been directed at her. 

 She’d seen Logan receive it during the year he’d gotten addicted to making risky investments with the family’s money. Paisley had stared it down after she’d told them she was pregnant and didn’t know what to do, and they’d given the iciest possible version of it to Anthony when he’d snuck off to go cliff jumping with his friends, coming home with a broken leg. 

 On the receiving end of it now, Rowan could see why her siblings had squirmed so hard when confronted with it. She was certain that if she sat here for much longer, it would kill her, and this wasn’t helped by Anthony, perching on the sofa beside them. 

 Her brother looked much less severe than their parents—he couldn’t with amusement pinching his green eyes so much—but it had been his wedding that Rowan had ruined. Facing the three of them, she wanted to turn into sludge so she could seep through the floor and into the earth, never to be seen again. 

 “Ok, Rowan,” Veronica said, making her jump. “Here’s what’s going to happen. First, you’re going to apologize to your brother, and then, we will discuss proper punishment for what you did.” 

 Oh… avan.  Rowan had gone through so many ways to tell Anthony she was sorry since last night, but now that the floor had been handed to her, everything she’d rehearsed evanesced in her head. She faced her brother and his raised eyebrows with her insides shriveling. 

 “Tony… I- I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have stopped drinking when I noticed I was tipsy or kept my temper under control. I- 

 Swallowing hard, she met his eyes, mildly impressed by how well he’d learned their parents’ lack of expression when he wanted to show it. 

 “How can I make it up to you? If that’s possible, I mean,” she said. “I did absolutely ruin your wedding, a once in a lifetime-” 

 Snorting, Anthony doubled over on himself, cracking up, and Rowan watched, dazed, as he slapped his knee, trying to control himself. Soon enough, he straightened, wiping his eyes. 

 “You didn’t ruin anything, bean,” he said. “I needed that outburst, considering how stiff the party was getting, and besides, everything went back to normal after you left, which you have John and Henry to thank for. 

 “The only thing you need to worry about on my end is Jessica. She’s pretty pissed at you, but I know you don’t care much about her opinion. I’m just as mystified as everyone else in our family about why I love her, but I do, and I would appreciate it if you made nice. I don’t want anything else from you.” 

 He shrugged, but Rowan barely saw it through the tears misting her vision. 

 “Tony,” she sobbed. 

 “Whoa, there!” Anthony said. 

 Jumping to his feet, he strode to Rowan, crouching to wrap her in a hug. 

 “I didn’t mean to make you cry,” he said. “It’s ok, bean. You’ll have plenty of time to bring Jessica around.” 

 A laugh competed with Rowan’s tears. 

 “N-no, Tony,” she hiccupped. “I was afraid you’d hate me for what I did.” 

 When Anthony pulled away, she was presented with the most potent display of horror she’d seen in a while. 

 “No way!” he cried. “You’re my littlest sister. There’s no way you could make me hate you.” 

 With her throat working, Rowan fought against what was rising in her. 

 “You’re the best,” she said. 

 Smirking, Anthony said, “I know.” 

 And Rowan broke down, smacking at him even as she repeatedly told him how much she loved him. After a solid thirty seconds of this, Bay cleared her throat, and Rowan was jerked back to the reality of their mothers’ disapproval. 

 Anthony pressed a kiss to her brow— 

 “I love you, bean.” 

 —before leaving, and Rowan shrunk beneath Veronica’s glare. Bay remained impartial, thank avan, but as soon as the door closed behind Anthony, Veronica was ripping into her. 

 “I’m glad there’s no bad blood between my children, but we still have to deal with the fallout from the offended noble family,” she said. “Do you know who you insulted last night?” 

 As she curled on herself, Rowan cringed with her chin touching her chest. 

 “No,” she said. “I’m guessing it was someone important, based on your reaction.” 

 Scoffing, Veronica threw her hands in the air, which had Bay automatically resting a hand on her wife’s shoulder. 

 “It was Asher Cerullis,” that normally reticent woman said. 

 Hearing that, Rowan’s heart skittered to a stop in her chest. Cerullis? As in the most powerful noble family in Athari? And not only that but- 

 “The House's heir?” she squeaked. 

 Bay nodded at her, which had her stopped heart freezing over. 

 “Fucking hell,” her stressed lungs forced from her lips. 

 “Language, Rowan,” Veronica said. “That’s one of several things you’ll have to watch while making ‘educational’ visits to the Cerullis estate over the next month.” 

 Wait. 

 “What?” Rowan shrieked. 

 With her heart lurching into motion once more, the blood laying latent within it sprang into her vision, and she clawed her fingers into the chair to keep from leaping to her feet. 

 “These are the consequences of your actions, daughter,” Veronica said. “I’m sorry, but that’s how it is.” 

 “But if I’m here, making nice with Cerullis, then-” 

 Rowan cut herself off, unwilling to speak the words. 

 “You’re not going to the Summit this year,” Bay quietly finished. “Icrodon will have to wait one more year for you.” 

 And Rowan couldn’t stay seated any longer. 

 “This is bullshit,” she hissed. “I have been the perfect House Kolb daughter for years, honing so many skills I never wanted to learn, all with the promise of eventually reaching Novadracht. Somewhere I can make a real difference! You can’t take this from me.” 

 Her parents met her fury with placidity. 

 “We can, in fact,” Veronica said. “If you act as you did last night, you’ll have to fix your mistakes. I thought your mother and I had taught you this.” 

 “Would it be so bad to stay here, with me, for one more year?” Bay added. 

 With her vision still tinging red, Rowan glanced between them, her mom who was only trying to protect their family and her mother who seemed desperate for people to keep her company over the next month, and she wilted. 

 “When do I start?” she dully asked. 

 “Tomorrow. One of our people will take you to their home,” Veronica said. “I expect you to be on your best behavior while you’re there.” 

 “Yes, ma’am,” Rowan said. 

 Damn, she’d sounded like a robot there. Veronica must have heard it because wincing, she rose from the sofa, coming to cup Rowan’s face. 

 “I love you, my silly girl,” she said. “You know that, right?” 

 From somewhere unknown, a faint smile curled Rowan’s lips. 

 Leaning into Veronica’s hand, she said, “I know, mom.” 

 Veronica patted her face, pinching her lip in her teeth, before sailing through a door with her wife behind her. As Bay passed, she squeezed Rowan’s hand, smiling before releasing it. 

 Well. That had just happened. What Rowan had been using to keep herself afloat for the last few weeks had been ripped away from her, and she didn’t know what to do with herself. 

 In the real world at least. 

 As always, Nedrya’s Breaking provided a sense of relief from her troubles. She spent hours in her room, fighting players from the other side of the war that was tearing this online world apart. All the while, she received requests and messages from members of her guild, but she ignored them. When one flashed on her wristcom, however, she couldn’t dismiss it straightaway. 

 Let’s go, ya idiot, it read. 

 Rolling her eyes, Rowan shut down her storecase, sneaking through her home until she’d reached the one balcony here that Kolb’s troopers didn’t patrol beneath. A boy was waiting for her there, leaning against the railing with his arms crossed. 

 With his sandy hair and nearly turquoise eyes sitting above sharp cheekbones, he might have made a supremely pleasing picture, save for the chubbiness found in his body and face. Jeans and a ratty t-shirt didn’t help this image, but even still, Rowan couldn’t help a giddy grin from forming. 

 “Thomas!” she said, barely keeping her voice down. 

 Racing forward, she engulfed him in a hug, and as usual, he stiffened for the briefest fraction of an instant before returning it. 

 “Hey, Rowan,” he said. “You ok? You weren’t responding in-game. That’s usually not a good sign.” 

 Making a face, Rowan said, “It’s not a big deal. I got pulled off the team that’s attending the Summit, is all. I’ll survive.” 

 It was more than a big deal, and Thomas knew it, based off of how still he’d gone. 

 “But… the Summit is all you’ve been talking about for the last six months,” he said. “How is having to stay here ok?” 

 Sometimes, Rowan hated having friends she could confide in. 

 “It’s not!” she said. “But I don’t want to focus on that. Can we go get ice cream or something instead?” 

 It was better if she ignored how much she wanted to scream at the world or punch something —probably herself— in the face. 

 Thomas examined her for several agonizing seconds before shrugging. 

 “Definitely ‘or something’,” he said. “Ice cream sounds gross right now.” 

 Rowan rolled her eyes. Thomas had always had the pickiest of palates. 

 “Ok, weirdo,” she said, elbowing him. “Feel like leading the way out of here?” 

 “No,” Thomas said before wincing, “but fine.” 

 And he was off, jumping for a nearby tree. Rowan followed his lead, trusting her sneaky, untitled friend to get them off of Kolb grounds undetected, and before she could process it, they were waltzing into the city proper with human civilization springing up around them. 

 Rowan loved this part of Athari. Here, people lived unfettered with no expectations to guide them, unlike with the nobles. Social norms still existed, of course—Rowan didn’t think humans could live together without those—and an example of these could be seen by how the untitled grouped themselves. 

 The wealthy, usually those who were strongly associated with Athari’s corps, lived practically in the noble families’ backyards. Then, they had all those who deviated from sexual and gender norms. These people usually gathered near the city’s center, in the heart of this enormous community. Immigrants from the other three nations usually settled in the less prosperous parts of Xygek while those who didn’t fit into any group could be found anywhere in between. 

 Rowan didn’t particularly enjoy this social segregation—it was a minor version of the problem she had with Lutov’s four nations—but she would admit to reveling in each neighborhood’s culture. There was something distinctly unique and wonderful about each of them. 

 As usual, Thomas guided her into the heart of the city, where trans people and others like them typically lived, and the energy found here lifted Rowan’s mood almost immediately. When they’d been younger, she’d wondered if her friend might have a reason for always coming here, perhaps a sense of kinship that he might find with its residents, but then, he’d gotten his first girlfriend, becoming as masculine as one could get, and she’d dismissed that theory, assuming he enjoyed this place for the same reasons she did. 

 “So?” she said. “If we’re not getting ice cream, what are we doing?” 

 Thomas wrinkled his nose, which pulled his lips away from his teeth. 

 “My dad wants me to speak at the next shareholders’ meeting, and when telling me this, he mentioned his distaste for my typical clothing choices,” he said. “I was hoping you might help me with finding something a bit more acceptable to those crotchety, old bastards.” 

 Oh, avan. Her poor friend. 

 “Sure!” Rowan said. “Where do you want to start?” 

 As Thomas led her into a clothing store, she reviewed all the reasons she shouldn’t be helping him. Corps, in all four nations, had been contesting the noble Houses’ leadership in recent years. Previous to about two centuries ago, no one could match them when it came to wealth, which amounted to power in Lutov, but along had come this group of people, intent on undermining the nobles by collectively pooling their resources to form unions of working people. Or corps, as they were currently called. 

 Rowan had always found it strange that a group of people who’d once been focused on dismantling the noble families’ subjugation of the common folk had basically replaced them in the modern age, but since no one else seemed to appreciate this irony, she rarely brought it up. The only two people who’d laugh about it with her were Thomas and Mia, the children of Athari’s largest corp, and this attitude formed a large part of their friendship’s foundation. Hence, why Rowan waited outside a fitting room while Thomas tried on suits, giving him an unbiased opinion on each of them, instead of tempting him elsewhere. 

 Eventually, she got sick of his obsessive worrying, picking an outfit out for him so they could have fun somewhere else. Leaving the suit in the shop, to be picked up later, they hurried to their typical hangout place. 

 The bouncer at The Pink Gorilla smiled when she saw them next in line. 

 “Lady Kolb and Thomas Shalen. Good to see you,” she said. “Slumming it with us again, huh?” 

 With her lips going thin, Rowan lifted her wristcom so the bouncer could scan her ID. 

 “I really wish you’d call me Rowan,” she said. “Everyone else here does it.” 

 “Everyone else doesn’t enjoy bothering you as much as I do,” the bouncer said before sticking her tongue out. “You can go in.” 

 After thanking her, Thomas skipped inside, and on passing the bouncer, Rowan flicked her arm. She play-rubbed the ‘injured’ spot, mouthing ‘ouch’. 

 Past the door, they found music thumping within the walls of a shadowed, cavernous room, and a combination of sweeping-and-blinking colored lights washed over a swath of humanity, writhing in the center of the space. There was such a wide variety of people here: men, women, and every other type of person possible, wearing all sorts of outfits and accessories. 

 And almost all of them were dancing. Rowan’s kind of dancing, not what had been done last night. 

 Seizing Thomas’ hand, Rowan dove them into the mosh pit's midst, feeling the beat match-time with the thrum in her veins. She quickly lost herself in it, bit by bit. 

 First, her surroundings went, leaving only the people in her immediate vicinity impressing themselves on her eyes, but even they vanished one by one until only Thomas remained. 

 He was flushed, already sweating through his t-shirt, but avan if he wasn’t beaming at Rowan. When she made kissy faces at him, he laughed, which flung open the locked-tight doors that usually hid what he was thinking. He kept getting distracted, glancing over Rowan’s head or shoulder, and each of these was followed by the ripple down his neck of a hard swallow, but always, he returned to her, especially when she pulled him in. 

 His body against hers with strangers all around them: this was exactly what Rowan had needed to wind down from meeting with her parents. All they were missing was Mia, and this would be perfect, but since she wasn’t here… 

 Rowan fully surrendered to the rhythm making itself known to the crowd, with even Thomas fading, until only instinct remained. 

 And she moved. 

 Lost to the music, she only caught snapshots of what was happening. A head turned her way, space forming around her, her counterpart in this argument—held between their bodies—following along, and eyes. So many eyes watching. 

 Abruptly, quiet fell while a softer song replaced what had had so many people thrashing not moments before, and when Rowan glanced around, blinking, she found herself near the sound table at the front of the room with its controller grinning at her from behind it. 

 Whooping cheers and hollers rose around her, which had a flush creeping up her cheeks. 

 Raising their mike, the controller said, “Rowan Kolb and Thomas Shalen, everyone. Two-thirds of our resident Elite Triad have come to grace us with their presences again.” 

 The club erupted into even more raucous shouting with so many people whistling and winking at both Rowan and Thomas, at her side. Catching her eye, he squeezed her hand. 

 “Y’all make them feel comfortable,” the controller said. “After that display, I need to get a drink.” 

 Laughter scattered over the crowd while people moved forward to greet them. Thomas hated this part of their nights out, although Rowan didn’t know why that was. He was plenty social, had had stupid amounts of friends in school, and nobody in this place could off-put him. At least, she didn’t see any quintessentially corp people in this room. 

 Even still, he was stiff when a gay couple shook his hand, and his smile was brittle when a tiny, little thing in a tulle skirt nervously said hello. For her part, Rowan accepted what she hoped was a fruity drink from a gorgeously tall woman— avan, legs for days—with a square jaw and gradually eased her way out of the spotlight, tugging Thomas behind her. 

 “Done with dancing?” she asked when she could. 

 Thomas nodded, and skirting the crowd, they ducked out of the club, heading for their last stop on nights like this. Mia was waiting for them beside a taco stand, and when she saw them coming, she returned to making purchases. 

 At some point, Thomas must have messaged her about tonight’s plan because she looked like she’d come straight from a meeting, although she’d exchanged her typical heels for sneakers. Wispy strands of her platinum-blonde hair were drifting around her face, pulled from the tight bun at the back of her head, and while arguing with the stand’s owner about her taco’s prices, Mia pushed her glasses up on her nose with her mouth twisted somewhere between irritation and amusement. 

 As they came closer, she leaned over, presumably to get in the stand owner’s face, but based on the other woman’s scandalized expression and the number of undone buttons Rowan had seen on Mia’s blouse earlier, she’d say the other woman was letting her moderately-sized breasts serve as a distraction while finishing up with her ‘negotiations’. Mia had never been above using her body to get what she wanted. 

 Once she was finished, leaving the stand owner flustered and disgruntled, Mia turned to them with a mischievous smile, shoving bags full of tacos into their chests while taking one for herself. 

 “Hiya, slackers!” she brightly said. “Did you have fun dancing while I was hard at work?” 

 Thomas ignored her, digging through his bag. 

 “Why are there tomatoes on my tacos?” he said. “You know I don’t like them.” 

 “Oh, sorry. Must have gotten the goods mixed up.” 

 Rolling her eyes, Mia took the bags back before exchanging them. 

 “Better?” 

 After a moment, Thomas mumbled something that might have been a yes, and shaking her head, Mia lifted her eyes to the sky. 

 “Why was I blessed with such a disappointment for a brother?” she said. 

 Snapping his head up, Thomas said, “Hey! I got a suit tonight like dad asked, which should be enough for today. Not everyone can measure up to your impossible work standards, Mi-mph.” 

 Having shoved her hand over her brother’s mouth, Mia faced Rowan, spreading her free arm. 

 “Come here.” 

 Rowan moved in for a side hug, enjoying it as Mia rubbed her skin. She’d almost rested her head on the other woman’s shoulder when she shrieked, yanking the hand she’d had on her brother to her chest. 

 “You licked me?!” Mia shouted. 

 Grimacing, Thomas made disgusted noises while lapping at the air. 

 “Ugh, you taste gross,” he said. 

 Mia dropped the arms she’d had around Rowan’s shoulder, and grinning, Rowan rolled her bag up, making sure she had a good grip on it. She knew what was probably coming next. 

 Raising her hands as if to strangle Thomas, Mia growled, “You little shit. I’m going to freaking smother you in your sleep! No. That’s too easy of a death. You’re getting Rowan’s tomatoes shoved down your throat until you choke.” 

 “You’ll have to catch me first,” Thomas said. 

 He took off, waving at Mia and Rowan from the end of the sidewalk before they could move, the nimble asshole. Frustrated hollering trailed from Mia when she chased after her brother, and as Rowan sprinted in her wake, laughter followed her. Thomas led them through Xygek’s streets with the city’s center flashing around them, and as they ran, the occasional passerby cheered them along, hopefully because they’d noticed how much Rowan was cackling and not for another, more malicious reason. 

 When sidewalks started emptying of people, Thomas vaulted over a construction zone’s fence, and while Rowan easily followed him, she had to help Mia over. On the other side, they raced for a half filled-out apartment building with a crane and stacked pilings around it, taking its finished stairs two at a time. When they reached the topmost floor, they headed for a spot where drywall and brick had yet to be raised before dangling their legs over the edge. 

 After getting settled, Mia poked the shit out of her brother, and pulling a slightly squished taco out of its bag, Rowan settled in to watch. Mia was soon finished, though, letting each of them bite into their food with relish. 

 Leaning back on one hand, Rowan looked out over what she could see of Xygek while swinging her feet. 

 “Thanks, guys,” she said. 

 Humming, Mia leaned into her while Thomas rested his palm on top of Rowan’s hand, and neither of them spoke a word. The three of them sat under a hugely glowing moon, and in this moment, Rowan was free of worries or troubles. She was content.

Chapter 4: Sometimes, I Forget How Much They Love Me
When Rowan snuck back home, three people were waiting for her in her room, turning as one when she entered it. Frozen with the doorknob in her hand, she gulped. 

 “Hi…?” she drawled. 

 “Evening, Rowan,” Logan said from where he was swiveling in the chair in front of her desk. “Or is it morning now? We’ve been waiting for so long.” 

 On the ground with his back to the bed, John snorted, and above him, Paisley sighed, rubbing her knuckles into his scalp, before running her fingers through his hair once more. 

 Cringing, Rowan said, “Sorry. I was out with- with friends.” 

 “The Shalen kids?” Logan asked, wrinkling his nose. 

 “Oh, give those two a break,” Paisley lazily said. “They can’t help that they were born to the founders of a corp you hate, not any more than you can help poking at that corp whenever you can, at least.” 

 While Logan glared at her, Rowan eased the door closed, wondering why they were here. 

 Not that she was complaining. Her siblings were usually too busy for one of them to spend time with her, let alone three. So, she didn’t ask that question, focusing on John instead. 

 “Where’s your other half?” she said. 

 Anthony was probably… no. He was definitely with his new wife, which left one sibling unaccounted for. 

 Arching an eyebrow, John said, “Henry? Where do you think he is?” 

 “Uh…” 

 John rolled his eyes. 

 “Come on, bean. I know you saw him flirting last night, and you gave him an opportunity to impress everyone at the after-party with your temper tantrum.” 

 Absently, Rowan stuck her tongue out at him. 

 “So, he’s with the House Mistral guy. Still?” she said. “No, what am I thinking? His flings usually last a few days. What’s the poor thing’s name?” 

 “Who knows? There are too many nobles in this city to keep track of them. I’ll hear all about it when Henry eventually comes home,” John said. “Sit down.” 

 He patted the ground beside him, and while Rowan sank where indicated, Paisley rolled onto her stomach toward them. 

 “His name’s Alexander,” she said. “In case you were curious.” 

 Groaning, John smacked at Paisley over his head, and she dissolved into laughter. Meanwhile, Logan scooted the chair closer toward them, kicking at Rowan’s shoes, and play hissing at him, she drew her feet up under her. 

 “Ok. Why are you three here?” she asked. “Two of you should be getting some rest before you leave in the morning, and the other one must have something better to do with his time.” 

 Paisley and Logan stared at John with Rowan’s sister poking him, and he sighed, lowering his head. When he lifted it again, he was wearing the most solemn of expressions. 

 “We are gathered here on this sixteenth day of Reind to make our farewells,” he intoned, “and to incessantly speak of the great shoving of the littlest bean’s enemy, Asher Cerullis, until she screams bloody murder.” 

 Nodding, Logan sad, “As he said, it shall be, oh smallest of beans.” 

 “Teeny, weensiest bean,” Paisley added. 

 Growling, Rowan crossed her arms. 

 “You three are the worst,” she said. 

 “Uh-huh.” 

 Snaking an arm around Rowan’s head, John pulled it to him so he could kiss her forehead. When he released her, he dropped his hand on her shoulder, keeping her close. 

 “How are you doing?” Logan asked. “Mom told us you’re not coming with us tomorrow. I know you’ve been looking forward to this year’s Summit for months.” 

 “Try for my whole life,” Rowan huffed, “but it’s fine. There’s always next year, and I have obligations to fulfill here." 

 "Yeah, we heard about those too,” John said. 

 His grip on Rowan’s shoulder tightened. 

 “Can’t believe mom’s making you follow another House’s brat around for the next three weeks.” 

 “I mean… I did embarrass him in front of a bunch of powerful Houses,” Rowan said. “I think it’s fair that I make it up to him, even if it’s in a way that our parents, not him, probably decided on.” 

 “Still sucks, though.” 

 Kicking the floor, Logan rotated back and forth, fixing his eyes on his lap. 

 “Yeah, maybe. But it is what it is. I’ll make the best of it,” Rowan said. “So, anyone have tips for how I should handle this Asher kid?” 

 “Did you not just hear me talking about how there are too many Houses in Athari?” John asked. 

 “I wasn’t asking you,” Rowan said, jabbing his side. 

 He yelped, and after a brief spell of rustling, Paisley stuck her head between them. 

 “So, let’s start with what we know. In recent years, Cerullis has been focusing on the scientific field, which is the primary reason they’re so powerful right now, but it’s also been their primary source of trouble as well,” she said. “I believe we all remember THE fire, yes? The one that caused so much controversy fifteen years ago?” 

 John and Logan chorused affirmatives while Rowan nodded, reflexively shunting her focus away from that… incident . She tried not to think about the fire when possible. There was too much heartache, both for herself and the Shalens, trailing it. 

 “For the most part, that lovely disaster has dropped from public awareness,” Paisley continued. “Recently, people have been focusing on how Cerullis’ innovations have let us farm further into Athari’s tundra, making us less reliant on Roswines for food. In other words, you might want to prepare for a lot of dull, scientific talk.” 

 Rowan wouldn’t find it dull. Science wasn’t her passion, per se, but she did enjoy listening to others gush about it. What else could someone do when an interesting subject was combined with another person’s enthusiasm but take pleasure from it? 

 “From what I hear, Asher’s a quiet kid, unlike his many cousins,” Paisley said. “He doesn’t often leave the grounds of his family’s estate and has basically no friends outside of those needed for his work. He’s also an only child, the poor thing.” 

 “Or lucky bugger, depending on how you view your siblings,” John grumbled. “How do you know this much shit about him, Paisley?” 

 Turning to him, their sister pecked his cheek. 

 “I pay attention, baby bro. You should try it sometime,” she said before rolling toward Rowan. “Oh! From what I saw yesterday, the kid’s an impeccable dresser, probably cares way too much about fashion. You might want to be careful with what you wear tomorrow. Other than that…” 

 Shrugging, she retreated from view, and stopping with his fidgeting, Logan leaned on his knees. 

 “Just act like you normally do around nobles, and you’ll be fine,” he said. “You’re usually pretty good at public relations. Usually.” 

 When he winked at Rowan, she resisted the urge to kick him in the shin. 

 “Maybe don’t have anything to drink, though,” John added. 

 Rowan didn’t resist play-punching him. While he rubbed his arm, she cocked her head, staring into nothing with her tongue poking from between her teeth. 

 “This should be interesting,” she said after a moment. “Athari’s most famous House of warriors and the one that’s most devoted to science? I’ll probably start the first House war in a century.” 

 Logan dropped out of the chair to his knees, squeezing Rowan’s calf, while Paisley threw her arms around her neck and John buried his face in her shoulder. 

 “You’ll do great.” 

 Rowan didn’t know who’d said that, but it didn’t really matter. Here was her family: so, so busy most of the time but still here for her when she needed them. When she sniffled with tears filling her eyes, Paisley chuckled into her hair. 

 “Our itty, bitty bean,” she said. 

 “You guys,” Rowan shouted, wiggling and squirming until they got off of her. 

 Jumping to her feet, she pointed a finger at their far-too-pleased faces. 

 “So mean to me,” she said. “You’re trash, all of you.” 

 Raising an eyebrow, Logan said, “You know, if you want us to leave you alone, all you have to do is ask. You don’t have to insult us.” 

 Leave. 

 Alone. 

 “No!” 

 Rowan fell to her hands and knees, crawling into the center of them. 

 “Don’t leave me. Please.” 

 Someone released a mighty sigh, and arms wrapped around her. 

 “Ok, Rowan. We’ll stay.” 

 And they did. Once Rowan climbed out of their mess of limbs, they talked into the small hours of the morning, about projects and girls and boys and friends, whether noble or corp. Rowan went off on a tangent about how much bullshit it was that one of them having untitled friends would cause a scandal for the family, and her siblings indulgently listened. 

 They started dropping off, Paisley first and then Logan, from where he’d once more clambered into the chair. John and Rowan stayed up a little longer. 

 He was supposed to have been the child left behind this year, here to carry on the bloodline if things turned to shit in Novadracht. 

 Technically, he could join everyone else now, taking Rowan’s place, but her removal from the team had been so last minute. He couldn’t have prepared for the month-long trip in a day’s time. So, it would be the two youngest Kolb children, alone with Bay, until everyone came home. 

 “I’m worried about Henry,” John drowsily murmured with his head lolling against the bed. “We’ve never been apart for this long.” 

 Wincing, Rowan said, “Thanks for volunteering to stay so I could attend the Summit, even if I ended up not going.” 

 “Are you kidding? Mingling with strangers? Working to make alliances with foreign Houses? That’s what you were made for, Rowan,” John said. “Meanwhile, I can’t remember our own damn nation’s noble families. It was about time for you to go. Henry and I were looking forward to watching you shine.” 

 “Well…” 

 With a burst of a sigh, Rowan fell into John. 

 “There’s always next year. And Henry will be back before you know it.” 

 “I hope so,” John said, hugging himself. “I don’t know what I’ll do if he meets someone from another nation while there. I can’t lose him in a marriage like that, Rowan.” 

 “Well, of course not! He’s your twin. Now, come here.” 

 Curling an arm around his face, Rowan forced his head against her shoulder before patting his cheek. 

 “Sleep,” she said. 

 She thought he mumbled a protest, but it got lost in slowed-down breathing and his body relaxing against hers. Carefully slumping against the bed, Rowan closed her eyes, trying to follow her own command, but she didn’t drift off for quite a while regardless. 

 The morning found her family at a dock on Lake Voxmore. The ferry that would take most of them down the river was gently bumping against its wood. Seeing such an old-timey vessel on the river rather than the sleek, underwater skimmers Rowan was used to sent a thrill through her, but of course it did. It was a reminder of something she’d always wanted. Taking an antiquated ferry to Novadracht was tradition, a harkening to times of old when an emperor still ruled a now-fractured empire. 

 Anthony had been on the ferry for hours, but still, he popped up on deck after they’d arrived, enthusiastically waving at them. They catcalled and teased him until he went back to his wife. Rowan hoped he enjoyed this vacation before he fully assumed his responsibilities as Kolb’s heir. 

 As Paisley had suggested last night, she was impeccably dressed, set to head for House Cerullis’ estate after this, but the wrap she’d chosen to wear wasn’t helping much against the morning’s chill. While Bay and John received their goodbyes, she shivered in place, fighting to keep it unnoticed. Henry and John stepped aside to say their own, private farewell while Veronica padded to Rowan, taking her by the shoulders. 

 “Remember that I love you, ok?” she said. “Nothing you do will ever change that.” 

 “I will, mom,” Rowan said with a slight smile. “I love you too.” 

 Veronica dragged her into a hug, repeatedly kissing the top of her head, before murmuring into her hair. 

 “You are my remarkable baby girl, Rowan. When next year rolls around, I fully expect you to kick the asses of every stuffy noble who attends the Summit, including mine.” 

 Pulling back, she nudged Rowan’s chin. 

 “Even with all the stupid shit you sometimes pull, you make me so proud,” she said. “I’ll see you in a month.” 

 With a final smile, she left to kiss her wife once more before boarding the ferry, and Logan hopped in front of Rowan. 

 “You going to be ok?” he asked. 

 “Duh,” Rowan said, rolling her eyes. “Get yourself aboard, and have fun, yeah?” 

 “I will,” Logan said, hugging her. 

 As he was walking away, Rowan called, “Don’t swindle too many people out of their money.” 

 With his stride hitching, Logan stumbled before bursting into laughter. Glancing back at Rowan, he stuck his tongue out at her, which she happily returned. 

 Paisley said not a word to her, merely gathering Rowan in her arms. Squeezing her, Paisley rocked her back and forth before letting go, and after briefly touching her hand to Rowan’s cheek, she turned away. 

 Once he was finished saying goodbye to his twin, Henry headed for the ferry without acknowledging Rowan, and if she hadn’t known how distressed he must be about leaving John behind, she might have been more pissed at him. As it was, she cupped her hands around her mouth. 

 “No sex scandals this year, Henry,” she shouted. 

 With his head rocketing to her, Henry grimaced on seeing her grin. 

 “Fuck you too, Rowan,” he yelled back. 

 But he followed it up with a kiss at the air, a gesture Rowan repeated. 

 This left only John, Bay, and Rowan on the dock with the ferry soon chugging away from them. 

 “Welp,” Rowan said. “I have to go pretend I like some boy I’ve never formally met. I’ll see you two at dinner tonight?” 

 John awarded her with the faintest of smiles and a nod, but Bay squeezed her hand. 

 “Have fun, baby girl,” she said. 

 “I’ll try,” Rowan said. 

 And she would. What was the point of making herself miserable, even if she’d rather be doing anything but spend the day at another noble family’s estate? She would find the positives in her situation, and she would revel in them, damnit.

Chapter 5: Well, He's Not So Bad
The Cerullis family had weird taste. That was Rowan’s first impression as she was driven up the long driveway to their door. 

 Her family’s manse followed traditional building standards: everything square and symmetrical with gray bricks and windows arranged in a perfect grid. This place looked more like a fluid sculpture with curves and walls made of glass and steel. The rise of another building’s roof peeked above it, but of that building, not much else could be seen. 

 Rowan loved it all. 

 When they pulled up, an attendant was waiting at the front door, and after her driver handed Rowan out of the car, he bowed to her. 

 “Lady Kolb. A pleasure,” he said. “My Lord Cerullis has been waiting for you. If you’ll follow me?” 

 Nodding permission for the attendant to continue, Rowan followed him into the house, marveling at the door’s smooth slide open as they approached it. The building’s interior provided further examples of Cerullis’ strange tastes. Paintings with bright colors and no form hung on the walls, and on the other side of an open, airy room, a staircase made of… plastic and glass, of all things, led to the second floor. 

 Rowan was surprised by how much vivid color she saw here. Most nobles preferred monochromatic themes, but this palette reminded her of pictures she’d seen of Shoya Dren’s jungles. Walking through it lifted her spirit, even given what she was here to do. 

 When they walked straight through the house and out of a back door, she almost asked the attendant where they were going, but that question was answered without her having to voice it once the sun’s glare had stopped blinding her. 

 Nobles usually kept expansive grounds around their homes, preserving Athari in its natural state within those grounds. House Cerullis had a gigantic dome behind their house. At the sight of it, Rowan was a little ashamed to admit that her mouth dropped open and continued hanging as they crossed the space to the tiny door at the base of the structure. 

 People were scurrying around the place’s stark interior, but they weren’t attendants, Rowan didn’t think. Their dress and bearing screamed more of a corp’s employees. Even still, they showed what polite society had decided was the proper amount of respect for her, stepping aside with their heads lowered. Rowan had always and would forevermore loathe this, but it came at a good time. 

 Harnessing the heat that it had spawned—what was threatening to make her grit her teeth—she calmed down the fluttering in her stomach. 

 They again stepped through a set of marvelous sliding doors, and finally, Rowan saw something familiar. She was in a lab, much like what her chemistry and biology classes in college had used, if more complex and well-stocked. Besides the typical beakers and test tubes that one would find in a lab, a bank of storecase screens took up the middle of the far wall with various images of the stars displayed on them. 

 Near these, Asher Cerullis was intensely discussing something with two of his employees, although it appeared to be more an argument of focus and not anger. He was wearing a lab coat with safety goggles pushed onto his forehead while holding a pair of nytril gloves. A bright, orange smudge was sitting on one of his soft cheekbones, and his hair was frazzled. 

 Seeing this, Rowan was half-intrigued by the picture and half-irritated that she’d spent so long picking out what to wear this morning. This boy didn’t seem to care about fashion nearly as much as the one from a few nights ago. 

 As they came closer, the attendant said, “Lord Cerullis, your guest has arrived.” 

 When Asher glanced at them, the beginning of a grimace flashed over his face before he could control it. He said a final few words to his employees before closing the distance to them. 

 “Thank you, Dan. I’ve got it from here,” he said. 

 Bowing, the attendant strode away, leaving Rowan pinned under the gaze of the heir to a rival House, someone she’d humiliated. 

 Dipping his head to her, Asher said, “Lady Kolb.” 

 “Please, call me Rowan,” Rowan said out of habit before wincing. “Is there somewhere I can speak with you privately before we continue on with our day?” 

 Asher drew his eyebrows together with an uncertain tilt to his lips. 

 “Certainly,” he said. 

 Turning on his heel, he marched toward a door with his coat flapping behind him, and Rowan hurried to keep up. Exiting the lab, they turned around several corners before walking into someone’s—his, presumably—office. The only windows Rowan had seen in this place were eating one of the room’s walls while a desk with a storecase and screen combination on it faced the door. Several files were neatly stacked on one side of this desk with a host of notepads and fountain pens filling what space remained. A few potted plants were dotted around the room, and as they entered, soft music that Rowan couldn’t quite identify was playing, although it quickly cut off. 

 Removing his safety goggles, Asher ruffled his hair into order with one hand while taking off his lab coat with the other, hanging both items on a hook near the door, and every doubt Rowan might have had about Paisley’s advice from last night disappeared. Finished with his hair, Asher straightened the open collar of his turquoise button-down shirt, one that was tucked into chinos with a silver color to them.  

 It was all custom fit. All probably outrageously expensive. 

 So. He did like his clothes. 

 When Asher looked over his shoulder at her, Rowan nearly snorted on seeing that same orange streak still on his cheek. What did she make of that with everything else he’d presented? What did she make of him? 

 “What did you want to tell me that couldn’t be said in front of my people?” he asked. 

 “It’s not that I didn’t want them to hear,” Rowan said. “I just didn’t want you…” 

 She shook her head. Asher wouldn’t care that she’d been worried about embarrassing him again, as some people might be on hearing the next words out of her mouth. 

 “I wanted to apologize,” she continued, “and if you want me to repeat that in front of other people, I’m happy to do it. But before we begin these three weeks together, I have to say I’m sorry for my behavior at my brother’s wedding. It was deplorable, and I will do everything in my power to make it up to you.” 

 Asher had cocked his head at Rowan with a quizzical expression in place, which she didn’t know what to make of. What on earth was he thinking? 

 “Why are you apologizing? I’m not angry with you,” he said. “I could see you were drunk that night and knew you might react poorly if I asked you to dance, but I chanced it anyway. I was a little upset that you ruined my suit, but your family has already repaid me for its cost. This thing we’re doing over the next few weeks? It’s only to maintain appearances, not because I think you owe me a debt.” 

 Huh. 

 “You’re… not angry with me?” Rowan said. 

 “No, Lady-” 

 Cutting off, Asher made a face. 

 “No, Rowan. I’m not.” 

 “Oh, thank  avan.” 

 Dropping her hands on her knees, Rowan clung to them, shaking a little. 

 “I hate it when people are unhappy, doubly so when I cause it,” she said. “I’ve been trying to figure out how I’d fix what I did since I woke up yesterday.” 

 Cupping her elbows, Asher pulled Rowan upright before smiling at her for the first time, one that was so infectious she had to return it. When they were this close, she could fully appreciate the crinkle next to his eyes and how straight his teeth were. 

 Wait. This close… 

 As Rowan went stiff, Asher didn’t seem to notice. 

 “You’re sweet to worry about how you’ve affected me,” he said. “Most nobles… most people don’t care about what they do to others.” 

 “I’m not most people,” Rowan said. 

 When she tried to tug free of his hold, Asher let her go. 

 “I’m beginning to see that,” he said with amusement. “If you’re quite done giving me an apology I never wanted, though, I wondered if I might give you a tour of my workspace.” 

 He waved toward the door, and nodding, Rowan started digging through her purse. 

 “I’d like that but first…” 

 Finding her tissues, she pulled one free, offering it to him. 

 “Not as fancy as a handkerchief, I know, but it’ll get the job done,” she said. “You’ve got something-” 

 She tapped her cheek, and Asher huffed. 

 “Of course I do.” 

 After he’d scrubbed his face clean, he showed Rowan around his family’s many labs. Most of them were pretty humdrum, even if what was being worked on in them looked fascinating. Asher failed to say anything about what his family had in development, but Rowan hadn’t thought he would, not to someone from House Kolb. 

 They ended up in a room quite different from the others. Hexagonal in shape, a waist-high shelf ran along each wall, only interrupted by doorways, and storecase screens were crowded onto them. As in the first lab Rowan had seen, different pictures of space filled most of the screens here with people bustling between them and a table, set in the center of the room. A few people, however, stayed in place, monitoring the screens in front of them and taking notes. 

 As Rowan looked over this hive of activity with wide eyes, wondering what on earth this place’s purpose could be, she noticed a pocket of calm in the metaphorical storm. Along a small portion of one wall, a man was placidly gazing at a screen she couldn’t see, and in the thirty seconds she watched him, no one approached his workstation. Chewing on her lip, Rowan kept an eye on him while Asher explained the room to her. 

 “Here, we monitor outer space as well as a few other things I can’t discuss,” he said. “Since our world started getting smaller several generations ago, my family has believed we need to look to the stars for our future. We’ve invested a lot of time and resources into researching the expanse beyond, speculating on ways we could survive in that harsh realm.” 

 “Admirable,” Rowan said. 

 At that, Asher snapped his head to her, giving her a piercing stare. 

 “You think so?” he asked. 

 Nodding, Rowan said, “Sure! It’s definitely better than what most nobles use their money for. At least you’re trying to help people with it, if indirectly. I find that effort commendable.” 

 She didn’t mention how many other ways said money could be used, ways that could help people here and now. Granted, he was right. The problems of how humanity had stressed and overcrowded their world needed to be addressed, and taking to space might solve those problems, but they’d never leave this planet if they didn’t survive until they had a means of doing so. Given how many other threats were vying for humanity’s erasure, Rowan wasn’t sure if the limited capital of the few nobles who cared should be spent on something that would only help the far-distant future. 

 But Asher didn’t need to hear that opinion. Rowan had meant what she’d said. Work like this was utterly worthy of respect, and from the odd look and hesitant smile he turned her way, she got the feeling he didn’t often receive that. 

 “You are… kind,” he said. “Thank you.” 

 “You’re welcome,” Rowan said. “Now, what’s going on over there?” 

 She pointed toward the room’s epicenter of calm, and Asher made a face. 

 “That’s where we monitor and record data from probes that have been sent into the Source,” he said. 

 Hearing that, Rowan locked up, and as she turned toward him, it felt like her neck was creaking. 

 “The Source?” she said. 

 Slumping, Asher said, “Yes.” 

 “Home of the Ancients,” Rowan said. 

 “Yes.” 

 “The distinctly not human beings that have existed on our planet since the dawn of reality.” 

 “Yes, Rowan, I know what the Ancients are,” Asher said with an eye roll. “Everyone does.” 

 As Rowan stared at him, he shifted in place, doing his best not to seem uncomfortable. 

 “Why are you watching them?” she asked. 

 “Because my dad insists,” Asher said before raising a hand to forestall further questions. “Don’t ask me for his reasons. I don’t know them.” 

 After another beat, Rowan said, “Ok.” 

 As she returned to observing the rest of the room, Asher made a funny noise beside her. 

 “O…k?” he said. 

 “Yeah. It’s none of my business what your family researches,” Rowan said. “If your father wants to poke at something as unfathomable as the Ancients, more power to him.” 

 “Huh.” 

 Rowan waited for more from him, but when Asher didn’t say anything, she filled the silence. 

 “So, what’s your part in this?” she asked, waving a hand in front of her. 

 Coughing, Asher stepped further into the room. 

 “I oversee most of it. I’ve been doing so since shortly after finishing college,” he said. “Research and development like this have been a part of my family’s tradition for decades, but I was the one to focus us on it. In a way, everything around you is my baby.” 

 Suddenly, Rowan was extra glad she hadn’t expressed her full opinion about what he was doing here. Before she could form a response to what Asher had said, a woman came skittering toward them. 

 “My Lord Cerullis,” she said, “if I may?” 

 At the obligatory pause, Asher waved for her to continue. 

 “If you can spare the time, we’d like your opinion on something strange, my lord,” she said. “Would you join us?” 

 “Of course,” Asher said. “Show me.” 

 With a nervously bobbed bow, the woman retraced her steps, and they followed, although Rowan shot inquiring glances at Asher all the while. 

 What was going on? These people didn’t seem like they were in a panic, but Rowan couldn’t help but worry about whether something like the famous Cerullis Family Fire was about to repeat itself now. Many people had speculated about that incident, wondering if it had been more than an accident. Some had even claimed that it had been a ruse to get rid of a new and powerful competitor in the field. Rowan wasn’t sure if she could qualify it as that, given that she was only the youngest child of a rival family, but still, she had to wonder. 

 If that was what was happening and Thomas heard about it, her friend would never stop with his revenge schemes against House Cerullis, and Rowan really didn’t want that. Sometimes, he seemed a little too obsessed with them. 

 Asher either didn’t see the worry on Rowan’s face or chose to ignore it because they stopped behind a stationary employee without him once looking at her. 

 The man in the chair raised pinched eyes and puffy jowls toward the two before struggling to reach his feet with a wheeze. A firm hand pushed him back down while Asher reached to tap on a keyboard. 

 “The hell is this?” he said under his breath. 

 And that was officially enough. 

 “What’s going on?” Rowan said in a sharp voice. 

 Finally, Asher glanced at her with a small furrow between his eyebrows. 

 “Sorry, Rowan. I didn’t mean to brush you off,” he said. “Give me a minute, and once I’m done talking with these fine people, we can continue with our tour.” 

 Clicking her tongue, Rowan crossed her arms with her foot tapping. 

 “Avan above, Asher. I know something’s gone wrong,” she said. “There’s no point in trying to hide it, so why not explain it instead? Maybe I can help.” 

 Straightening, Asher lifted one corner of his mouth. 

 “I doubt you could,” he said. 

 When Rowan bristled, he raised his hands in a calming gesture. 

 “But I’ll explain anyway,” he continued. “Nothing’s wrong. We’ve simply received the latest transmission from the probes we have orbiting furthest from the sun, the ones near the edge of our solar system, and some of what they’ve sent back looks… strange. That’s all.” 

 “Can I see them?” Rowan asked, stepping forward. 

 Moving to the side, Asher gestured her toward the screens, and she bent to their level, grinning at the shifting man beside her. 

 “Hello,” she said before focusing. 

 But she didn’t understand what was strange about these images. They looked the same as the others around them, a normal image of space, as portrayed for the human eye to perceive it at least. 

 “What’s wrong?” she said. “I don’t see the problem.” 

 Asher leaned on the shelf beside Rowan, curling his fingers over hers, and she absently moved her hand away while he tapped on a particularly bright part of the image on the screen. 

 “This, right here,” he said. “It’s… new, which doesn’t necessarily mean anything. Perhaps our probes are malfunctioning. Perhaps some random burst of electromagnetic activity caused this bright spot, although that seems unlikely.” 

 Pausing, he narrowed his eyes at the image. 

 “It could be something that’s only now giving off a signal we can detect, but that seems unlikely too.” 

 Looking between him, gnawing on his lip, and what he’d shown her, Rowan frowned. 

 “So… what’s causing it?” she asked. 

 Opening his mouth, Asher closed it again with every part of his face creasing. 

 “That’s what I’m saying. I don’t know,” he said before shaking himself. “Put a higher priority on monitoring this, just in case it’s not an anomaly. Update me if anything changes.” 

 Once the woman who’d first collected them nodded, Asher strode away from the shelf, and Rowan tripped over herself to stay at his side. 

 “That’s it?” she said. “Keep an eye on something that might be totally new in the vastness of space?” 

 “I don’t have another option right now,” Asher said. “Sometimes, that’s all science is. Observing phenomena in the hope that you can understand them.” 

 In silence, Rowan walked alongside him to the door, but once they were in the hallway beyond, she voiced her thoughts. 

 “That sounds frustrating.” 

 Asher laughed, genuine and full-throated. 

 “It can be,” he said, “but sometimes, it can be deeply rewarding. Want to see?” 

 When he raised an eyebrow at her, Rowan showed him her best impression of Break’s worst villains, plastering an evil grin in place while she rubbed her hands in front of her face. 

 “Show me,” she said. 

 As she’d hoped, Asher chortled, almost losing his balance from the force of it, and after this, he was more open about what his people were working on. They spent another couple of hours wandering around the gigantic dome before leaving. The rest of her three weeks here, Rowan would arrive well before lunch and stay until near dinner, but with her family’s sending-off this morning, today’s visit had been necessarily shortened. 

 Asher personally escorted her to her car, through his family’s fantastic home and out the other side. Her driver stood ready to open her car’s door for her as soon as she was ready, so turning to Asher, Rowan tucked her hair behind her ears. 

 “Well,” she said. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t think this arrangement will be nearly as bad as I thought it would be.” 

 Grinning, Asher said, “Definitely not. This has, in fact, been one of my more pleasant afternoons this month. Thank you for it.” 

 He bowed the tiniest bit, which was strange to see from another noble. 

 “So, I’ll have the pleasure of your company tomorrow?” he said. “Perhaps there won’t be as much tension between us, now that we’ve cleared the air.” 

 “I’ll be here. That is the agreement our parents made, after all,” Rowan said. “Have a good night, Asher!” 

 She didn’t know if he rose from his bow behind her, booking it toward a source of escape, but once she was in her car, she rolled down a tinted window to wriggle her fingers at Asher, who returned the gesture with a hesitant wave. Then, they were pulling away. 

 Exhausted, Rowan slumped in her seat. She’d made it through the day without causing another disaster. 

 “Yay, me,” she said to no one. 

 Leaning against the car door, she watched as trees and eventually, Xygek passed them by, on her way back to the people who loved her unconditionally.

Chapter 6: An Invitation Foolishly Offered
After only a few weeks together, Asher didn’t seem to care whether Rowan learned about his family’s secrets anymore. He was excitedly rambling about improvements to their wristcoms that would let a holograph of the person on the other end of a connection hover above it before moving into possible methods of weather management, and Rowan tried to keep up with an indulgent grin. 

 She’d decided that she liked him. He was enormously passionate about his work, a depth of enthusiasm that still surprised her at times, and more down to earth and most importantly, kind than any other noble brat she’d met. 

 Honestly, those few things were enough to make her enjoy anyone’s company. 

 He seemed a little sad today, though, drooping around the edges, and Rowan wondered if it was for the same reason she was. As the day ended, he became almost lethargic, trudging when he walked while his speech slowed down. When he escorted Rowan to her car, he almost looked like a puppy, about to get scolded. 

 Outside of the front door to his family’s house, Asher turned to her, taking a deep breath. 

 “Well. I-” 

 “Would you like to come to dinner tonight?” Rowan blurted. 

 She’d been contemplating asking him this for a few days now, merely working up the nerve to say it. Once they were done today, her obligation to House Cerullis would be fulfilled, and Rowan didn’t want to let go of what had been kindling between her and Asher. She wanted to keep what was quickly becoming a friendship, so she had to find a means for them to spend time together. This dinner could serve as a temporary one, if he accepted. Tonight, she could forge one that was more permanent. 

 “I-” 

 A brief flicker of panic on Asher’s face morphed into a pleased expression. 

 “I would like that,” he said. “When should I arrive?” 

 “Sometime between six and seven should be fine,” Rowan said. 

 “In that case, I’ll look forward to seeing you then.” 

 With a smile, Asher reached for her hand, giving it a quick squeeze before heading inside. Rubbing where he’d touched her, Rowan stalked to her car, curious about why he hadn’t hovered until she was out of sight, like he had until tonight. Making a face, she finished scrubbing at her skin and ducked into the car. 

 Back home, she coordinated with the attendants who were setting up for tonight, helping them with desk and storecase placement. All the while, she went through the messages she’d received from the members of her family at the Summit. 

 She almost fell asleep while reading Logan’s. He had the driest way of writing, one that made Rowan think he was a robot, and the subject matter he usually chose to share didn’t help with that impression. 

 Still, he seemed happy, based on how much he gushed over the cost of some of the Houses’ events. Also, his typical messages to Rowan weren’t this long. 

 Among other things in her message, her mom mentioned that she was proud of how Rowan had handled the Cerullis situation, which had her glowing inside, and with what Paisley had written, she could tell her sister had done her best to make Rowan feel as if she were actually at the Summit. She’d even received a message from Anthony, although it got a bit garbled toward the end. Hopefully, that was Jessica’s fault and not because of something horrific happening to her brother. She didn’t have anything from Henry, but he’d always communicated through John when he was away, so she wasn’t surprised by that. 

 Reading their messages made her wish she was with them. They’d only been gone for a few weeks, but Rowan sorely missed her family. Even when they were home and busy, she at least had the security of knowing they were nearby. She didn’t like missing out on that. 

 Once everything involved with her part of tonight’s dinner was set up, Rowan puttered about the house for a while. While doing so, she secretly hoped she’d run into her Aunt Hailey, who’d recently arrived from Shoya Dren. Those two had yet to say more than first hellos, and she hadn’t seen her aunt in ages. Hailey’s family was still unhappy with House Kolb for stealing Bay from them. 

 Her hope wasn’t to be, though. Dinner time rolled around, and Rowan ran to her room for a change in clothes. 

 Mia and Thomas arrived soon afterward, and as they were announced, panic briefly visited Rowan when she remembered that she hadn’t told Asher her friends would be here. Hopefully, he wouldn’t be too off-put by two corp children’s presences tonight, although… getting Rowan’s friends to be comfortable around him might be the hard part, but before she could think about that too hard, her friends stepped through the door. 

 She could never decide what to think of Thomas and Mia in formal wear. To her, they were jeans and t-shirts, baked skin and scraped knees, but when they showed up to her home in dresses and ties, Rowan couldn’t help but enjoy the sight of them, two people who were pleasing to the eye, wearing outfits that were made to suit their bodies. 

 “Hey, guys!” she called. 

 She ran to them with her arms spread, and they answered with hugs of their own while Thomas pounded Rowan’s back. 

 “Hell, you’d think you three never saw one another.” 

 Pulling her head free of the embrace, Rowan stuck her tongue out at John. Her brother was leaning his shoulder against a wall with his arms crossed as he grinned at her, and she couldn’t help a silent cry of thanks to see him more like himself instead of the mopey lump he’d been for the last few weeks. Behind him, Bay and Aunt Hailey glided into view, deep in discussion like they were every time she visited. 

 “You just wish you had friends, John,” Rowan called. 

 Thomas wiggled free of their tangle, placing his hands on his hips with a pout on his lips. 

 “I’d say we’re more than friends,” he said. 

 He would? 

 “Really?” Rowan said. “How would you define us, then?” 

 With his hands slipping off of their perches, Thomas spluttered, and Rowan watched his reaction with curiosity. Why was he getting so flustered? 

 “Rowan, love, why don’t you introduce your friends to your aunt?” Bay said with a chuckle. “I don’t think she’s met them.” 

 Right. That would be polite, wouldn’t it? 

 Grabbing her friends’ arms, Rowan dragged them toward Hailey, hauling them in front of her when she stopped. 

 “It’s good to see you Aunt Hailey,” she said. “May I present to you Mia and Thomas Shalen, my two best friends in the world.” 

 Stepping forward, Hailey squeezed both of their hands, refraining from kissing their cheeks out of respect for their ‘delicate Atharian sensibilities’. 

 “I’m pleased to meet you,” she said in her breathy accent. “I don’t believe I’ve heard of House Shalen before.” 

 “Oh. Um.” 

 Rowan scratched her chin while wondering how to put this. Since Hailey wasn’t around… ever, she didn’t know her aunt’s stance on corps. 

 “That’s because it doesn’t exist,” John said from against the wall. 

 Great… thanks for that, brother. 

 Drawing her eyebrows together, Hailey said, “But…” 

 “Shalen Corp, sis,” Bay gently said. 

 Hailey’s eyes widened while her lips parted, and all the while, Thomas and Mia shuffled in place, looking anywhere but at the nobles in their midst. Rowan kept an eye on Thomas in particular. She knew he wanted to protest how John had used his connection to something he hated as his defining characteristic, but fortunately, her friend remembered his manners, keeping his lips sealed. 

 “Oh!” Hailey said. “Well, I’m doubly pleased to meet you, then. I’ve always thought the Atharian nobles’ insistence on mingling only with themselves was a bit ridiculous. If any of you travel elsewhere, you’ll find that nobles and those unassociated with a House mix company quite frequently. Good on the three of you for flouting the norm here.” 

 Ho.ly. shit. Rowan might just turn Shoya Drenish herself, tackling Hailey so she could nuzzle her to death, but somehow, she restrained herself. 

 Turning to Rowan, Mia said, “I like her.” 

 Her words only seemed to prompt the same sentiment in Hailey, as she burst into laughter with snorts sprinkled into it. Pressing a hand to her mouth, she turned aside, waving at their concerned expressions, and Bay puffed out a small sigh. 

 “If we’re all gathered, we should move into the dining room,” she said. “From what I understand, Eugene has finished dinner, and we should enjoy it while it’s hot.” 

 Shit. Rowan had forgotten to mention Asher to her mom. 

 “Actually…” 

 Already on their way deeper into the manse, Rowan’s family and friends glanced back at her, and she flushed. 

 “Actually, I invited someone else to join us tonight,” she said. “I hope that’s ok.” 

 Arching an eyebrow, her mom said, “Really? That’s unusual for you. Who is it?” 

 Before Rowan could answer, an attendant slipped through the front door as if summoned, scurrying to whisper in Bay’s ear, and Rowan’s mom turned a confused smile on her. 

 “Are you sure?” she asked. 

 “Yes,” Rowan said. “Please, mom.” 

 Please, let this member of a rival noble family inside the house. Please, let her have this friend. 

 “All right,” Bay said. “Send him in.” 

 Oh, hell. She wasn’t giving Rowan a chance to warn Mia or Thomas about what was coming? Rowan knew her mom liked her small mischiefs, it being her way of paying tribute to her homeland, but this seemed excessive, although…. maybe Bay thought she’d already told them about this. 

 Rowan’s friends were staring at her, almost aggressively, and she shrunk on herself as the attendant stopped by the foyer’s door, opening it. 

 “Lord Asher Cerullis,” she announced. 

 And he stepped over the threshold in his typical, flamboyant fashion, effectively shutting everyone in the room up.

Chapter 7: So, This Is Awkward
Beside Rowan, Thomas’ breath caught, although she didn’t know if that was from surprise or anger. He’d gone stiff, fixing his bright eyes on Asher, but the Cerullis heir had equally become a statue, flicking his eyes over all of them but continually returning to Rowan and Thomas. 

 Avan, Rowan didn’t know where he kept finding these suits, so far from a noble’s traditional black jacket and slacks, but the crimson one he was wearing tonight with a black waistcoat and white shirt beneath pleasantly complemented his natural hues. 

 “Rowan… is this the guy who’s been eating up your free time for the last three weeks?” Mia asked. 

 “Mia,” Rowan hissed through the teeth of her grin. 

 She wasn’t sure how she resisted the urge to smack her friend upside the head. Fortunately, her mom decided to relieve her torment at that moment, striding forward. 

 “Lord Cerullis, you’ll have to forgive us,” she said. “My daughter neglected to mention that you’d be joining us tonight. It must have slipped from her mind while making preparations.” 

 “It did!” Rowan said, jumping in. “I’m so sorry, Asher. Coordination like this isn’t my strong suit.” 

 Bay paused in extending a welcoming hand toward Asher, narrowing her eyes at Rowan, while someone behind her poorly contained laughter before retreating. She made a note to turn John’s life into a living hell for the next few days. 

 But then, her mom returned to what she’d been doing, clasping the hand of a rival House’s heir. 

 “Asher?” Mia hissed at Rowan in much the same way she’d done earlier. 

 Rowan shrugged, watching Bay cup Asher’s elbow to guide him inside. 

 As she did, Rowan noticed that Thomas had yet to relax with his face frozen and lips parted. Worried that she’d killed him with shock, she nudged him, and sucking in a breath, he shook himself. 

 “The  hell, Rowan?” he breathed. “Why’d you invite him here?” 

 That had sounded angry. Did Thomas have a problem with Asher that Rowan didn’t know about? Besides the obvious one, of course. 

 Hell. The obvious problem. What had she been thinking, bringing a member of House Cerullis near Thomas Shalen? That boy had been carrying an aggressive grudge against Cerullis since… since the family’s famous fire. 

 Rowan didn’t have time to answer any questions, whether his or hers, as Bay drew closer, forcing her into making greetings and introductions. When she stopped, releasing Asher, her mom watched her expectantly, and predictably, Rowan’s mind dumped everything that could be useful out of her memory. 

 “Hi. Um-” 

 Great. Really fucking eloquent. 

 “As I said, I’m sorry about-” Rowan started. 

 “Goodness, you certainly like apologizing, don’t you?” Asher said with a soft smile. “It’s fine, Rowan. Who are these lovely individuals at your side? Friends? Family?” 

 At her name on his tongue, everyone rocketed their eyes to Rowan, including Aunt Hailey, although she seemed more intrigued than shocked. Ignoring them, Rowan rested a hand on Mia’s shoulder, containing a grimace. She’d rather not introduce the noble versus corp drama yet so… 

 Why not avoid it for now? 

 “They’re friends,” she said. “This is Mia.” 

 Asher raised an eyebrow at Rowan’s failure to provide a family name, but he didn’t protest it. 

 “A pleasure,” he said, bowing to Mia. “Rowan has mentioned you many times over the last few weeks. From what she’s said, you’re an excellent friend, which is good. She deserves nothing less in her life.” 

 Oh, well played. The frigid air around Mia melted, and she returned Asher’s bow with a dazzling smile. 

 “She hasn’t been able to shut up about you either, so kudos,” she said. “Not many nobles get past her typical disdain of them.” 

 There was a small frown at that, but Asher didn’t voice his concern. 

 “Good to know she’s enjoyed my company,” he said before facing Rowan. “And the gentleman beside you?” 

 Gulping at how much Thomas had bristled, Rowan briefly touched his shoulder. 

 “Thomas,” she said, unsure how much more she should provide. 

 Once their eyes met, both boys refused to move for the longest moment, one that stretched until Rowan didn’t think she could take it anymore, but the thick air around them loosened when Asher offered Thomas his hand. 

 “It’s nice to meet you,” he said. 

 It was like he’d somehow plucked the best way to greet her friend from thin air. Thomas had always hated the stuffy bows and flowery greeting associated with nobles, so the simplicity of Asher’s greeting had been perfect, but even still, when Thomas took his hand, shaking it once, his smile had bite. 

 “Same,” he stiffly said. 

 Dropping his hand to his side, he flexed his fingers as if shrugging off Asher’s touch. Aunt Hailey watched this exchange with the most merriment possible in her eyes, but once she’d had enough, she clapped her hands together. 

 “You’ll have to forgive me, Lord Cerullis,” she said. “I’d love to greet you more formally, but I’m starving. Shall we head to the dining room?” 

 “Lady Chinook, your sensible attitude is a delight,” Asher said. “I skipped lunch, so I’m as eager as you to taste our fare for the evening.” 

 “Oo…” Hailey said, looking him up and down. “You’re good at this.” 

 With a small smile, Asher said, “Thank you. I’ve had a lot of practice.” 

 Mom snatched her sister’s arm, gesturing everyone along, before whisking her ahead of them, but she didn’t create enough distance before hissing at Aunt Hailey. 

 “You cannot seduce the heir of a rival House.” 

 “Oh, don’t worry, Bay. I doubt I could,” Hailey said, glancing back at the others. “I don’t think I’m his type.” 

 And she’d sounded so amused by that. Rowan’s face was burning, but Asher only watched the older women leaving them in their dust with curiosity. 

 “Is your family always this much fun?” he asked. 

 “When we’re around people we’re comfortable with,” Rowan said. “Go on ahead with them. I need to check on something, but I’ll follow you shortly.” 

 “All right,” Asher said. “Don’t leave me at their mercy for long, please.” 

 “I’d never.” 

 When Rowan turned to her friends, Thomas had his eyes pinned on Asher’s retreating back, chewing on his lip, while Mia was glaring at her with fire in those typically ice-blue eyes. 

 “I’m sorry,” Rowan said, lifting her hands to either side. “I like him, ok? He’s nice and has a lot of weird, interesting quirks.” 

 That drew Thomas’ attention to her. 

 “You like him?” he asked. 

 Frowning, Rowan said, “Yes. Can we go, please? I am sorry for inviting Asher without asking you two about it first, but if we stay here for much longer, we might cause an incident.” 

 Heaving a sigh, Mia nodded before turning to her brother. 

 “Food, Thomas,” she said. “You know how good the Kolb’s cook is at his craft.” 

 Grumbling to himself, Thomas shoved his hands in his pockets, tucking his chin to his chest as he hurried after the others. Rolling her eyes, Mia went with him, and once they’d gotten a few paces ahead of her, Rowan marched toward the exit from the foyer, reaching around it to pinch John’s collar. 

 Jerking him to her, she growled, “I just finished making nice with Cerullis. Don’t ruin it because you can’t control yourself.” 

 “I know, I know. I’m sorry,” John said. “Avan, when you get like this, I remember why you were always the darling of our combat instructors.” 

 Rowan got in his face. 

 “This darling will kick your ass if you wreck tonight for me,” she said. “Got it?” 

 John rapidly nodded, and releasing him, Rowan pecked his cheek. 

 “Thank you, big brother.” 

 “Any time, itty bitty-” 

 “I swear to avan, I might kick your ass now if you finish that thought.” 

 He laughed, of course, but Rowan couldn’t stop him from doing that. 

 The dining room table was laid out in typical fashion with formal place settings in front of its chairs. A chandelier provided the room with light, although it wasn’t bright enough to banish the shadows in the corners. 

 Everyone strolled to stand behind their chosen, high-backed chair, and the majority looked to Bay. As the wife of the head of House Kolb, she held the highest rank while under this roof and so, led the proceedings. 

 When she signaled, attendants appeared as if by magic, bearing their first course of the evening, and in tandem, they placed bowls and glasses in front of each chair, careful not to touch the people waiting behind them. Once that was done, mom pulled out her chair, and after they’d all sat down, she took a bite of a cream-based soup, washing it down with a sip of wine. None of the rest moved, simply waiting for her pronouncement. 

 “Excellent,” she said. “Let us share in the bounty before us and enjoy one another’s company.” 

 As expected, Rowan joined the others in saying. 

 “Gratitude to the provider.” 

 But then, those around the table relaxed, and Rowan hungrily dove for what turned out to be a squash soup, which was heavenly as usual. Finding Eugene, their cook, had been one of the better staff acquisitions her parents had made. 

 Conversation started out slow but quickly gained traction. Rowan didn’t pay it much mind, even given that three of the people here were her guests. When it came to food, she’d always been a bit focused. 

 She did catch the heat that ignited every time Asher addressed Thomas, thanking her lucky stars when John stepped in before it could turn into a full-on argument. Her brother kept shooting glances Rowan’s way, but she didn’t know how to help with that. She was only just now coming to realize how much of a mistake she’d made in bringing someone from the Cerullis and Shalen families together in such an abrupt manner. 

 She perked up when Asher started talking about one of his projects, shocked that he’d discuss it with her family. 

 “-it be nice to control when it rained or keep severe weather away from a populated area?” he was saying. “With such fine-tuning, farming would be so much easier, and think of the lives we could save!” 

 Oh, no. He was waxing passionate. Avan help her family if he went off on one of his rambling lectures. Rowan might enjoy them, but she doubted they would. 

 “Yes, Asher’s told me all about his weather manipulation project. It’s quite brilliant!” she said. “Hardly the best of them, though.” 

 Everyone at the table looked at her as if they’d forgotten she existed, and despite how much she wanted to both sink below the table and scream at the top of her lungs, she merely smiled, waiting for the group’s attention to inevitably shift away from her. 

 “What other projects can you tell us about?” John asked. 

 And there it was. Rowan was left out. Again. 

 Not that she was fostering her ability to be included, bending over her bacon-wrapped steak so she could suck it into her mouth as she was. She was aware of this, but that made it sting no less. 

 As they finished off dessert, her mom leaned back in her chair. 

 “Well. It was certainly nice of you to join us this evening, Lord Cerullis,” she said. “I hope you’ve enjoyed yourself.” 

 “I have! Your household and company have been exceedingly pleasant, Lady Kolb,” Asher said. “And please. Call me Asher, everyone. It’ll make conversations go so much easier.” 

 With a faintly twitching smile, Bay said, “Very well, Asher. How long do you think you’ll be staying with us this evening? You’re welcome here for as long as you like, of course. I’d simply like to know if I should have arrangements made for you.” 

 “Oh, I wouldn’t want to impose.” 

 Standing, Asher buttoned up his jacket. 

 “I’ll say my farewells and-” 

 “Please, stay!” 

 Rowan didn’t realize she’d spoken that cry out loud until she registered that she was standing with her fingers pressing into the tabletop. Again, everyone was staring at her, but while her family looked blank, Mia and her brother were giving Rowan very different expressions. Thomas looked incredulous while Mia was practically begging Rowan to stop. Asher, on the other hand, was giving her that recognizably curious look he sometimes got, cocking his head with his eyes narrowed, and that spot of familiarity helped Rowan with regaining her lost voice. 

 “I mean… I had some entertainment planned for tonight,” she said. “I was hoping you’d join me and my friends for it.” 

 And there was that uncertain twitch of the lips she’d come to know, although Rowan wasn’t sure why Asher’s eyes briefly darted to Thomas. Maybe he was worried the other boy would attack him if he stuck around for too long. 

 “I’d… be delighted, Rowan,” he said before turning to Bay. “If the Lady Kolb is amenable, of course.” 

 “Why wouldn’t I be?” Bay said. “My daughter has hardly ever shown an interest in building relations with other Houses.” 

 That had Asher’s amber skin darkening, which Rowan found confusing, and Thomas made the faintest of strangled noises, which mystified her even more. When Aunt Hailey started cackling like a witch, Rowan decided she’d missed something again. In the past, pretending that she knew what was going on had always been best when this happened, so she grinned. 

 “Does that mean you’ll stay?” she asked. 

 Glancing over the table, Asher said, “I believe I may have backed myself into it.” 

 “Yes!” Rowan shouted, jumping as she threw a fist overhead. “We’re going to have so much fun. Come on, come on, come on!” 

 She tugged on Mia and Thomas until they got to their feet before stopping short. 

 “May we be excused, mom?” she asked. 

 Rolling her eyes, Bay said, “Yes, Rowan. Begone with you.” 

 As she flapped a hand, Rowan pulled her friends toward the door, beckoning to Asher once she’d shoved them through it. On reaching her, he cautiously edged around her to get into the hall, which she ruined by blazing past him to lead the way. 

 Behind them, John said, “If they’re about to do what I think they’re about to do, you might want to have another room prepared, mo-” 

 But then, the door closed, cutting him off, and Rowan was pulling and prodding her three guests through the house.

Chapter 8: An Addition to the Group
They careened into their destination, and when Rowan stopped short, the others teetered into a near fall, but she didn’t care about that. With her hands pressed together in front of her lips, she observed the room and silently declared it perfect, making a note to profusely thank the attendants who’d finished its set up. 

 Four desks had been dragged to mirror each other in the middle of the room with comfortable rolling chairs in front of them. A storecase setup was arranged on each of them, and at the end of this arrangement, an ornate table capped two of the desks with all manner of junk food and energy drink spread across it. After the meal they’d had, Rowan knew no one would indulge in that wondrous collection now, but it was glorious nonetheless. Meanwhile, a pile of pillows and blankets filled one corner of the room, there if they needed it, and Rowan let herself relax on noting Aurora, her sleeping buddy, among them. 

 Most important, however, were the silky nightclothes draped over the back of each chair. Each had something embroidered on the shirt’s breast pocket: a hammer ablaze with light for Thomas, a staff laid over herbs for Mia, and two crossed swords for her. Rowan hadn’t been sure what character Asher might roll tonight so she’d had his outfit emblazoned with a telescope and beakers. With colors that were vividly potent when compared to the other sets’ bland gray, it was also the only set of nightclothes sporting a tastefully striped pattern. 

 “Rowan,” Thomas groaned. 

 He glided into the room, picking at an embroidered hammer. 

 “This is  perfect.” 

 Hugging Rowan from the side, Mia whispered in her ear, “You’re perfect.” 

 Striding to snatch her nightclothes off of the chair beside Rowan’s, she stalked into an attached washroom while Thomas held his outfit up for examination, giddily grinning. 

 “Can someone explain what this is?” Asher asked. 

 Looking at him, abso-fucking-lutely lost and nervous as all hell, Rowan made her decision. On her tiptoes, she hooked her elbow around his neck, dragging him down to her level, before spreading a hand over the room. 

 “This, Asher Cerullis, is the best night you’ve had in a while and for a long time to come.” 

 Thomas, standing with his suit’s jacket flung across the room and his shirt both unbuttoned and halfway off, froze in place as if remembering that they had a new person here. Rowan didn’t know why he’d stopped undressing. It wasn’t like he had anything to be ashamed of when it came to his body, but still, she dragged Asher aside, angling them away from her friend. 

 “This is a tradition my friends and I have held every year during the Summit. While that’s happening, I get lonely without my friends around so…” 

 Pausing, Rowan glanced back to make sure Thomas was getting ready, like he’d been doing before, and was surprised to find him hunched over and hurriedly changing. He really didn’t want the other boy to see any of his exposed skin, did he? 

 “As part of that, I’d like to run an experiment tonight, one that involves you,” she continued under her breath. “If you participate in it, you’ll have to follow my lead for the rest of the evening, but I guarantee that you’ll have fun. Are you in?” 

 Licking his lips, Asher started turning his head to look over his shoulder before stopping himself. 

 “I- Sure,” he said. “May I stand up, please, or is that part of the experiment?” 

 “Oh, duh,” Rowan said, smacking her forehead. “Of course. Sorry.” 

 When she released him, Asher rolled his head in a circle, massaging his neck. 

 “So, what do I do first?” he asked. 

 “Easy.” 

 Spinning, Rowan grabbed his uniform for tonight before handing it off. 

 “Put that on once Mia’s out of the washroom, and I’ll get you set up.” 

 Avan, she’d never seen someone so perplexed and intrigued before. 

 “Ok?” Asher said.  

 Patting his shoulder, Rowan turned to his setup, powering it on. As she launched Nedrya’s Breaking, starting the process of creating an account for him, she noted Asher trading places with Mia and hurried up so she could change before he was finished. 

 Asher came out of the washroom with his hair wet—had he taken a shower?—when Rowan was in the middle of pulling her silky shirt over her breasts, and again, his face darkened, sending him scrambling to maintain his balance. As he darted his gaze over the room, noting Thomas and Mia still in it, he… didn’t get outraged, like most would. He simply had a small frown in place that seemed more confused than anything. 

 Not that he or anyone else had anything to worry about when it came to propriety between Rowan, Thomas, and Mia. The three of them had been friends for long enough that exposing their bodies to one another like this wasn’t a thing anymore. 

 Rowan waved for Asher to sit beside Thomas while he and Mia logged on. After following her instructions, Asher looked over the screen in front of him, quietly speaking the title splashed across it out loud. 

 “Break, is it? I’ve heard of this,” he said. “When it came out, it looked interesting, but I’ve never had the time to try it. You play?” He glanced up at Rowan, and she raised her eyebrow, all ‘what do you think?’ like. 

 “I’ve been a Breaker since the game launched,” she said. 

 Huffing, Asher said, “Wow. I’m impressed. I didn’t take you for the gamer type.” 

 “I live to surprise,” Rowan said before leaning over him to take control of his mouse. “Let’s create your character, slowpoke.” 

 Beside her, Thomas’ clicking slowed down, and finally, Rowan thought she got it. Was he jealous? He couldn’t think anyone could take his or Mia’s place, so why would he be? 

 Jealousy, however, would explain his behavior tonight, beyond the hostility Rowan had expected from him at least. It would explain some of Mia’s too, now that she thought about it. 

 Sometime when Asher wasn’t in the room, she should reassure her friends of their place in her life, just in case she was right. Which she probably wasn’t. 

 But whatever. 

 Rowan helped Asher navigate through menus until they got to the first real choice he could make. 

 “Race?” he said, wrinkling his nose. “Like…what? Not human?” 

 “Yes, Asher. You can be an Ancient in this game, if you want,” Rowan said in the most solemn of tones. 

 When he snapped a glare at her, she breathed a sigh of relief. With every second she’d spent draped over him, he’d been getting progressively stiffer, but this seemed more like the Asher she’d come to know, albeit only during the times she’d annoyed the shit out of him. 

 She lightly punched his shoulder. 

 “No Ancients,” she said, “but you could be a dwarf outcast or a gremlin or a Dullahan, if you like. I’ve already eliminated the races that are exclusive to the faction that Mia, Thomas, and I aren’t part of, so have at it. Choose your race and make your character look as pretty as you want. Then, we’ll move on to class.” 

 Backing off, Rowan watched as Asher hesitantly poked about the menu, smiling when he leaned toward the screen. In the end, he picked a dark elf, slender in build, with a black miasma floating around him. 

 Bending over him again, Rowan laughed when Asher’s eyes bugged out on seeing his class choices. 

 “How the fuck am I supposed to pick one of these?” he said. 

 Considering he’d never cursed around her before, Rowan started laughing harder, briefly collapsing on him. Gradually, she clawed herself upright, patting his shoulder. 

 “How do you want to play?” she asked. “Maybe I can help you narrow down your choices.” 

 “I don’t know!” Asher said in a tight voice. “I don’t play games like this, Rowan! Ever!” 

 And that made her heart pang. 

 “Oh, you poor thing,” Rowan said, ruffling his hair. “Ok. Close your eyes.” 

 As Asher took a deep breath, his shoulders settled under her hands. 

 “Next?” he said. 

 “Imagine that our world doesn’t exist,” Rowan said. “All of your attachments here, good or bad, are gone. You have a chance to remake yourself with no one knowing who you were before. How would you do it?” 

 There was a moment of quiet, one that was only interrupted by mouse clicking and pressed buttons, and on catching sight of his venomous glare at her, Rowan play-snarled at Thomas. 

 “If I had no one watching me… judging me… I would devote myself wholeheartedly to science,” Asher said. “I wouldn’t worry about whether my experiments conformed to the nobility’s sensibilities, only whether they benefited humanity. And… and…” 

 When he fell silent, Rowan poked his side. Hard. 

 As he winced, she said, “And?” 

 “And… that part’s not important,” Asher said. “I can see why so many people like this game. The idea that I could be someone else is intoxicating.” 

 “Exactly.” 

 After changing a few more options, Rowan patted Asher’s back. 

 “Ok. Open your eyes,” she said. 

 When he did, Asher relaxed in his chair. 

 “That’s much more manageable,” he said. “Thank you.” 

 “No problem,” Rowan said. “Pick a class, choose a name, and let me know what it is. I’ll invite you to our guild, and we’ll get you through the starting area as quickly as possible.” 

 He grunted, and chuckling, Rowan circled to her chair. In a private chat with Mia, she wrote, Hooked? When she got the message, Mia’s eyebrows shot for her hairline before she nodded at Rowan, and her returning smirk may or may not have been triumphant. 

 Asher eventually shared his username with her, and after the hour needed to get him into Nedrya proper, his character was standing in their guild hall, surrounded by its players. 

 “Who’s this, then?” Brassassin asked, ever willing to break the first awkward social wall. 

 “This is DefiantEnigma, a friend,” Rowan said. “He’s a newcomer to Nedrya, so everyone, play nice.” 

 A chorus of welcoming greetings rang along the connection, and over the top of their screens, Asher shot Rowan a panicked glance. She smiled encouragingly, waving for him to answer them. 

 “Hello,” he reluctantly said. “Glad to meet you all. I hope you can forgive any social gaffs I might make. I’ve never done… this.” 

 “That’s ok. Everyone’s been new to the game at least once,” said HauntedFox, their ranger. 

 Rowan was a bit surprised to see her here. Katy Drav was an inordinately busy woman, only online once or twice a week. 

 At the same time, GothicFlash said, “Aw! How cute!” 

 “Flash, leave the newbie alone,” Rerunner said. 

 ‘Newbie?’ Asher mouthed at Rowan. 

 Rowan shook her head. 

 “Anyone want to help run Nigma through a few dungeons?” she asked. “Get him leveled up real fast?” 

 “What class did he chose?” Commandroid, their artificer, said. 

 Before Rowan could scold him about ignoring Asher, he clicked his tongue. 

 “Sorry. Nigma, what’s your class?” 

 “Um.” 

 For a moment, only key tapping filled the guilds’ connection. 

 Then, Asher said, “I’m a… necromancer.” 

 Despite people’s best intentions, groans rose all around, and even Rowan grimaced. 

 “What?” Asher said with a note of panic in his voice. “What is it?” 

 “Nothing. It’s not important!” Rowan said. “Right, guys?” Her guildmates mumbled varied agreements, which seemed to calm Asher down. 

 “People who play necromancers can be a pain to work with sometimes, is all-” she started. 

 “Meaning they’re usually dark assholes, trying to look cool,” Thomas interrupted. 

 Shooting to her feet, Rowan reached over their screens to smack her friend’s head. 

 “But Nigma’s not like that,” she said. “Besides, why is it a bad thing to be dark or try to look cool? It’s not any worse than paladins with their stuffy smugness.” 

 Bursting into laughter, Mia rocked in her chair. 

 “Holy shit, Nigma. You picked a class that’s the complete opposite of Gramps!” she gasped. “Guys! Guys. They’re sitting next to each other right now!” 

 As a riot of giggles and snorts sounded over the connection, Asher looked at Rowan, but she had no intention of fixing this mess. When she poked at Thomas for an explanation, though, he kept his eyes resolutely fixed on his screen, and Rowan sighed. 

 “That’s his in-game name. Grampaladin,” she said. “He’s the grumpy-looking, old man, standing in the corner with a hammer.” 

 “Oh, it’s a pun.” Asher said, squinting at his screen. “That’s wicked clever.” 

 Straightening, Thomas turned carefully neutral eyes on the newcomer while Rowan sat down. 

 “You think so?” he asked. 

 “Sure,” Asher said, still locked onto his screen. “I’ve always loved a play on words.” 

 Something shifted on Thomas’ face, and Rowan let herself believe that this might work. 

 “Thanks,” he said. “I guess I’ll tank you through your first few levels.” 

 “…Tank?” Asher said. 

 Shaking his head, Thomas said, “You have so much to learn.” 

 “I’m assuming Willow’s going to heal since Toad’s not here,” Commandroid said. 

 “Yeah, I think so,” Mia said. “You lot know I’ll do any sort of favor for Fable.” 

 While the guild groaned, Rowan play swiped at Mia, which she rolled away from with her tongue stuck out. 

 “Nigma and I will be damage, obviously,” Rowan said. “Anyone else want to volunteer? Make this go faster?” 

 “If you make it go by too quickly, Fable, he’ll learn his class or the game,” Brassassin said. 

 “I know-” Rowan started. 

 “I wouldn’t worry about that,” Asher said. “I’m a quick study.” 

 What was it with boys and interrupting her tonight? 

 “If you want to risk reaching high level without knowing what you’re doing, far be it from me to stop you,” Brassassin said. “Fable, let me know if you need someone to rescue you, but I have other plans tonight.” 

 “Yeah, yeah. Have fun ganking poor, innocent Wilders in their starting zone,” Rowan said. 

 “Hey! The Wilder Union invaded our territory last season,” Brassassin said. “Anyone who joins them is an accomplice to that crime and can deal with the consequences.” 

 Rowan rolled her eyes while Mia snickered into a hand beside her. In their guild, Brassassin was the most invested when it came to the role-playing side of Nedrya’s Breaking. 

 “And the Clockwork Convention thanks you for your service,” Rerunner solemnly said. “If anyone in the guild has an issue, we’ll message you.” 

 “Thank you,” Brassassin said. “That’s all I wanted.” 

 And his character vanished. Meanwhile, Mia was busy typing a private message, probably explaining Nedrya’s two factions to Asher so Rowan wouldn’t have to. 

 “I’ll run dungeons with you,” HauntedFox said. “Toad just messaged me, canceling our date. They won’t be online tonight.” 

 “That sucks,” Rowan said. 

 “Eh. It’s ok,” HauntedFox said. “I’ll see them in a couple of days.” 

 “Still. Thank you for taking the time to help me,” Asher said. “You could be doing other things. I appreciate you spending the evening with me and my… with us instead.” 

 Holy shit, he’d almost said it. This did not excite Rowan. Not at all. 

 “No problem, Nigma,” HauntedFox said. “Like I said, we’ve all been newbies at one point or another.” 

 “All right,” Thomas growled. “If we’re quite done with talking, can we play, please?” 

 “Sure, grumpy Gramps,” Mia said. 

 Reaching for the snacks, Thomas chucked a chip at his sister before sending out group invites. 

 They ran mid-level dungeons for a couple of hours with the high-level players keeping Asher’s character from getting one-shot after he tagged each mob. He advanced through levels until he reached twenty-five, halfway to the top, but then, HauntedFox called for a washroom break. While she was busy, the four in the group who were in Athari descended on their provided snacks like ravenous wolves. 

 “So?” Rowan asked with her mouth full of gummies. “What do you think?” 

 “I think…” 

 Trailing off, Asher took a sip of his beer, which was something Rowan had thought she’d never see. He seemed like more of a top-shelf guy. 

 “I think you were right,” he continued. “This is the best night I’ve had in a while. Thank you.” 

 Laughing, Rowan threw her arm around him, squeezing him from the side, but she quickly let go when he stiffened. 

 “Glad you’re enjoying yourself,” she said. “I’ve liked having you with us.” 

 “Surprisingly, me too,” Mia chipped in. “You’re not too bad for a noble brat.” 

 Rowan thought for sure that Asher would make a comment about that, but he seemed content to ignore it. Maybe he’d figured out Mia and Thomas were untitled at some point over the evening. 

 Thomas stayed notably silent, intent on choosing what to drink, but he was genuinely smiling for the first time tonight, and Rowan thought Asher noticed this from the way he was looking at her friend. There was something incredibly pleased on his face. 

 “It seems tonight’s experiment was a success,” he said. 

 Wait, what? He’d known what Rowan had been trying to do with this? 

 “Experiment?!” 

 Snapping his head up, Asher frowned at Thomas, but before he could say anything the other boy barreled on. 

 “Did you seriously just call us an experiment?” 

 Avan damnit. As soon as Thomas had spoken up, Rowan had known the night was about to fall apart. She’d known it would probably run into this exact problem for a while now but had been hoping that they’d somehow avoid it. 

 Because much as she might wish it were otherwise and might like to shove knowledge of it out of her might, there was one huge obstacle standing between any friendship between the Shalen children and Asher Cerullis. 

 “We’re not catalysts or reagents for you to play with,” Thomas growled. “Here I was, thinking you might not be an asshole like your dad, but there you go, proving me wrong. I wonder if you have a body count as high as ‘the great innovator: Lord Max Cerullis’. How many people died during the fire he caused, huh? A few dozen? A hundred? And here you are, talking exactly like that murderer.” 

 The fire. Something Rowan avoided thinking about as much as possible. It had been one of the biggest scandals to hit Athari in the last fifteen years because during it, Thomas and Mia’s mother, who’d also been the CFO for Shalen Corp, had died while trying to get off of the Cerullis’ property. 

 Asher had gone pale, leaving his black hair stark without its usual background to soften it, and Rowan got ready to keep him on his feet if she needed to, but he only blinked a few times before licking his lips. 

 “I’m going to take a walk,” he said. “I’ll be back in a moment.” 

 Stiffly, he marched out of the room while Rowan whirled on her friend. 

 “What the fuck, Thomas?” she snarled. 

 “What do you mean, ‘what the fuck?’” Thomas said. “Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that? Why the hell did you invite him, of all people, to our yearly celebration? Fucking House Cerullis with their fucking experiments! Nothing good comes from them, Rowan. Nothing!” 

 Seizing her brother’s elbow, Mia hissed, “Thomas. Watch yourself. Don’t let your temper control you.” 

 When Thomas still let his mouth fly open, Mia clenched her hold on him, making him wince, and after taking a few deep breaths, he nodded, getting her to release him. 

 “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled,” he said, “but I still want to know what you were thinking.” 

 Oo, Rowan wanted to punch his face in, but if Thomas—the biggest hothead she’d ever met—could control his temper, so could she. 

 “Just so you know, the experiment that Asher mentioned was mine,” she said. “As I’ve said before, I like him. He’s thoughtful and kind, and I enjoy being around him, which you know is rare. I think… I think he might be my friend, and I wanted to see if he could mesh with what we have, but now, I don’t know if he’ll speak to me again, not after this. 

 “I know he’s part of the Cerullis family, and I get why you hate his father but really, Thomas. Considering how much you harp on not being judged for who your father is, I thought you could see past Asher’s lineage. So, there. That’s what I’m thinking. Are you happy?” 

 Thomas looked like Rowan had slapped him silly with his mouth gaping like that, and crossing one arm under her breasts, Mia hid her eyes with the other. 

 “Thomas, you ass,” she sighed. 

 Gulping, Thomas said, “I’m… so sorry, Rowan. I didn’t know… I’ll fix it. I promise.” 

 “You’d better,” Rowan said. “Because I…” 

 She needed the empty ache in her to be filled, and the only thing that did that was the company of the people she loved. With how her family was… with how busy they were… 

 Rubbing her face, Rowan circled the snack table to her chair. 

 “I love you, Thomas, but I won’t lie. I don’t want to be around you right now.” 

 “And that’s saying something,” Mia said under her breath. 

 Rowan pretended that she hadn’t heard her, diving back into Nedrya. When Asher eventually returned, she watched Thomas approach him with half an eye. She couldn’t hear what they said to one another, but soon enough, Thomas offered his hand, and after a pause, Asher took it, which made her release a held breath. 

 As Asher sank into his chair, Rowan met his eyes before he disappeared behind his screen. 

 “You ok?” she asked. 

 “Yes,” he said. “Everything’s all right.” 

 “Then, let’s play.” 

 Even still, tension bled into the air around their desks, although it wasn’t a terrible weight. Gradually, it eased until they were laughing and ribbing one another again. 

 Rowan considered all of this, listening to three voices twining around one another, and wondered whether her experiment had been a failure or a success.

Chapter 9: A Gouged-Out Piece of Me
In the morning, Rowan dragged herself to the washroom, leaving the other three sleeping in a heap of pillows. Her mom might have had rooms prepared for her guests last night, but she knew they’d eventually end up in a pile of limbs on the floor, no matter what enmity might exist between them. That was what Nedrya’s Breaking did to its players, when it didn’t rip them apart. 

 When she could, Rowan trudged to her room so she could get ready for the day. She’d always been an earlier riser than most, even after nights where she’d stayed up into the small hours of the morning, so she knew the other three wouldn’t be up for a while yet. 

 Showered and dressed, she headed outside, quickly finding a bench along the walking trail that circled the house. Her typical routine in the morning was to go through training exercises here, a leftover habit from lessons with her combat instructors. Outside, she could enjoy the early morning freeze, but today, she felt… off, which made her reluctant to workout. 

 All she wanted was to lean back on her hands, tilt her head toward the sky, and close her eyes, soaking up what small amount of warmth the sun might spread on her skin. In a little while, she’d head inside to wait for the house to wake up, but for now, she’d just be. 

 The sound of crunching gravel ruined that plan. Lazily rolling her head toward it, Rowan cracked one eye open and grinned, straightening herself. Aunt Hailey gestured to the empty seat on the bench beside her. 

 “May I?” she asked. 

 “Please.” 

 Hailey got settled with a sigh, turning a soft smile on Rowan. 

 “I see you’ve taken on the Chinook habit of waking up long before you should,” she said. 

 “Oh, is that were I got it from?” Rowan said in monotone. “Thanks for that, then.” 

 Chuckling, Hailey patted her hand. 

 “Always eager to please, aren’t you?” she said. “When’s the last time I saw you, bean? The family reunion thirteen years ago?” For some reason, having Aunt Hailey use her pet name has never bothered Rowan like it did with the rest of her family, but she’d never been sure why that was. “Avan, you were such a small thing then. Eleven-years-old with your red hair cut so short that people mistook you for a boy,” she said, sucking on a lip. “You found that hilarious, if I recall correctly.” 

 “Even that young, I didn’t much care for gender norms, even if I didn’t truly understand what they were,” Rowan said with a laugh. 

 “Nor should you have, then or now,” Hailey said. “They’ve always been a loose set of rules anyway. Well, in most parts of the world at least.” 

 Rowan made a face, although she didn’t comment. Unless it was needed, it was best not to bring Sasmor into any conversation. 

 “What were you doing out here so early?” she asked instead. 

 “I needed some fresh air. Your family’s house can be stifling,” Hailey said. “No offense, bean. It’s just nothing like my home in Shoya Dren.” 

 The home Rowan had never been to and the nation she’d never visited. She wished she’d done so before now. 

 “Why did you come to visit us alone this time, Aunt Hailey?” she asked. “The few other visits I can remember, the whole Chinook side of the family swarmed the house: aunts, uncles, cousins, and all.” 

 “Oh, honey. Let’s not talk about that,” Hailey said. “I don’t want to worry you about the trouble back home.” 

 Problems in Shoya Dren? Could they expect another internal war there? If so, Rowan wondered if her family would be asked to field troops in that nation’s dark jungles. 

 Lost in her contemplation as she was, Aunt Hailey’s slip off of the bench made her jump. Leaning her head on its seat, Hailey smiled at the expression on Rowan’s face. 

 “Sorry. It gets so cold this far north. I thought the ground might be marginally warmer than a stone bench,” she said. “What about you, Rowan Kolb? Why were you out here as the sun began its rise?” 

 Rowan couldn’t tell her about her exercises. Not many people outside of her family approved of nobles getting a trooper’s training, but that was their House’s specialty, damnit! Should they not suffer the same as the people who served them, at least in part? 

 So, she spoke of other things. 

 “I don’t know. I woke up feeling strange, I guess,” she said. “I thought a walk might help.” 

 Clasping her hands in her lap, Hailey said, “Do you want to talk about it?” 

 Not really, but as Rowan opened her mouth to say that, other words fell from it instead. 

 “My whole life, I’ve had this… hunger, I suppose, inside of me, something that’s been gouged out of me that needs to be filled, and I get used to it, you know? Forget it’s there,” she said. “But then, I’ll have a night like last night, one where that hunger is satisfied, and I’ll wake up the next morning, only to have it roar back into place. Such potent reminders of its existence make me…” 

 Rowan chewed on her lip, hoping Hailey wouldn’t make her continue, because she didn’t have words for what it did to her. Without 

 speaking, Hailey spun to kneel in front of Rowan, covering the hand on her knee. 

 “Bean. You’re lonely,” she said, “but of course you are. You’re the youngest of six children. I doubt your family pays much attention to you.” 

 “It’s not their fault-!” Rowan started. 

 Hailey placed another hand over hers. 

 “I know. Trust me, I know,” she said, “but listen to someone who’s been where you are, as the youngest of four. You need to make yourself a family outside of your family. From what I saw last night, you’re well on your way to doing that, but you need to solidify it and think of it as family. They’ll never replace the one you were born into, but they can satisfy that hunger in you, and it needs to be satisfied, girl, otherwise you’ll go crazy.” 

 Rowan’s eyes were burning, and she needed it to stop. Pulling her hands free, she rubbed her face. 

 “That’s excellent advice,” she said. “I’ll keep it in mind.” 

 Patting her knee, Hailey said, “Don’t want me to see you cry, do you?” 

 When Rowan shook her head, her aunt chuckled. 

 “All right. I’ll leave you alone,” she said. “I’m glad I bumped into you.” 

 She ruffled Rowan’s hair, and Rowan tried to choke a ‘me too’ through her closed throat, but the block in it didn’t come loose before Hailey was gone. For who knew how long, she sat there, taking slow breaths in and out and forcing her heart back to where it should go. 

 When she felt stable again, Rowan ran to grab a scone from Eugene before heading to find her guests. She was munching on its delightful fluffiness when she ran into Thomas. Yawning, he was still in his silk nightclothes from last night with his sandy hair sticking up in spikes. 

 “Morning,” he mumbled. “Mm, scone. Get one before I… shower…” 

 Rowan still had trouble interpreting morning Thomas, even after knowing him for so many years. Rubbing a fist in one eye, he sleepily skirted around her. 

 “Where are Mia and Asher?” she asked before he was gone. 

 “Mia… still asleep,” Thomas blearily mumbled before taking on a blissful smile. “Asher… nice… suit. Said… home.” 

 “He’s going home?” Rowan shrieked. 

 With his eyes flying wide open, Thomas took a step back, blinking at her. 

 “Yes?” he said. 

 “Fuck!” 

 Rowan sped around him, grateful she was already presentable for the day. As she raced down hallways, she cursed under her breath, desperately hoping Asher hadn’t left yet, and when she sprinted into the foyer, she breathed out a sigh, slowing to a trot. 

 “Asher!” she called. 

 When she reached him, she clung to her knees, panting. She might be physically fit, but dashing at top speed from one end of the manse to the other left her out of breath nonetheless.  

 On straightening, Rowan swatted Asher’s chest. 

 “You were going to leave without saying goodbye?” she asked. 

 Blankly, Asher glanced between where she’d smacked him and her face. 

 “Whatever may have happened between us last night, Lady Kolb, I hardly think it gives you the right-” 

 “Lady Kolb?” Rowan interrupted. “Oh, no. No, no, no. We’re not doing this. You don’t get to armor yourself in formality because you feel uncomfortable. We’re friends, Asher. You might as well get used to me touching you.” 

 She poked him to make her point, refusing to move her finger once it was there, and he stared at it. 

 “You’re being unreasonable-” 

 “Uh-uh!” 

 Rowan wagged her finger in his face. 

 “Here’s what’s going to happen,” she said. “I’m going to accompany you home in my family’s provided car. If I haven’t convinced you that we’re friends by the time we’ve arrived, then you may treat me as Lady Kolb instead of Rowan. Acceptable?” 

 Sighing through his nose, Asher nodded. 

 “I doubt I have a choice in the matter,” he said. 

 “You don’t,” Rowan said. 

 Aunt Hailey had told her to solidify this secondary family she was forming? That was what she’d do. She could be aggressive when it was needed. 

 Looking Asher up and down, Rowan was amazed to see a delightfully burnt-orange jacket and trouser combination on him. 

 “I don’t know where you got this, considering you didn’t know yesterday evening would turn into an overnight affair, but Thomas was right,” she said, touching a lapel to feel the quality of its fabric. “This is a nice suit.” 

 While Asher flushed—Rowan’s distraction complete—she left him behind her, scurrying to reach the car first so he couldn’t try to escape this place alone. Asher had composed himself by the time he slid into the seat beside her, buckling his seat belt. Folding his hands on his knees, he stared at Rowan without a word, and as the car started moving, she scrambled for something to say. 

 She should have thought this conversation through by now. 

 “One more week until the Summit’s over,” she said, turning to the subject that had been near constantly on her mind in recent days. 

 “Are you excited about your father coming home?” 

 Something pained crossed Asher’s face before he looked out the window to where the city had started sliding by outside. 

 “Not really,” he said. 

 And nothing more. He was not helping her with this. 

 “Do you have any other family attending?” Rowan asked. 

 She honestly wasn’t sure what sort of family Asher had. Everyone knew Lord Max Cerullis, his father, but the rest of them were extremely private with hardly anything personal escaping from them. 

 “No, it’s just Ma- dad and me,” Asher said. “My aunts and uncles don’t talk to us, and my mom passed when I was a kid.” 

 Oh, great… Yes, Rowan, bring up one of the worst probable traumas in his life. That was a great conversation topic. 

 “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said. 

 “Don’t concern yourself with it. It happened a long time ago.” 

 Why was it that she could be the most diplomatic and compelling of people when she least intended to be, but when she needed that charm, it abandoned her? Biting her lip, Rowan leaned against the door, peering up at the sky between the city’s towers. 

 “I guess that’s something you, Thomas, and Mia have in common then, tragic as it is,” she said. 

 There was a bit of shuffling beside her. 

 “They’ve lost their mother?” Asher said. 

 Why was he asking her about that? Didn’t he know-? 

 Smacking her face, Rowan groaned, “Right. I never told you.” 

 She peeled herself off the seat’s leather, wincing when she faced Asher. 

 “Mia and Thomas are Mia and Thomas Shalen,” she said. 

 She was given the emptiest of stares for three, four, five breaths, and then, Asher blinked. 

 “Of Shalen Corp?” he asked in a flat voice. 

 When Rowan nodded, he sank into his seat. 

 “No wonder Thomas mentioned the fire last night,” he said. “After that travesty, it makes sense that he’d hate me.” 

 “I don’t think he does, actually,” Rowan said. “Thomas just needs time to think about things. At the very least, Mia likes you.” 

 With a chuckle, Asher said, “That’s true, and I’m grateful for it. She’s a sweet girl.” 

 “She really is,” Rowan agreed, staring into nothing. 

 Shaking herself, she found Asher giving her an odd look. 

 “What?” she said. 

 “Nothing. I- It’s nothing,” Asher said. “Will you have family returning from the Summit next week?” 

 Avan above, he’d kept the conversation going. There was hope yet. 

 “Well, yeah,” Rowan said. “You should already know about two of them.” 

 “Lady Veronica and Lord Anthony, yes,” Asher said. “Kind of hard to forget a man who’s wedding I’ve attended.” 

 They chuckled together, although Rowan’s was mostly nervous. She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to be thinking about the events of their first meeting right now. 

 “Now that I think about it, Tony will be staying in Novadracht for a while yet as part of his extended vacation,” she said. “It’s what happens for every member of the Kolb family when we get married or turn thirty-five, whichever comes first. After his vacation’s over, Tony will be expected to take up a bigger role in the family business.” 

 “So, kind of like a last hurrah before assuming the weight of a House’s burdens,” Asher said. 

 “Part of them, yes. So, Tony will stay in Icrodon with Jessica, probably until the end of the year,” Rowan said, “but everyone else will be coming home, and won’t that be a mind-numbingly hectic few days?” 

 Despite himself, Asher actually looked interested in what she’d said. 

 “Why?” he asked. 

 “That’s just the way it is,” Rowan said with a shrug before freezing. “Wait. Do you know anything about my family besides the five of us you’ve already met?” 

 “From that question, I’d assume you have another sibling,” Asher said, “but besides that, no.” 

 Rowan tried, poorly, to contain a giggling fit, rocking back and forth with a hand raised to beg for patience. 

 “Sorry,” she gasped. “Sorry, it’s just… Well, here. Let me tell you about my family.” 

 Raising her hand, she started counting on its fingers. 

 “So, we have Veronica, the head of our House, and Bay. My moms. We also have Anthony, the heir; John, my brother who would quite literally do anything for the people he loves; and me. Those are the ones you know.” 

 At her splayed fingers waving in the air, Asher nodded, and Rowan raised her other hand. 

 “We’ve also got Paisley. She’s next in line after Tony and the most quietly supportive person you’ll ever find in your life. She’s saved my ass so many times during lessons by bringing me a piece of equipment I’d forgotten. 

 “Next comes Logan, our genius with numbers. That boy is so fucking sneaky that I’d be terrified to have him handling the family money if I didn’t know how good he is with it and if he weren’t my big brother. He’s been harassing me since I was small. 

 “And there’s Henry, John’s twin. He’s our negotiator and the most… active of us, sexually. Avan, the number of scandals we’ve had to field for him… I think he’s a teensy bit proud of how many broken-hearted boys he’s left trailing in his-” 

 “Wait. He’s gay?” Asher interrupted. 

 At the tone of his voice, Rowan snapped her eyes to slits. 

 “Yes,” she said in a clipped voice. “Is that a problem?” 

 It shouldn’t be. Most people didn’t care about something that was so instinctive to an individual, but occasionally, one ran across one of the violent few who did. 

 “What?” 

 Asher blankly stared at Rowan, obviously addled. 

 “No, why would it be a problem?” he said. “It’s just… your parents have to know. Don’t they care about how it might reflect on the family image?” 

 Implying it could reflect poorly. How? 

 “Well… no,” Rowan drawled. “My moms are gay too, after all.” 

 “Huh. That’s…” 

 Rowan wondered what was going on in that head of his. He looked like he was rearranging ideas while drumming his fingers on his leg, and when she gently nudged him, he turned a smile on her. 

 “That’s amazing. Your brother’s a lucky man,” he said, “but my apologies. I didn’t mean to interrupt. You were talking about your siblings, the last one being… Henry?” 

 Rowan looked down her nose at him. 

 “You don’t think I’ve listed enough family members already?” 

 “No, that’s plenty. I can’t believe you deal with so many,” Asher said with a laugh. “Wow. House Kolb is much larger than I thought.” 

 Shrugging, Rowan said, “My parents have always wanted a big family. It’s one of the things that first attracted them to each other.” 

 With a hum, she reflected on summoned family stories for a moment before shaking her head. 

 “Xygek’s adoption agencies know my parents intimately by now. They visit often enough, but… I think they’re done now. I’ll be the last new addition to the family.” 

 “I was wondering about that last night,” Asher said. “You and John share few genetic markers, so I didn’t think surrogates were a likely procreation method for your family.” 

 Hell, he fell into science and its many dry terms at the strangest of times. 

 “No, my parents were happy to pull their children from the world’s already enormous population,” Rowan said. 

 “Hmm.” 

 Relaxing in his seat, Asher rested his hand on the door’s handle. 

 “I think I’d get along well with your parents,” he said. 

 “Yeah, I think they’d like you too,” Rowan said. “They usually agree with my opinions about people.” 

 She gave him a pointed look, and groaning, he banged his head on his seat. 

 “All right, fine. You win,” he said. “We’re friends.” 

 “Yay!” Rowan said, clapping. “I was starting to worry that I’d miss my deadline. We’re pulling up to your house now.” 

 Glancing out the window, Asher said, “Would you look at that?” 

 As they pulled to a stop, he drew his shoulders together before taking a deep breath and turning on Rowan. 

 “Thank you for pulling me out of my funk,” he said. “I need someone like you in my life.” 

 “You’re quite welcome!” Rowan chirped, patting his hand on hers. 

 Licking his lips, Asher leaned toward her, but Rowan got too distracted by a commotion behind him to give him the extra space he seemed to be asking for. 

 “Asher…” she said. “Why is one of your attendants running at us in a panic?” 

 Shooting upright, Asher glanced over his shoulder, and his already tense frame tightened. 

 “That’s not good,” he said. 

 Rowan was already reaching for the handle to her door. Whatever was going on, she’d help her new friend with it.

Chapter 10: What. the. Actual. Fuck?
On the other side of the car, Asher practically tumbled out of it, and Rowan raced to him. He’d regained his balance before she reached him, striding to meet the attendant. 

 “What happened?” he snapped. 

 The attendant pointed behind her toward the labs with her arm shaking. 

 “You… It…” she said. 

 “Don’t stop, dummy,” Rowan said, snatching Asher’s wrist. “The problem’s obviously in the labs, so let’s get there.” 

 She hauled him behind her until he’d caught up, and together, they darted through his house with its out-of-the-norm architecture passing beneath Rowan’s notice. Outside again, she noted a calm scene with confusion. Where was the disaster? Where were the people running for safety? Why did a lack of these things have her stomach clenching more tightly than when she’d seen that attendant running toward them? 

 They quickly passed through the dome’s foyer, and when a second set of sliding doors finally finished opening, allowing them entry, they ran into a wall of people, blocking access to the first of the place’s labs. Why were they just standing there? 

 Before Rowan could open her mouth, Asher roared, “Out of the way!” 

 Jumping, the people in front of them stepped aside, although they were lethargic with their movements. Asher and Rowan had to push and squeeze their way through most of those gathered, which made their progress agonizingly slow, but eventually, they spilled into a patch of empty space. 

 They’d reached the far wall with its bank of screens inset into it, but unlike with the rest of the lab, people were avoiding the area Rowan and Asher were standing in as if the floor had been coated with deadly acid. Spinning, Rowan searched for what could have packed so many of Asher’s employees into this one room. If it was something dangerous, why hadn’t they evacuated? Were they containing it or…? 

 Were they infected with something? Had she in her haste, gotten herself and Asher and exposed to a deadly virus? 

 “Rowan,” Asher faintly said. 

 He’d gone slack with his muscles loosened and eyes wide while a special kind of fear lit them. Carefully, Rowan started running her hands over his chest, certain she’d find an injury that was keeping him stunned, but he took her wrists, jerking them off of him. 

 Turning wild eyes on her, he said, “Rowan!” 

 He jerked his chin toward the wall with its screens, and when Rowan turned toward it, she cocked her head, trying to decipher what she was seeing. Someone had changed the displayed feed from one originating in Cerullis’ satellites to a camera or recorder on the ground. Mountain peaks clipped into the bottom of the picture, but other than that, Rowan had a big, wide view of the sky, dotted with clouds and several… somethings blocking it. 

 The largest of these, the only one discernible to the eye, loomed large above the camera with all of it black and spiky. A dark ring, nearly complete in its circumference and jagged along its edges, served as the base for an elongated claw with eleven fingers of varying heights reaching for the sky. These blade-like fingers swayed like grass in a breeze. Around the claw, insect-sized blips were frenetically buzzing back and forth like… like aircraft of some type. 

 “Asher? What am I looking at?” Rowan asked. 

 “I don’t… hang on,” Asher said. “Where’s this feed coming from?” 

 His shout echoed in the room’s silence, and when no one answered him, he broke free of what had been holding his body captive. Striding for his closest employee, Asher shook the man. 

 “The feed’s source?” he said through gritted teeth. 

 Lazily pulling his eyes off the screens, the man focused on Asher. 

 “Icrodon,” he said with a thick voice. 

 Oh… shit. 

 Asher blinked once before pulling his employee closer to him. 

 “Is it the anomalies we’ve been tracking?” he asked. “The ones that have been sending unintelligible signals toward our probes?” 

 Nodding, the man said, “The new blips in the stars.” 

 Rowan remembered the first day someone had noticed those. She’d been here, on her first visit to ameliorate the Cerullis family. What had Asher said about it? ‘I have no other option but to observe them’? 

 Well, there they were, plenty observable. 

 “Obviously, it’s not an asteroid or other falling debris, otherwise we’d be dead,” Asher said, having returned to Rowan’s side. “But what else…?” 

 Rowan had a pretty good answer for that question, even if she didn’t want to speak it. Sometimes, it helped to have read so much speculative fiction while growing up. 

 “Alien beings,” she forced herself to say. 

 Glancing at her, Asher said, “What?” 

 “Intelligent life from another planet or perhaps from beyond our galaxy,” Rowan said. “Have you never watched a science fiction flic before, Asher?” 

 He returned to staring at the screens. 

 “No,” he said, “but you could be right. The design of this object suggests a measure of intelligence and those dots around it-” 

 Cutting off, he clicked his teeth together, and Rowan sought what in the picture could have stopped a scientist from making speculations on a recently discovered phenomenon. It took her a while, but eventually, she noticed that the blue sky framed by the claw’s ring had tinged neon, a change in color that was steadily growing stronger. 

 “What-?” 

 The claw’s fingers started closing together, forcing Rowan to step back, and by the time they touched, the blue tinge inside the ring had turned into a nearly solid state with a small dot in the center having turned dark enough to drown out the sky. 

 “Is that a force fie-?” Rowan started saying. 

 A blue beam shot from the ring’s central dot to the tips of the claws, and they sent it back in a thicker, white line. As it passed through the ring, it widened to match the circle’s internal circumference, turning it into a ray of light that blasted toward the camera. 

 The feed cut off, making the screens go black, and around Rowan, the deepest silence she’d ever heard competed with the ringing in her ears. 

 “What the fuck?” she distantly heard herself say. What had just happened? What had that been? Why was she shaking so hard that she thought she might fall? 

 “Get me an image of Icrodon!” Asher was shouting. 

 But no one moved. The silence was too absolute for it to be otherwise. Rowan imagined Asher’s employees were like her: slack-jawed, frozen, and unable to tear their eyes off of the darkened screens. 

 “Avan DAMN it! I’ll do it myself.” 

 A furious string of curses filled the air with grunts and rustling clothes interspersed with it until Asher returned to his spot at Rowan’s side with a tablet in his hand. Muttering under his breath, he poked at its surface, and after a few breaths, an image flickered onto the screen. 

 Again, Rowan wasn’t sure what she was looking at, although she thought that might be because her brain was refusing to process it. 

 This time, they were looking down at where snowy mountains were cradling a patch of shiny, blackened land. Four rivers converged on this place, and where each of them passed through the mountains before steadily streaming into their valley, a sprawl of tan stone stretched above them, much like gateways into a holy land. 

 Looking at the picture as a whole, it looked kind of like… 

 No, that wasn’t possible. 

 But Asher had asked for an image of it… 

 Rowan’s mind stuttered for a moment, trying to shield her from the hurt that accepting this fact would bring, but behind her, someone sobbed, shattering her enforced ignorance. Shattering her world. 

 Because Icrodon, the one place that had embodied peace in their world, had been destroyed and her family had been in it.

Chapter 11: Fugue-Filled Hours
Hysterical laughter flew out of Rowan, and she couldn’t stop it. This couldn’t be happening. It had to be a nightmare. Right? Someone, please tell her this wasn’t real. 

 Oh, avan, she couldn’t breathe. Where had the air around her gone? Through the static filling her ears, filling her head, she heard Asher shouting, although the details of what he was saying were muddled, but honestly? Why should she care about that? Over half of her family had died. 

 Faces flashed before her eyes in a rapid, repeating cycle. Logan, Paisley, mom, Anthony, Henry, Logan, Paisley- 

 She was gulping at air that wouldn’t fill her lungs, expelling it again in a crazed giggle. Hot streams were running over her cheeks, and her body was shaking, leaving a strong tremor in the hand that someone was using to tug her along. 

 What was she going to do? What were they going to do? What had that beam, strong enough to destroy a city, been? 

 Oh, they were fucked. Humanity was an extinct species that hadn’t had the good sense to die out yet. 

 This should be more important to Rowan. She should be focusing on survival, not on people who were already gone, but all she saw were their faces. All she could think about was their names. 

 Logan, Paisley, mom, Anthony, Henry. 

 Henry. 

 Whose twin was still alive and probably losing it right now. Not three weeks ago, John had told Rowan about how he couldn’t lose Henry in a marriage, and now, there was this. 

 And Bay! Hell, mom had lost the love of her life. 

 Why was she still here? She needed to be with them now. She needed to focus on the part of her family that was still alive, not dead. 

 The air Rowan was sipping at gained substance while her surroundings snapped to the forefront again. The lab was empty with its employees having probably scrambled to leave after… 

 Well, it was empty except for Rowan, huddled against a wall, and Asher, kneeling in front of her. 

 “Better?” he said. 

 When Rowan nodded, he pulled her hands out of their tangle in her hair. 

 “We need to get you home,” Asher said. “The city’s probably gone to hell, but I have some ideas for-” 

 “How are you so calm?” Rowan asked. “Something unknown and exceptionally powerful just attacked us. You’ve lost your father… Hell, Asher. You’re the head of your House now.” 

 Making a face, Asher said, “I doubt the distinction between nobles and untitled will last for much longer, and I can’t do anything about the… aliens right now. If they’re here to wipe us out, we’re dead, so I’m operating under the assumption that something else is going on, something we can fight. The first way I can do that is get you started on your way home so I can prepare for what’s coming.” 

 Slowly, Rowan nodded. 

 “Ok,” she said. “I’m sorry for the way I acted, for…” 

 What had that been? Retreating into her mind and obsessing over distressing details wasn’t like her. 

 “Having a panic attack?” Asher gently finished for her. “It’s ok. No matter how poorly timed it was, I’d have been a bit shocked if you hadn’t had one.” 

 Standing, he offered Rowan a hand. 

 “Your brother and mother are probably worried sick about you,” he said. “Let’s get you to them.” 

 Rowan accepted his help up, and when he raced toward an exit from the lab’s dome, she trotted behind him, playing with her wristcom. Her attempts to establish connections with mom and John bounced off the wall of an oversaturated network, which only made sense with a city full of people trying to reach loved ones as the news spread. So, she sent her family messages, hoping they’d receive them soon. 

 Asher led Rowan on a long race over the clipped grass of the estate’s grounds, following the road that led to his family’s home. His home now, she supposed. 

 She kept throwing glances at the sky, expecting to find another horror blocking the sun, but they reached the edge of his estate without anything appearing. Near the fence that surrounded everything Cerullis had claimed, a squat building with enormous doors popped out from behind the trees. On reaching it, Asher hauled one of those doors open, and sunlight splashed over the cars inside. 

 Huh. Rowan had wondered where his family kept those. 

 Without pausing, Asher strode past them toward the other side of the building, pulling a tarp off of an indistinct shape, and when what was beneath was revealed, Rowan gasped, lightly pressing a hand over her mouth. 

 “Asher Cerullis! I’d never have guessed you’d own something like this,” she said. “I’m impressed.” 

 Smirking, Asher threw the tarp into the darkness. 

 “You’ve only known me for a few weeks. You don’t know all my secrets yet,” he said. “Do you know how to ride?” 

 He waved a hand over the fucking gorgeous cycle, sitting in front of them, and scoffing, Rowan rested a hand on her hip. 

 “Do I know how to ride? Come on!” she said. “I went to Athari State, the wildest college in our nation, and I’m a daughter of House Kolb. Do I know how to ride?” 

 It felt good to banter, even if its typical humor had been sapped from her. She was empty, pretending to have emotions in the hopes that they’d return. 

 While Rowan shook her head at his presumptions, Asher said, “Yes, given who your family is, that was a silly question.” 

 “Key?” Rowan said, holding out her hand. 

 After digging in his pocket, Asher handed her the requested item, but he blocked her from climbing onto the cycle. 

 “One more thing before you go,” he said. “I know you’re in a hurry, but we don’t know when the network will clear up, if it ever will. So, take this.” 

 He offered Rowan an earpiece with a hook and a gigantic, blinking button attached to it, showing her a matching piece when she accepted the gift. 

 Hanging it from his ear, Asher said, “That’ll get ahold of me without bothering with the network: a direct connection. I meant to unveil these to the public after working out a few minor kinks, but desperate times and all.” 

 Doubtfully eyeing the device, Rowan bounced it on her palm. 

 “Why are you giving this to me?” she asked. 

 “Who else would I give it to?” Asher said. “You’re basically my only ally now, Rowan. My distant family has refused to talk to me and my dad for years, Cerullis status as Xygek’s most powerful House has pushed the other nobles away, and I won’t involve my employees in the play that I, or maybe we, decide to make. They’ll have their own problems to handle. And like you convinced me earlier, we-” 

 He slumped, hanging his head, and Rowan waited for him to say it, although the enthusiasm she might typically feel here had gone. 

 “We’re friends,” Asher said. “Friends help each other, right? Friends want to know if the other person gets home safely.” 

 Swallowing, he looked away, and yes, most of Rowan was deadened right now. Yes, she might fall apart at any moment— 

 “My family left me!” the child in her wailed. “I’m alone!” 

 —but even still, this show of affection from a recently gained friend sent a sweet, flash flood crashing through her and everything that was making her numb. 

 Jumping forward, she threw her arms around Asher’s neck, pressing her lips beside his ear before burying her face in his shoulder. On her toes, Rowan wobbled in place, but she couldn’t pull away yet, didn’t want him to see her crying, even if he probably felt her tears seeping through his shirt and jacket.  

 Fortunately, Asher steadied her, although it took him a moment to wrap his arms around her waist. He awkwardly patted her back, and oh so gradually, she got herself under control. 

 Pulling away from him, Rowan wiped her eyes, softly laughing, while hooking his device over her ear. 

 “I’m guessing I push the blinking button to get ahold of you,” she said. 

 Asher was staring at her, frozen in place. Why was he doing that? 

 “Yes,” he eventually said. “It may take me a moment to return the favor, though, depending on what I’m doing.” 

 “Ok. I’ll let you know when I get home, then,” Rowan said. “Once I’ve coordinated with my family, maybe we can figure out what the hell we’re going to do next.” 

 Her words dried up while something thick and terrible fell over them at the realization of how much their lives had changed. Rowan had always argued that Lutov’s four nations needed reform but this? This was too much at once. 

 “We can’t panic,” Asher said. “Let’s take it one step at a time, ok? You get to your family, and once you have, we’ll discuss finding a safe place where we can hole up for a while, at least until we’ve figured out a long-term plan.” 

 Avan above, he was good at helping her ground herself. 

 “Sounds good,” Rowan said. “Thanks, Asher. I’m sure you’re dealing with turmoil in your head too, but still, you helped me with mine. You’re a good man.” 

 Huffing a laugh, Asher said, “I don’t know about that, but we don’t have time to argue about it. Go home, Rowan.” 

 She rolled her eyes. 

 “Ok.” 

 Swinging her leg over the cycle, Rowan started it, humming at the familiar rumble beneath her. 

 “I’ll open the gate from here,” Asher shouted before waving her on. 

 Rowan flicked her fingers in a salute, one that would have made Veronica scold her— don’t think about mom, DON’T —and set off, opening up the throttle to speed her along. She needed to get home quickly, not just for mom and John but for her own sake as well, because yes, what she was doing was dangerous. She wasn’t wearing a helmet, and as she went, she almost clipped far too many of the cars clogging the streets. Yes, it was thrilling. Jumping onto the sidewalk when roads got too crowded and weaving between panicked people sent her heart racing. 

 But she was doing it all in a fugue. She’d turned herself off. If Rowan let herself think about why people were leaping out of their cars to shout at one another, why she’d already seen four fistfights when she wasn’t even a third of the way home, or why supermarkets looked like a war zone, she’d probably crash this cycle at full speed into a brick wall, and if she survived that, she’d stay there, crying, until something came along to put her out of her misery. 

 At some point during this, Rowan remembered Thomas and Mia, cursing at how long it had taken her to think about her best friends. She didn’t blame herself for it, considering everything that had happened with her family alone, but even still, she stopped the cycle in the middle of the street to request a connection. Again, the network laughed at her attempts to join the avalanche of other requests that were choking it, so Rowan was once more left with sending messages. 

 Had her friends headed home yet, or were they still at her place when it had happened? The last she’d seen of them, Thomas hadn’t yet emerged from zombie mode, and Mia hadn’t woken up, so maybe they hadn’t left. 

 Rowan didn’t know if that would be convenient or not. Sure, if it were so, her friends would be where she needed them. That would be beneficial because if Asher or her family thought she was going anywhere or doing anything without Mia and Thomas… ha! 

 At the same time, though, her friends would probably want to rendezvous with their father. They disliked the bastard, but he was still their dad. 

 It wasn’t something she could worry about right now. Rowan needed to get home before the mild chaos she was seeing on the streets turned truly violent. Home would be the safest place for her, what with her family’s troopers to guard them. If they’d stayed. Which they might not have. 

 Too many uncertainties surrounded Rowan, and it was driving her crazy. Almost, she pressed the button on her ear, needing Asher’s soothing voice since she couldn’t reach anyone else she loved, but she had no doubt he was frantically busy. She wouldn’t bother him unless she had to. 

 And throughout this, a looming, empty sky weighed heavy on her mind, although she wasn’t the only one experiencing that. Other people, racing about their business, craned their necks for a view of endless blue, but nothing ever intruded on it. 

 This, Rowan thought, was the worst part of what had happened. Who’d attacked them? Were they or it intelligent, like she’d theorized? Maybe they or it were more mechanical in nature than organic. 

 And what was their plan? Sure, wipe out the enemy’s center of power and influence. That was a good, logical opening move, but they should have turned to the four nations’ capitals after that. Given how they’d annihilated Icrodon, Rowan would be shocked if they didn’t have the means to reach Xygek or any other city in the time since they’d first made themselves known. 

 Maybe they were fielding troops first. Rowan didn’t know why they’d do that, though. Did they intend to leave a portion of the population alive? But this thought led into the overarching question, the one that superseded all others. 

 Why? 

 These beings, if they were beings, were clearly far more advanced than humanity. What did they get out of attacking us? Were they xenophobic, intending to eliminate all other races? Did humanity have a resource they wanted, wiping Icrodon out as an intimidation tactic? Or maybe they’d done it just for kicks and giggles. Who knew? 

 Until she had more information, speculation was pointless, but Rowan couldn’t help indulging in it. Doing so was keeping her mind off of other things, and along with her numbed state, it got her to her family’s manse without incident. 

 As she approached the gate, her muscles slackened, leaving her hanging off the cycle’s bars for a split second. Troopers were standing guard in front of bars of blackened steel with the House Kolb uniform crisp on their frames. When they saw Rowan coming, they lifted their rifles the slightest fraction—which was a testament to how rattled they must be—until she flashed her family’s signs for safe and ally overhead. 

 She stopped beside the one who appeared to be in command while the gate swung open, and when he saw her, he slumped. 

 “My Lade Rowan. Thank avan it’s you,” he shouted over the cycle’s noise. “Lord John and Lady Bay have been beside themselves since they received the news. We don’t have our orders yet.” 

 That was… odd. Turning the cycle off, Rowan dismounted it, rolling it through the gate. Fortunately, the trooper addressing her followed in her wake, and she hurriedly assessed his rank from the symbols on his collar. 

 “What’s our situation regarding numbers, Lieutenant…?” she said. 

 “Liam Avisbell, ma’am,” he said. “We’ve had a few desertions since… Icrodon, but overall, your troopers are at your disposal.” 

 How surprising. Rowan had thought for sure that more would have abandoned them. Why had so many of them stayed? 

 “Very well, Lieutenant Avisbell,” she said. “Your orders are to stand by for now. We should have more for you shortly and…” 

 Should she do this? Every allied trooper was another that they could use against the enemy but… 

 Would numbers make a difference against what they were facing? 

 “If they want it, everyone who has a family is relieved of duty,” Rowan said. “I won’t deny anyone who wants to remain at their post, but I also won’t keep people with a spouse or children away from those they love during a time like this.” 

 Liam’s breath caught, but he nodded. 

 “I’ll spread the word, ma’am,” he said. “Is there anything else?” 

 “If someone could mark this cycle as an item to be returned to the Cerullis family, I’d appreciate it. I doubt we’ll be able to get it back to them, but still, I want it done,” Rowan said. “Other than that, maintain a holding pattern. I need to discuss the situation with my family.” 

 Saluting—properly, not like she’d done with Asher—Liam said, “Yes, Lady Kolb.” 

 While he ran off, Rowan settled the cycle on its kickstand and trudged toward the manse. Now that she was here, she didn’t know if she should see her family. If she did, it was certain to turn her into a wreck, which wasn’t advisable right now. Maybe she should speak with Asher before finding her mom and John. 

 When she pressed the button hanging off of her ear, he answered within a breath. 

 “You’re safe?” he asked. 

 Damn, he’d sounded tense. What had happened at his place since she’d left? 

 “Yes. About to walk into the manse,” Rowan said. “Give me a couple of hours here. If I don’t get in touch before then, try to reach me.” 

 “Can do,” Asher said. “Good luck.” 

 “And to you.” 

 Almost as soon as she’d spoken that last word, Asher was gone, which Rowan would normally take offense to but… 

 Growling, she scratched her scalp. How had life gotten so fucked up so quickly? 

 When the manse came into view with its walking trail circling it, Rowan broke into a run. She still thought this was a terrible idea but honestly? Would delaying it be any better? This reunion would happen sooner or later, and she would fall apart. Wasn’t it wiser for that to happen now, when she didn’t yet need her full faculties about her? 

 If she’d had any choice in the matter, it was taken from her when the front door banged open and her brother filled its frame. Had he been waiting for-? 

 Oh… fuck. John’s dark complexion had turned sallow, leaving his hazel eyes wide and red-rimmed, and tears were running over his cheeks with his shoulders heaving and his nose running. Avan. Rowan had known he’d be upset but this- 

 “ROWAN!” he shouted. 

 Her big brother  flew to her while her mom appeared in the doorway, distressed but still sedate. She’d started Rowan’s way with Aunt Hailey emerging behind her when John barreled into her with all his strength, and unable to stay on her feet, Rowan fell like she’d been taught, minimizing any damage she might acquire. She was only in the dirt for a second before John was clutching her to his chest. 

 “You’re alive!” he said. “Oh, bean. Our tiniest, smallest bean.” 

 Rowan heard her pet name on his tongue with five, ghostly voices speaking it alongside him, and as she’d thought, something inside of her snapped. While John rocked them back and forth, Rowan sobbed into his chest, forceful gulps of air that scraped her throat. Her mom knelt beside them, wrapping her arms around them both— 

 “My babies, my babies,” she whispered on repeat. 

 —with her sister’s hand on her shoulder, and if something had appeared in the sky right then, Rowan didn’t think any of them would have noticed or cared.

Chapter 12: Touching Base
Ten minutes later, they’d converged on a sitting room. John looked like hell, and Rowan thought mom might be dying inside, but at least they were together. 

 They were together. 

 What did they do now? 

 “Thomas and Mia left?” Rowan asked. 

 She was sitting cross-legged on the floor rather than in a chair, and John was lying beside her with his head in her lap. Lounging on the sofa opposite them, mom nodded. 

 “Shortly after you did,” she said. 

 She’d sounded so broken, though. 

 Here they were, the man who’d become the head of their noble family and the woman who should be advising him through this transition, and neither were ready to lead anything. 

 Pulling her lips into a grim line, Rowan met the gaze of Aunt Hailey, the only other person here who was the least bit composed. With one leg crossed over the other, she had her hands folded on her knees with her elbows perched on the arms of her chair. 

 “We should discuss next steps,” she said, raising her eyebrows at Rowan. 

 She took her aunt’s provided opening. 

 “Do we know how many of our troopers are single?” she asked. “I dismissed all of them who have families, leaving the option to stay on the table, but I don’t know how many of them will take it.” 

 Tensing, John drew his knees toward his chest. 

 “I don’t know,” he said with a note of hysteria in his voice. “I don’t know anything about our family’s work. It was never supposed to be mine. How am I supposed to-? What do I-? 

 Raising herself up on an elbow, mom said, “John. Love. Calm down. We have your back. You’re going to be fine. The- the three of us will work through this together.” 

 “Four,” Aunt Hailey interjected. “I’m staying.” 

 Giving her sister a searching look, mom said, “All right. Four. You have plenty of help, baby.” 

 “Ok,” John said, nodding in Rowan’s lap. 

 But he didn’t relax while his legs continued hoarding the space they’d created. Observing this, mom made the most minute of headshakes before turning to Rowan. 

 “Well done, Rowan,” she said. “Most of our troopers are single, but by offering the ones with family an excuse to go home, you’ve likely hardened the loyalty of those who will stay.” 

 “That wasn’t what I was trying to do,” Rowan said. “I just did what felt right.” 

 Grinning, Aunt Hailey reached out to her, and she hesitantly took that offered hand, almost crushing John’s head in the process. 

 “And that’s why you’ll make a great commander, if you choose to take that route,” she said. “You inspire people simply by being who you are.” 

 One squeeze later and Rowan was free with mom nodding agreement and John burying his face in her stomach. Her cheeks were burning, and she wanted it to STOP. So, she hugged her brother’s head, pleasantly smiling. 

 “Thank you,” she said, “but no one’s answered my question.” 

 “About how many troopers are at our disposal?” mom asked. “I don’t have answers for you either, baby girl. You might have to ask the troopers. I don’t handle that side of the family business, after all. That’s Veronica’s-” 

 A stifled sob cut Bay off, and she shot upright with tears once more glistening in her eyes. When Rowan opened her mouth to ask if her mom was ok, she lifted a finger, shaking her head before darting out of the room. Rowan looked to Aunt Hailey for how to continue, but she merely shrugged, which was… helpful. 

 With that side of the conversation truncated, Rowan focused on John. 

 Pulling him away from her, she asked, “How are you doing?” 

 John took a deep breath before plunging his face into her skin again. 

 “Not good,” she barely made out. “I’m sorry, bean. You shouldn’t have to deal with this alone.” 

 Oh, avan. She loved him so much. After a loss as bad as he’d suffered, Rowan doubted she could think about his well-being. 

 “Focus on yourself for now. I’ve got everything else,” she said. “I need you to work on putting yourself together for me, ok?” 

 He clenched his arms around her. 

 “I can do that,” he said. 

 As Rowan patted her brother’s head, a connection request flashed onto her wristcom, which surprised the hell out of her until she saw it was from Mia. After that, she couldn’t accept the request quickly enough, but once she had, she heard shouting and other concerning noises on the other end. 

 “Rowan?” Mia asked in a panicked voice. “Are you there?” 

 “Yes,” Rowan said. “What’s going on?’ 

 “Oh, thank avan,” Mia sobbed. “We need help.” 

 Clicking her tongue, Rowan said, “I gathered that. What’s the problem?” 

 “Our car’s getting swarmed by a bunch of angry people, and our driver abandoned it pretty soon after the bastards arrived,” Thomas said with his voice muffled. “We’re on the corner of Hoffstead and Fifth.” 

 Thank everything good and holy for him. During conflicts like this, Mia tended to get ruffled, but Thomas had always kept his cool. In Break, he’d always been the one to speak up when a party member fell out of position in a dungeon or to point out an unexpected patrol when they were sneaking out of their homes. 

 When Rowan glanced up at her, Aunt Hailey waved her along, and John was already on his feet. He followed Rowan as she raced outside, heading back to the gate. As ordered, none of the troops from before had changed position, so she headed toward the one she knew. 

 “Lieutenant Avisbell, if you’ll join me,” she called as they approached. 

 He hopped to attention, trotting toward them. 

 “Lord and Lady Kolb,” he said, “how may-?” 

 “My friends are in a bind,” Rowan said, removing her wristcom. “I need volunteers to save them from an angry mob before bringing them here, and neither of you is arguing with me.” 

 Bringing her wristcom up to her mouth, she spoke directly into it. 

 “My home is the safest place you can be right now. We can discuss how to help your dad and retrieve your possessions once you’re not about to get torn limb from limb.” 

 While Thomas grumbled something unheard, Mia said, “I wasn’t going to argue with you.” 

 “Good,” Rowan said, extending what she was holding to Liam. “You can coordinate with them through this for as long as the connection stays stable. I’d offer to lead the volunteers to my friends’ location but-” 

 “I don’t think that’s wise, Lady Rowan,” Liam cut in. 

 “That’s what I thought.” 

 Ignoring her, Liam leaned to the side. 

 “Is this your wish as well, Lord Kolb?” he asked. 

 John shifted in place, clenching his hands together to keep from fidgeting. 

 “Lieutenant… Avisbell, was it?” 

 When Liam nodded, John said, “You’re to follow my sister’s orders until told otherwise. For the moment, she’s better equipped to handle this disaster.” 

 “Yes, sir!” 

 With restrictions no longer barring him, Liam snapped a salute before tearing off toward his fellow troopers, pulling a walkie from his belt. Marching over asphalt, Rowan laid a hand on John’s shoulder, one that he held tight. 

 “Look at you, already acting like a good head of House,” she said. 

 With a short laugh, John said, “How are you so calm, bean? You’ve lost the same people as me, and now, your friends might soon join them.” 

 Rowan stiffened, clawing her fingers into John’s shoulder so hard that he winced. That was the same question she’d asked Asher earlier. Hearing it from her brother now, she wondered if her new friend had had the same answer as she did now, retaining it out of worry for her, or if having someone he’d needed to help had kept him calm. 

 “I’m not thinking about it, any of it. I can’t,” she said. “We need to get our shit together and leave. Every second we stay here, I expect something to block out the sun, having come to destroy Xygek the same as it did Icrodon.” 

 Lifting his eyes to the sky, John made a face. 

 “I can see that,” he said. “It’s a wonder you’re here then, helping mom and me when we’re so useless. You could have been out of here by now.” 

 Rowan’s hand had become a stone, and feeling that, John let it slip off him. 

 “I’m tempted to run and make a go of it by myself. Doing that may have a higher chance of survival,” she said, “but I’d rather take the more dangerous route, possibly dying with you all, than live knowing I abandoned my family.” 

 When John gave her a weak smile, she lightly grazed a fist along his cheek. 

 “We need to figure out where we’re going, seeing as how staying in Xygek is looking increasingly deadly,” she said. “If people are attacking cars that look corp in nature, it won’t be long before they start swarming the nobles’ homes.” 

 Catching her wrist, John said, “Let mom, Aunt Hailey, and me discuss that for now. We’re not going anywhere until Thomas and Mia get here. You should take that time to start processing what’s happened. That needs to happen eventually, and I doubt you’ve let yourself do it yet.” 

 Rowan geared up to protest, but John pressed a finger to her lips. 

 “Do it, Rowan,” he said. “That wasn’t a request.” 

 When she licked his finger, he pulled it away, wiping it on his shirt with a wrinkled nose. 

 “Ok, fine,” she said. “Bossy.” 

 As she passed her brother, Rowan bopped his nose, making him shake his head as he fell out of view. She had no intention of doing as she’d been told, though. If she started down that path, she wasn’t sure how long it would put her out of commission. 

 So, once she’d entered the manse, she went looking for her storecase setup. No one had moved it from where it had been placed last night, and after she sat in a chair, she logged in to Nedrya’s Breaking. 

 Rowan knew how horrible this was. Who knew how many people were dead— probably somewhere in the tens of thousands, her traitorous brain said—while an unknown menace had threatened life on their planet, and she was falling down the rabbit hole into a fake world. It was laughable. Someone should make a recording of this so future generations could shake their head in shame at her, if they got to live that long. 

 But she wasn’t the only one doing it. When Rowan typed an /online command, the number returned to her was larger than what she typically saw on a busy night, and her chats were blowing up with people asking for news and other things. 

 Almost everyone in her guild was online, but rather than answer the messages spilling to her from them, Rowan used her founder privileges to pin an update to the top of their guild’s chat. In it, she told everyone she was alive and that she planned to stay in contact as much as possible over the next few days. 

 She also set up chat channels for the subjects she’d seen discussed elsewhere: one for information requests on players, a second that would gather a knowledge pool for anything out of the ordinary seen throughout Lutov, and the third to hold appeals for aid. The last of these had two sub-channels. One was to be used for urgent, life-or-death-in-the-next-few-hours situations while the other was for anything less vital. Rowan also put a guild meet-date on the calendar for two weeks from today. Either they’d all be dead by that point, or they’d be in their separate safe places, ready to talk again. 

 Once that was done, she asked for her guild members to gather in their hall, and while they did that, she typed up instructions for the new channels. As soon as everyone had teleported to her, Rowan set that menu aside, looking over the characters whose players she’d become so familiar with over the years, and she thought she might cry. Instead, she cleared her throat and unmuted her mic. 

 “All right, everyone. Listen up,” she shouted over a mix of hysterical and detached voices. 

 Her guildmates gradually went quiet while their characters turned to her, and she nodded. 

 “I know all of you have crises to handle. I do too, so I won’t take up much of your time,’ she said. “What happened is horrific, something I wish we had more time to appreciate, but we need to prepare for what’s surely coming. 

 “This guild has members scattered across Lutov, in all of its nations, but more importantly, we’re friends. I mean to use Break help any of you that I can, whether I can find a way to log in or by merely checking my messages through the game’s client. How long Nedrya’s servers will be left running is up for debate, but until the game goes down, this is how I will stay in contact with you. 

 “Anyone who wishes to follow my example by helping others is welcome to it. We must stand together against this threat. Whatever they truly are, think of these invaders like a boss at the end of a dungeon. If you want to survive those encounters, you don’t scatter, right? 

 “At the same time, while I hope all of you will help your fellow Breakers, your fellow humans, over the next few days, I also understand the need for self-preservation. If you want to use the new chat channels only to update us on your status, that’s more than fair. 

 “Regarding those channels, I don’t think saying this is truly necessary, but use them only for their intended purposes. We’re in the middle of a possible extinction-level event, people. Don’t be a troll. 

 “Lastly, if anyone wants to send me a private message with your contact info, I’m open to it. I probably won’t use it until Nedrya’s Breaking goes down, but we all know that will happen eventually. 

 “Other than that, I wish you all the best. Good luck, and I hope to see you on the other side.” 

 A chorus of voices rose with some of them merely answering Rowan’s well wishes, but a few of them were asking questions, and hearing that, she rolled her eyes. 

 “Guys! I’ll talk through messages. Right now, I need to log the fuck off so I can get myself and my family somewhere safe. You should do the same.” 

 She didn’t wait for their replies. Closing Nedrya’s Breaking, she turned her storecase off before brushing her fingers along its top. She’d miss it, this first machine she’d put together. 

 Hopefully, they’d have storecases wherever she ended up. She’d hate to have set up an alternate communications network, only for her to never use it. 

 As she stood, pushing her chair under the desk, her throat closed. She couldn’t yet let herself feel her family’s deaths but this? At this moment, Rowan gave herself the small luxury of grieving the end of an era.

Chapter 13: Thank Avan, You're All Right
When Rowan found them, her mom, John, and Aunt Hailey had several crates piled in pull-along wagons as well as knapsacks at their feet, full of supplies she was guessing. John was holding another backpack, focusing on his discussion with the other two until Rowan stopped at his side. 

 Extending it to her, he said, “I didn’t know what you’d want to keep. I packed the outfits you wear the most and another pair of sturdy shoes as well as a few other things.” 

 “Is Aurora in here?” Rowan asked. 

 Frantically, she started unzipping the backpack until John stopped her. 

 “Yes, bean. I packed your stuffed hedgehog,” he said. “I’m not an idiot.” 

 Her eyes started watering, the prelude to the storm that she was holding at bay, so she threw her arms around John’s neck instead. 

 “Thanks, big brother,” she said. 

 Patting her back, John said, “Anytime.” 

 The muttering between their mom and Aunt Hailey abruptly stopped, and frowning, Rowan peeled herself out of the hug. 

 “What’s wrong?” she asked. 

 Her mom had her wristcom lifted, scowling at it. 

 “Nothing,” she said. “I just…” 

 With her lips pursed, she tapped on her wristcom’s screen. 

 “Hello, Ethan,” she said. “Fancy hearing from you, now that the world’s ended.” 

 Ethan? As in one of Veronica’s brothers, specifically Rowan’s eccentric uncle? When she’d been growing up, her mom had talked about him on occasion, but Rowan had never met him before. When she’d asked why he wouldn’t come visit them, her mom would always say that her brother was too paranoid to visit the city and too comfortable in his isolation to let others join him there. After so many years with minimal contact, why would he call today, of all days? 

 “Bay. I only want to help,” an unfamiliar voice said. “Are any of my nieces or nephews nearby? I need to talk to them, and I’m not sure how long this connection will last.” 

 “If you’d ever bothered to get their contact info before now, maybe you could have gone straight to them instead of using me-” Aunt Hailey waved a hand in mom’s face, cutting her off, and once Bay had focused on her, she shook her head, pointing at John and 

 Rowan. They exchanged a glance— 

 “I’ll chalk that outburst up to the loss of your wife,” the unfamiliar voice said. 

 —and stepped forward together. 

 “So, you’re our famous Uncle Ethan,” John said. “Nice to meet you.” 

 Rowan was proud of him. That had been far nicer than it had needed to be. 

 “We’ve heard a lot about you,” she added. “I’m Rowan, by the way, and that was John. Did mom ever tell you about us?” 

 “Veronica often wrote about her family in her letters. You’re two of the youngest three,” Ethan said. “Where’s the other twin, Henry? Actually, where’s the rest of the family? I need to speak with the head of our House.” 

 Gasping, John rocked back on his heels, and Rowan nudged him toward Aunt Hailey, waiting in the wings with a hug. 

 “You just were,” Rowan said. “John, mom, and I are all that’s left. The rest were in Icrodon.” 

 In the silence, her brother’s quiet crying sounded deafening, and Rowan itched to cover it up, but she wouldn’t treat her family’s grief like it should be hidden away. Slowly, she counted to ten in her head, giving Uncle Ethan time to process before forging onward. 

 “I’m sorry, but was there something you wanted?” she asked. “We’re trying to get out of the city before chaos takes over.” 

 Clearing his throat, Ethan said, “I’m glad I caught you before you left, then. My home is isolated and has been well-stocked, in the event of a catastrophe. Granted, I never thought what was coming would be something like this…” 

 As he trailed off, Bay made a face at her wristcom, looking like she might bite the thing. 

 “In any case, I wanted to invite you here,” Ethan continued. “You and any necessary companions you might have.” 

 Necessary companions? As in, a human being could be less than necessary? 

 “Why should we trust you?” Rowan asked. “Don’t get me wrong. I appreciate the offer, but you’ve never been a part of our lives before-” 

 “Rowan. Honey. Much as I hate to admit it, he’s being genuine right now,” Bay said. “The bastard’s been waiting for something like this to happen since before I joined the family.” 

 …Why? Was Uncle Ethan one of those people who saw disasters in everything, or had he had some reason to believe something like Icrodon would happen? 

 “Then, we’ll come to you. It’s not like we have much choice, considering our other options,” John said. “Where are we headed?” 

 “Your mother knows the location,” Ethan said. 

 Rather than acting annoyed with them, as most would over their antagonism, he’d sounded amused. 

 “Depending on your mode of transport, I estimate it’ll take you anywhere from a day to a few weeks to reach me,” he continued. “Given that… Bay? Can you send me their contact info through the usual proxy? I’d like access to everyone in case you run into trouble on the way.” 

 Releasing a long sigh, mom said, “Sure, Ethan. Is there anything else, or can we go?” 

 “No,” Ethan said. “Good luck.” 

 With nothing further, he cut the connection, and Rowan wrinkled her nose at the air over her mom’s wrist. 

 “He seems delightful,” she said. 

 “Don’t be so quick to judge him,” Aunt Hailey said, looking specifically at her sister. “He may be hard to deal with, but from everything I’ve heard, he’ll do anything for this family.” 

 Bay was holding her breath with emotions playing across her face, but she quickly got through her internal battle. 

 “You’re right,” she said. 

 “So, we have a destination,” John said. “How are we getting there?” 

 “I thought we might use two or three off-road vehicles, depending on how many troopers we bring with us,” Bay said. “We should quickly figure out which of them are accompanying us, though, so we can have the rest scatter, to meet us at Ethan’s home.” 

 Before they could get further invested in planning, Rowan clapped her hands together. 

 “Great! You three work on the trooper issue,” she said. “I need to check on something, but once I’m done, I may have our transportation sorted out.” 

 They gave her odd looks but indicated acknowledgment all around before huddling together. Hell, Rowan had forgotten how intense her family got when it came to making battle plans, which this was in a way. John and Bay had always been the least focused when a war in Shoya Dren had called for their expertise or a lord in backwater Sasmor had requested aid with a skirmish between noble families, but even still, their flat lips and flashing eyes did credit to the Kolb name. 

 They were so lost in it that Rowan wondered if anyone but Hailey noticed her slipping out the door. At her aunt’s concerned look, she waved before hanging Asher’s button off her ear again, pressing it. 

 It took him much longer to accept this connection, long enough that Rowan had started gnawing on her thumbnail as she paced to the end of the hall. 

 “‘lo,” he tiredly said when he eventually did. 

 “Hey, Asher,” Rowan said. “I have the start of a plan, but first, how are things on your end?” 

 “Well…” 

 A loud thud interrupted him with a groan of relief following it. 

 “I’ve learned that getting all the equipment I thought was necessary into a car is exhausting when you do it alone,” Asher said. “At least this has taught me that I should have been more grateful for my attendants.” 

 “I can imagine.” 

 Thinking of everything her family’s attendants had done while preparing for last night’s events, Rowan shuddered. It looked like she’d get that taste of an untitled person’s life that she’d always wanted. She didn’t know if she wanted it anymore. 

 “Are you planning on driving into the city?” she asked. “Because I don’t advise it. Xygek’s-” 

 “I’m going nowhere near civilization right now. I can only imagine what a minefield it’s become in the competition for supplies,” Asher interrupted. “No, I’m driving my nondescript car full of scientific equipment to my family’s private airfield. Looks like I’ll actually get to use the pilot’s license that Ma- dad forced me to get. I suppose I’ll have to be grateful to him for once.” 

 “Wait. You have a plane?” Rowan squeaked. 

 Air travel wasn’t a foreign concept in Lutov, but considering how their landmass’ rivers had made natural highways between the nations, most transportation here was aquatic in nature. 

 “Sometimes, going through Novadracht to reach Sasmor is inconvenient,” Asher said. “My House does a lot of business in that nation, and dad hates… hated dealing with passage through Icrodon, so yes. We have a plane.” 

 With a hum, Rowan fell against a wall, resting her head on its drywall. 

 “How many people can it fit?” she asked. 

 “Enough, I’m sure,” Asher said “but how many spots do you need?” 

 A car door slammed on his end of the connection before an engine started. 

 “Four for my family,” Rowan said before pausing. 

 She didn’t know how he’d react to the rest of her request, given how last night had ended. 

 “Row-?” 

 “Plus, one each for Mia, Thomas, and possibly their father,” she said in a rush. 

 After a whoosh of air, something thunked in her ear. 

 “Thank avan above,” Asher breathed, so quietly that Rowan wondered if he’d meant for her to hear it. 

 She was confused. Why had he sounded so relieved? He hadn’t seemed to like Rowan’s friends that much. For sure, she could see him tolerating Mia’s presence on his plane but Thomas? She wasn’t so sure. And that wasn’t counting their father, who hated Cerullis a thousand times more than his son did. 

 “Is there anyone else?” Asher asked. “I have room for two, maybe three more people.” 

 Yeah… Rowan probably shouldn’t mention she’d caught him acting strangely. Best to simply move on. 

 “In that case, we’ll bring a couple of troopers with us,” she said. “The rest of them will meet us at our destination, but it would be good to have a few nearby while we’re traveling.” 

 “Speaking of which, where are we going?” Asher asked. “It’s not that I doubt that we have a destination. I just-” 

 “You want to know. I get it. All of us are running on adrenaline, skirting the razor’s edge of a panic attack,” Rowan said. “My Uncle Ethan’s home is apparently quite isolated. A few minutes ago, he requested a connection to invite us there.” 

 “And… where is that, more specifically?” Asher asked. “I’d like to plot a flight path before taking off.” 

 Wincing, Rowan said, “Sorry, I don’t know. Mom does, but she’s not sharing. Maybe she’ll tell you after I’ve let her know you’re involved in our plans. Avan, that’ll be a fun conversation.” 

 “Then, you should probably handle it soon,” Asher said with amusement. 

 “Hey!” Rowan said. “I’d like to see how you’d handle telling your dad that you’re working with my family, and… oh, shit. That was too soon. I’m sorry.” 

 What was wrong with her? It didn’t matter that Asher’s relationship with his father had seemed strained at best. The man’s death must still hurt. But Rowan had forgotten, too invested in her own temporary denial of what had happened. 

 After taking a few sipping breaths, Asher said, “It’s… fine. Go tell your family what we’re doing. I’ll send you the airstrip’s coordinates so you can leave once you’re ready, although I’d appreciate an update once you’re on your way.” 

 “Of course,” Rowan said. “I’ll let you know if anything changes too.” 

 “Same to you.” 

 After replacing Asher’s device in her pocket, Rowan slapped her face a few times before making the trek back to her family. She fully intended to launch into an explanation of the plan she’d made as soon as she stepped inside, but when she did, she registered the new additions to the room first. Someone in a uniform was standing with her mom while Thomas and Mia hovered nearby, and Rowan ran, shrieking, to her friends. 

 They fell on each other, touching faces and crying and speaking words that probably meant something before they’d emerged from the three, but she couldn’t comprehend them right now. The only thing she knew was that they were safe and alive with her. After everything today had brought, she reveled in this spot of joy, immersing herself in it. 

 When she could bring herself to break free, she found the three of them in a melted puddle on the floor with mom talking to a trooper… Liam over them. Rowan should probably butt into that conversation with her news, but she pressed her face into Mia’s shoulder instead. 

 “I’m so glad you’re ok,” she said. 

 “Me too,” Mia said before prying Rowan away from her. 

 One look at her face and Rowan knew what she was going to say. She flattened her palms over Mia’s mouth, shaking her head. 

 “Don’t,” she said. “Let’s get out of Xygek first, ok?” 

 Above her hands, Mia’s eyes crinkled with worry, but she nodded, and Rowan released her. As she got to her feet, she touched Thomas’ cheek. 

 “Good to see you too,” she said. “Sorry for what I’m about to do.” 

 Rolling his eyes, Thomas said, “Yeah, yeah. I know I’m second rate compared to- wait. What?” 

 While he swiped for Rowan’s wrist, he was a breath too slow to catch it, and frowning at him, Rowan stopped beside Liam and her mom. 

 “Good work with my friends, Lieutenant Avisbell,” she said. 

 Stiffening to attention, Liam said, “Thank you ma’am.” 

 With a laugh, Rowan lightly patted his shoulder. 

 “Relax, lieutenant. I’m not any scarier than my mother,” she said before turning to Bay. “What were you talking about?” 

 “Logistics to get us through the mountains,” mom said. “Your aunt and brother are busy with picking who will accompany us while I have the unenviable task of choosing whether we’ll take the road beneath the mountains or circle them instead.” 

 Hiding a smile, Rowan crossed her arms. 

 “Why don’t we go over them?” she asked. 

 Her mom made a face. 

 “I’d love to, baby girl, but…” 

 She waved at Liam. 

 “Not many roads cross over the mountains, ma’am,” he said, “and of those that do, we’re fairly uninformed about the surrounding area, whether it comes to terrain or possible hostiles. Risking a tunnel collapsing on us or circling the mountain would be safer.” 

 “I see,” Rowan said, “but that’s not what I asked. When I said over, I meant way over.” 

 She zoomed her hand in an arch, banking and dipping it, and almost poked Thomas in the eye with that effort. 

 “A plane? House Kolb owns one?” he said. “Those are wicked expensive. Even we don’t have one.” 

 “Neither does my family,” Rowan said before her mom could cut in, “but Asher Cerullis does.” 

 Everyone around her locked up, and she so badly wanted to laugh at the range of expressions around her, from horrified to disgusted, but she kept her face blank. 

 “Are you suggesting that we put ourselves in his family’s debt?” her mom asked. 

 “I’m suggesting that my friend can help us,” Rowan said. “The way we did things before is dead, mom. Let’s not allow family pride to kill the last of the Kolbs.” 

 Without pausing, she turned to Liam. 

 “We have room for two troopers, lieutenant,” she said. “If you could inform John and Aunt Hailey of this before having everyone else scatter from here, I’d be grateful.” 

 “Two!” Liam squeaked before squeezing his lips closed. 

 Closing his eyes, he took a steadying breath. 

 With a nod, he continued, “As you say, Lady Rowan.” 

 While he trotted away, Rowan met Bay’s eyes, seeing resignation but also acceptance there, and with neither of them saying a word, they understood one another. She wasn’t happy with this plan but would go along with it. Rowan hated putting her in this situation, but it needed to be done. 

 The picture she was presented with when it came to her friends, however, was hilarious. Mia had Thomas muzzled with him trying to speak through her hands, interspersed with brief bouts of quiet, and from her grimaces, Rowan was guessing he was licking his sister during those pauses. 

 “My dad won’t like this,” Mia said. 

 “He doesn’t have to come with us, although if he’s smart, he’ll get over himself and accept Asher’s help,” Rowan said. “You’re not obligated to join me either.” 

 Mia glared at her, but before she could speak, Thomas knocked his sister’s hands away. 

 “Are you kidding me?” he asked. “You’re more our family than our dad is.” 

 “Although we will try to persuade him to come,” Mia added. 

 Making a face, Thomas nodded, and Rowan fought to keep from crying. She hadn’t been sure if they’d stay with her. 

 With nothing else to hold them together, their group dissolved. They had no more time for flowery words, only escape. Once they were in the air, maybe they could deal with this long morning’s fallout, but until then, they must focus only on what would keep them alive.

Chapter 14: The Right Thing to Do
Oscar Shalen, a consummate businessman down to the having no soul bit, was a whiny bitch. As their car leaped over another unexpected bump in the terrain, jarring them, he grimaced, opening his mouth to complain again, and fucking hell, Rowan was going to strangle him. She didn’t know if Mia saw this in her or not, but she clamped her fingers on her dad’s knee before rubbing his leg. 

 “Almost there,” she said. “Just a few more minutes.” 

 She glanced at Rowan, in the front seat, and she lifted one shoulder in a shrug. Rowan didn’t know where they were going, trusting the trooper at her side with that. For all she knew, Asher’s airstrip could be hours from here. 

 Taking a deep breath, Oscar patted his daughter’s hand. 

 “I certainly hope so,” he said. “I didn’t agree to getting tossed around in more than one metal can.” 

 Thank avan he hadn’t mentioned Asher again. The ten minutes Mia had spent convincing him to get in the damn car weren’t ones Rowan could forget anytime soon. 

 Fortunately, or unfortunately she supposed, Rowan wasn’t the only one who’d been caught in the misery of Oscar Shalen’s presence. Mia, implacable as always, had been treating this car ride like she did with any other boring event in her life, but that was just her. Rowan wasn’t looking forward to the day she truly broke down or otherwise lost her cool. 

 On the other side of her, though, John looked about ready to crawl into a hole and die, which Rowan couldn’t blame him for. Caught in their own little world, it was easy for noble families to forget how unimportant the Houses had become. Sure, some of them hold great influence—Houses like Rowan’s family with their small army of troopers, Cerullis with their focus on technological development, or House Breyham with their staggering wealth—but most noble families didn’t have as many resources at their disposal as those few did. In fact, they did almost nothing to make their mark on society, keeping exclusively to themselves. 

 Which didn’t help with their sway in Lutov as a whole. The only reason the untitled respected the nobles was out of reverence for the old emperor, dead for these many centuries, who’d given them their titles, although long-standing tradition probably helped with that too. The people of the four nations were incredibly resistant to change. 

 None of that truly mattered anymore. Still, it explained why when Oscar had made snide comments or otherwise derided the Kolb family’s standing, it had come as a shock, even if Rowan had been expecting it. Considering that all of the quips he’d delivered today had been aimed at John, though, who was already wrapped in his private cocoon of debilitating grief, she wasn’t surprised that her brother was hanging onto his door’s handle like he’d yank it open so he could fall out, no matter how fast they were going. 

 Seeing this, Rowan was a little miffed at Thomas for refusing to get in the same car as his father. Only the knowledge that their current, hostile atmosphere would be a million times worse if he’d been in here had kept her from deciding to make her friend her sparring partner for the next few weeks. 

 Again, Oscar screwed up his face while opening his mouth, and Rowan swore. If he said one more caustic thing, she was going to leap into the backseat so she could punch his face in. 

 So, she forestalled anything that might have her doing that. 

 “If you complain again, I’m telling Corporal Spheris here to stop the car so we can leave you behind, and you can make your own way,” she said. “The only reason you’re with us is because you’re Thomas and Mia’s father. Don’t push your luck.” 

 Oscar clicked his teeth together, glaring at Rowan, while Mia murmured soothing words at him. Rowan had never understood her attachment to this man. From what she could tell, he wasn’t a great father. Thomas had only stayed in his household for as long as he had because his financial situation would have been dire otherwise, through no fault of his own. Oscar had refused to let his children attend a college—“That polluting influence”—where they could learn useful skills. Instead, he’d had private tutors brought in to teach his children what they’d need to run Shalen Corp and that alone. 

 Thomas had hated this. Mia… Rowan wasn’t sure what she thought about her schooling. She didn’t talk about it much. She didn’t talk much at all, actually, letting her brash brother take the spotlight, except for when she was just with Rowan and him. 

 She hadn’t always been like this. When they’d been younger, she’d been a chatterbox with no one able to shut her up, but then had come the fire and… 

 She’d changed. They both had, but where Thomas had poured his time and energy into making unrealistic revenge plans on the Cerullis family, Mia had gone quiet and reserved, forever doting on her father while also keeping him in line. 

 Maybe that was why she sometimes stuck to him like glue. Maybe she was afraid of losing another parent. 

 The car jerked again, but once its wheels landed on the ground this time, they were back to a smooth ride over asphalt, which had everyone inside sighing with relief. When Rowan once more settled into her seat, she was pleased to find a chain-link fence in the distance ahead with its gate already open. 

 They sped through it and toward the only hangar on the small tarmac beyond. The Cerullis jet, a tiny twin of the rare commercial planes that crossed from the mainland to Shoya Dren, was sitting in the open in front of the hangar, and as the car came to a stop at its side, Asher climbed down a ladder near the plane’s nose, hopping to the asphalt from the last rung. He waved at them, indicating where they should park. 

 Behind Rowan, Oscar muttered nasty sounding words under his breath. 

 “Play nice, dad,” Mia whispered before Rowan could. “In fact, maybe you should keep quiet until after we’ve landed. You can chew him out then.” 

 Oscar grumbled at that, even though he also appeared satisfied, but apparently, the tension in this car had become too much for John. As soon as it was safe to do so, he opened a door. 

 In a strangled voice, he said, “I’ll start unloading our things.” 

 He couldn’t get out of the car fast enough, and after watching this, Rowan turned to the trooper beside her. 

 “Will you watch him, please?” she said. “I’m… worried.” 

 When the corporal nodded, Rowan opened her door and stepped out on the tarmac, hurrying to Asher. 

 “Did my mom give you what you needed?” she asked. 

 Before leaving their manse, she’d given Asher’s device to Bay, hoping they could hash out any complications that might arise from their families working together. It looked like they’d successfully done that from the wave Asher directed Bay’s way. 

 “I have our course set, yes,” he said. “All we need to worry about now is other pilots in the air, not that I expect to see many. Considering how rarely any of us fly, though, I can see someone forgetting to announce their positioning today, which could cause a mid-air crash. And… aliens might be a problem too, I suppose.” 

 When he cracked a grin at Rowan, she swatted his arm. 

 “You live up to your family’s reputation,” Asher said in deadpan. “Very violent.” 

 While Rowan stuck her tongue out at him, John shouted at them. 

 “If you two plan on kissing, would you hurry it up, please? We could use some help.” 

 Snickering, Rowan pressed a hand to her mouth, waving at Asher’s stricken expression. 

 “Please, forgive my brother,” she said. “He can be an asshole sometimes, although… I’m rather glad to see some liveliness in him now, even if it came at my expense.” 

 Sucking on her lip, she cocked her head at John, who was working with the corporal to get one of their heavier items out of a car. 

 “Anyway, he’s right,” she continued. “I should help.” 

 “That… seems… wise,” Asher said in a strained voice. 

 When she started trotting to the cars, Rowan spun to blow kisses at Asher, laughing at his tight smile. Rather than going to her brother, she headed for Mia, standing at the trunk of the other car. She was busy rifling through each piece of her luggage, checking what it held before placing it in one of their wagons.  

 Rowan couldn’t blame her for her scrutiny. When they’d been at her home, packing had been rushed with Liam appearing halfway through to share that a mob had been on the way. 

 On the sidelines, Thomas was waiting for her to finish with his foot tapping while the wagon beside him was half-full. 

 As Rowan came closer, Mia asked, “What was that about?” 

 She never pulled her head out of the backpack it was buried in. 

 “I was making sure Asher has everything he needs to get us in the air,” Rowan said. “Do you need help with anything?” 

 “Make sure I put our toothbrushes in this. I wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up somewhere else,” Mia said, pointing at a pocket in the piece of luggage beside her, “and that wasn’t what I meant.” 

 Humming, Rowan carefully peeled apart the pocket’s folds. 

 “What did you mean, then?” she asked. “Toothbrushes and various dental necessities: check.” 

 Nodding, Mia pulled her head out of the backpack. 

 “Thomas, this one’s done,” she called before turning to Rowan. “The flirting. I’m talking about you flirting with Asher.” 

 With a guffaw tearing out of her, Rowan let the pocket she was holding snap closed, but Mia was watching her with a carefully neutral expression, and Thomas was far too focused on slowly placing the backpack in the wagon. 

 “Oh, shit,” Rowan said. “I was flirting?” 

 “That’s certainly what it looked like,” Thomas said. 

 “Avan damnit.” 

 Huffing, Rowan rested her hands on her hips, lowering her head while she chewed on her lip. 

 “I wasn’t trying to flirt. You two know how I am with that sort of thing,” she said. “Besides, even if I wanted to flirt, I wouldn’t do it now, not consciously. With our current circumstances as they are, romance must absolutely be set aside. For now.” 

 Straightening, Thomas dusted his hands off, narrowing his eyes at Asher. The other boy was helping Rowan’s mom with… something. She couldn’t tell what it was from this distance, but they were laughing, which was nice to see. Anything that distracted Bay or John from their losses was welcome right now. 

 “So, you don’t find him attractive?” Thomas asked. 

 Cocking her head, Rowan said, “I mean… he’s pretty enough to look at, sure, but when I do, it doesn’t fill me with lust or anything. Nobody ever has. Besides, why does it matter, especially given, you know, aliens?” 

 With a head shake, Thomas said, “You’re right, of course. Sensible Rowan, ever to the rescue.” 

 He moved to take the suitcase from Rowan, but when he touched it, Mia clawed at him. 

 “I wasn’t done with that one,” she hissed. 

 Laughing under her breath, Rowan checked how much those two had left to unload, briefly wondering where their father had run off to, before stalking toward a second group of people. The corporal she’d set to watch John was gone. Instead, he was in the middle of handing a crate up to Liam, but Rowan didn’t care about her brother’s currently precarious positioning. She smacked the back of his head. 

 “I would appreciate it,” she hissed, “if you refrained from making drama for the time being.” 

 “Ow!” 

 Once Liam had the crate, John rubbed his skull. 

 “What drama?” he snapped. 

 “You know what? It doesn’t matter. I’m creating my own drama right now, which is stupid, especially since I didn’t care a few minutes ago,” Rowan said. “Just… can you please focus on what we’re doing? Don’t get distracted with trying to set me up on a date.” 

 “Ok! Avan, Rowan,” John said. “Why are you so intense all of a sudden?” 

 Oh, the answer she could give her brother. That while they’d spent five minutes at the most with getting their belongings on the jet, it had been too long. That she didn’t like the implication of anything romantic in her life, not now. Sex? Sure, if there was time. Romance, on the other hand, could take a big fucking step back until nothing was breathing down their neck. 

 But she said none of this. Getting in John’s face, she poked his shoulder. 

 “I want to survive,” she growled. 

 John blinked at her a few times, and with each shuttering of his lids over his eyes, his gaze softened, but whatever he’d been gearing up to say got interrupted by Liam as he dropped onto the tarmac. 

 “In the spirit of survival, I’d like it if you two carried these,” he said, reaching for his ankle and waist. “My job is to protect the Kolb family, and considering my job is my purpose in life…” 

 When he offered each of them a handgun, they carefully took the weapons. John kept his pointed at the ground while Liam removed the weapons’ holsters. 

 Meanwhile, Rowan turned aside, checking her surroundings before lifting the gun to press its magazine release. Once that was free, she glanced at the magazine, and yes, bullets were in there. Pocketing those, she pulled the handgun’s slide back, making sure nothing extra was waiting for her in its chamber, before aiming at a bunch of trees. Only then did she move her finger to the trigger and squeeze it, expecting and getting no shots fired. Now that she knew it was unloaded, she could move forward: returning the magazine to the handgun’s grip before holstering it. 

 In Athari, one of the many qualifications that were required before someone could own a gun was showing that one inherently knew how to safely handle the weapon. Rowan wished she understood the laws and regulations that had once maintained this standard, but when in history and politics classes during college, she’d always nodded off. When she had questions about those subjects, she usually turned to Mia, the closest to an expert in those fields that Rowan knew. 

 But how to safely handle a gun? She excelled at that. 

 Once both of their firearms had been holstered, Liam gabe the siblings approving nods. 

 “Your parents and instructors have taught you well,” he said. “If you’ll excuse me, I must ensure Lady Bay is properly armed as well before we board this jet.” 

 “I’ll go with you,” Rowan said. “If you don’t mind.” 

 Bowing, Liam said, “I’m at your disposal, Lady Rowan.” 

 Meeting John’s gaze, Rowan rolled her eyes. 

 “I appreciate the respect you mean to give me, Lieutenant Avisbell,” she said, “but if you bow to me again, I will show you why no one wanted to spar with me toward the end of my combat training.” 

 Rising from his bow, Liam frowned at her. 

 “Then, forgive my bluntness, but how am I supposed to treat you, ma’am?” he asked. 

 “When in public, I’m your superior officer,” Rowan said, “but when no one else is around, save for my family, I am your equal, Liam. In all things.” 

 Hesitating, Liam looked to John for his approval, which was going to get irritating eventually. Yeah, he was the head of House Kolb but come on. He didn’t always know best. 

 Still, Rowan kept her cool while John nodded. 

 “In that case, I’d be happy if you came with me,” Liam said. 

 They parted ways with John, and as they move toward Asher and her mom, Rowan note with satisfaction that the group was almost ready to board the jet and get the fuck out of Xygek. When no one was within earshot, however, Liam slowed down. 

 “I was wondering if I might ask you a personal question,” he said. 

 Avan, getting this man to relax around her was going to be a pain in the ass, wasn’t it? 

 “I just told you to treat me as your equal,” Rowan said. “Feel free to ask me anything you like.” 

 “Then-” 

 Liam stopped, bringing her up short as well. 

 “How are you so put together right now?” he asked. “I’m almost falling apart myself, but you… you’ve lost so much, but you keep right on going, standing strong for us.” 

 No. No, no, no. How had he found the worst possible question he could ask? 

 Because hearing Liam, someone Rowan hardly knew, observe that she seemed unaffected by what had happened yanked her free of her deliberate ignorance. Everyone who’d seen her laughing with Asher, teasing her friends, ribbing her brother, did they think Icrodon’s destruction hadn’t affected her? Did they think she didn’t miss the people who’d been lost, an ache a thousand times worse than anything physically could be? 

 Couldn’t they see that she was only doing what she had to? She couldn’t think about the dead, both the many she’d never know and the five precious few who’d been hers. She couldn’t. 

 When she next blinked, her mom had taken Liam’s place, although he was hovering nearby. She looked worried, glancing over Rowan’s head every so often and tugging on her, but Rowan didn’t care. 

 “Mama…” she sobbed. “I can’t do it. I can’t- I can’t! I need it to stop.” 

 Her mom snapped her focus to Rowan. Taking hold of her shirt, Bay drew her to closer, almost lifting her off of her feet, and Rowan froze, inside and out. Her mom wasn’t this strong. Was she? 

 Jutting her face forward, Bay hissed, “Yes, you fucking can Rowan Veronica Kolb. I have lost my wife and four damn children today. I will. not. lose another one. So, stop this, and get on the damn plane. Preferably before we’re turned to vapor.” 

 With her mouth hanging open, Rowan tried to figure out who this woman in front of her was. This couldn’t be Bay, who was always in her wife’s shadow, always helping where she could, always unsure of her position in foreign Atharian culture. This was- 

 This was mom. Shoya Dren mom. The woman her mother from Athari had fallen in love with. 

 And she was afraid. Why? 

 When Rowan glanced around them, Bay loosened her grip, only to drag her toward Asher’s jet with Liam on their heels, but as her mom spun her, Rowan understood why she’d returned to the base of who she was. 

 What she’d feared since this morning had occurred. An alien aircraft had arrived to blot out the sky.

Chapter 15: Holy Shit, Holy Shit, Holy-
They were the last ones on the jet with everyone else already buckled down in their seats, and mom threw Rowan at one of the few left available, beside Thomas. She did something at the hatch—Rowan couldn’t see what—before running toward them, screaming. 

 “Go, Asher!” 

 In the instant Bay hit a seat, reaching for its belt, the jet accelerated. 

 “This is going to be bumpy, everyone,” Asher said with his voice coming from the speakers. “I’ll leave my mic on in case I need help in the cockpit but otherwise…” 

 His far-too-calm voice fell quiet as they lifted off of the ground. 

 Rowan had never flown before. River and roadways had always been sufficient for any travel she’d had to make in the past, so this stomach-dropping-through-her-feet sensation was new, and she wasn’t sure if she liked it. In fact, she might have thought the feeling was the effect of an enemy weapon or something equally as devastating if Asher hadn’t been so utterly quiet in the cockpit. 

 Far too much of Rowan wanted to race up there and make sure he was ok with nothing impairing his judgment, and she might have indulged that impulse if she hadn’t spent the last few weeks with Asher. She knew this quiet, one that fell when he was concentrating, so she didn’t move. 

 Others found it more disturbing. 

 Beside her, Thomas was jittering his leg, and no matter how much Mia rubbed his arm or his father glared at him, he couldn’t stop chewing the hell out of his lip. After about two minutes of this, which Rowan was sure felt interminably longer to him, he started undoing his lap belt’s buckle. 

 “Fuck it,” he said. 

 Only Rowan and Mia’s grips on his wrists keep him from standing. 

 Rowan said, “Everything’s ok. If there were a problem, Asher would have said something.” 

 Mia only said, “He’s fine.” 

 Rowan wasn’t sure which of them calmed Thomas down, but he collapsed, turning to bury his face in Rowan’s shoulder, while the weird feeling that had been tugging on her stomach relented. They soared through the sky in a tense, roaring monotone for perhaps a few minutes. Then, the speakers crackled again. 

 “That’s weird,” Asher said. 

 Which was not something someone wanted to hear from the person who had one’s life in their hands. Rowan started growling under her breath, even as Asher continued. 

 “I need someone’s help up here.” 

 Oh… that hadn’t been a good tone of voice. Also. 

 “Why are all of you looking at me?” Rowan asked. 

 “You know him best,” her mom said. “You’ll catch any nuances form him that we might miss.” 

 “Now,” Asher shouted over the speaker with his voice rising in pitch. 

 With a snarl, Rowan unbuckled her lap belt and stormed toward the cockpit, praying the whole time that the floor wouldn’t leap beneath her. When she crashed into the seat beside Asher, he didn’t glance at her, merely swiping at a few things on the touch screen between them without looking at it. A radial indicator, much like what was used to measure a car’s speed or its engine’s heat, flashed onto the screen in front of her. 

 “I need two things from you,” Asher said, tensed. Scared. “Tell me if that starts flashing red and keep an eye out for our enemies.” 

 “Our enemies?” 

 Asher nodded to something outside of the cockpit’s canopy, and glancing where indicated, Rowan barely contained her scream. The same claw-like object that had ruined every life in Lutov loomed large ahead of them, getting closer with every second, and the cloud of blips around it was swarming toward them. 

 “The hell are you doing?” she shouted. 

 Wincing, Asher said, “Taking the most direct route away from Xygek, one that has the best chance of throwing our pursuers off of our tail. Assuming we survive this next part, of course.” 

 “Are you aware that you’re flying us straight at the enemy?” Rowan snapped. 

 Asher took a steadying breath. 

 “No, Rowan, I thought the thing that nearly wiped out both of our families was friendly-” 

 Yelping, he pushed into whatever the hell he was holding, and they dove toward the ground with the force of it pushing Rowan into her seat. Almost immediately afterward, a beam of light zipped over the top of the jet’s canopy, and Asher leveled them off with his face tight. 

 “That’s why I’m arrowing us toward our enemy,” he said, far too calmly. “It’s in the way of our flight path, and if we try to go around—” 

 He jerked on something, and they banked to the left while a ribbed-and-ivory object flashed past so close to them that its slipstream rattled the jet. 

 “— those things will overwhelm us,” Asher continued. “Maybe if we get through them and out the other side, they’ll lose interest in us, but for now—” 

 Again, acceleration pushed Rowan into leather, and her vision splotched for a second. 

 “—I have to avoid the damn things and everything they’re shooting at us, and this jet isn’t built to handle the maneuvers I’m pulling,” Asher said with a note of hysteria disturbing his calm. “So, do what I fucking told you to do!” 

 Damn, Rowan had never heard him curse so much before. She wondered if he still had the cabin’s speaker transmitting. 

 They lurched to the side as an aircraft—distinctly alien in nature this time—silently shot beneath them. 

 “Rowan!” 

 Swallowing, Rowan yanked her eyes to the screen in front of her. 

 “You’re good,” she said. “No red.” 

 Then, she scanned the sky around them, above and below, or as much of it as she could see at least. 

 “Two o’clock. Thirty degrees above.” 

 Rowan didn’t know if Asher knew military terminology like that or if he was smart enough to figure it out without an explanation, but either way, he got them out of the way of the distant streak of light that had been hurtling for them. 

 They continued like this for the most intense Rowan didn’t know how long of her life. It was probably a couple of minutes at most. Asher didn’t need many call-outs from her, avoiding things that would have ripped the jet to pieces with a split second to spare, and Rowan couldn’t help but marvel at that. He couldn’t have been trained for this. Who was going to teach someone how to fight in the air when humanity hardly ever left the ground?  

 All the same, he was good at it, and Rowan didn’t just mean when it came to his flying. His calm and ridiculous self-assuredness in the face of impossible odds? She was well acquainted with those two qualities. She’d experienced them in intense combat simulations. She was in their grip now. 

 As they darted beneath an enormous, alien claw, Rowan was far removed from her body and the circumstances she’d found myself in. Her consciousness had loosened its grip with something ever-present but buried beneath the surface peeking through. It was almost like what happened when she went dancing and lost herself to the beat, but a part of her refused to fully let go this time, making her watch each of their near-misses in excruciating detail. 

 Then, a beam of light connected instead of harmlessly flashing past, and the jet shuddered, making Rowan’s view of the horizon violently wobble. 

 “Not good,” Asher said under his breath. 

 Snapping her head to him, Rowan said, “What’s not good?” 

 Still focused, Asher said, “Don’t worry about it. Do your job.” 

 But she couldn’t anymore. She tried, truly, and they made it out from under the claw’s shadow, but as soon as they were free of it, something shook the jet like a baby would with a rattle, and when Rowan’s lap belt barely kept her pinned in place, she hoped everyone else had been smart enough to keep theirs on. 

   

 “Crap,” Asher hissed. 

 The jet’s nose tilted toward the ground, and he started furiously moving, swiping at touch screens while pulling back on the… wheel? Yoke? Rowan didn’t know what it was called. 

 For a brief second, she focused on remembering its name because doing that was keeping her from acknowledging the fact that- 

 “We’re crashing,” she said. 

 Never taking his eyes off of what he was doing, Asher said, “Yes.” 

 What? No! He was supposed to reassure her. Tell her everything would be fine. That was what pilots did! At least, that was what Rowan thought. It was what commanding officers told their subordinates when there was no way the squad was getting out of a situation alive. He could lie to her, damnit! 

 But no. Rowan was going to die, and she’d be angry when she did, pissed about something like this. Hell, what had she last said to Mia? Thomas? Did her mom and John know how much she loved them? They had to know. They couldn’t leave this world, ignorant of it like- like- 

 “Please stop screaming, Rowan,” Asher tightly said. “Making this landing is going to be difficult enough for me.” 

 Making… this… 

 “We’re not going to die?” Rowan breathed. 

 “Don’t get your hopes up yet,” Asher said. 

 Avan, they were so close to the ground. Across the plains beneath them, a herd of elk fled from the horror of plummeting metal. Considering the flat expanse in all directions, at least they wouldn’t have to worry about trees. 

 Wait, no trees. No covers. The things chasing them would tear them apart when- 

 Their speed abruptly stopped, and Rowan hurtled toward a screen.

Chapter 16: Catching Our Breath
Something was wrong. Rowan didn’t remember what it was, couldn’t decide what could have gone wrong, but something was. Something- 

 A loud noise… voice… crash... tugged at her. Moaning, she flailed, looking for Mia. Thomas and Asher had argued last night. She wasn’t happy with them, but Mia… Mia was good. Mia was soft and warm and… she’d help Rowan figure it out, her secondary family, and when Anthony and the rest came home, she’d… What would she-? 

 “…allied yourself with Cerullis, of all families, Bay? It’s no wonder you’re in such bad shape. The brat probably crashed his jet while trying to kill off a rival House.” 

 “And himself in the process, Ethan? Really? Look, I only requested a connection with you to update you on our status. I don’t have to listen to you if you’re going to act like this.” 

 “You little…! No. Avan damnit, you’re right. I’m sorry I’m being such an ass. I know I’m not likable but this… I’m sorry.” 

 “It’s ok I get it.” 

 “It’s just that I—” 

 “I miss her too.” 

 “—miss her.” 

 “Of course you do. She was your sister.” 

 “She was your wife. Hell, I can’t even imagine what that’s like.” 

 “No. You can’t. But I can’t imagine how it would feel if Hailey…” 

 “Yes, well. It’s not great but… why are we talking about this again? Don’t you have better things to do after surviving a plane crash than speak with me?” 

 “I’m doing the best thing I possibly can right now: making sure my babies are ok.” 

 “…Are they hurt?” 

 “John only has a few scrapes and bruises, thank avan. We think Rowan might have a concussion, but we won’t be sure until she wakes up.” 

 “She’s going to be fine, Bay. Everything will be…” 

 Something was wrong. 

 Something was wrong. 

 Some- 

 Chill fingers brushed through Rowan’s hair, plucking at its strands. A damp spot spread along her back with something sodden trying to reach her goosebump-pricked skin. There was a smell in the air, a tinge of oil, an enormous amount of smoke, but none of that last scent was entering her nose or mouth. She could breathe. 

 Why was she so cold? 

 Opening her eyes took effort with their lids languidly peeling back, but once that was done, Rowan could see stars. A light source nearby was trying to drown them out, but it wasn’t a city’s lights, and it certainly wasn’t the sun. The far distant stars prevailed. Unsteadily, Rowan lifted herself onto her elbows with a blanket falling into her lap. Someone had built a fire nearby—the source of the smoke, she presumed—and several people, concealed by shadows, were huddled around it. On the other side of her, the earth had been turned into a mound, a knee-high line of it, with a metal cylinder resting along its length. The tube rose at a slight angle with landing gear keeping its tail aloft, and one wing almost succeeded where the fire had failed in blocking Rowan’s view of the stars. In between these two sights, only plains lay with a few dots of light—towns most likely—on the horizon. 

 “Your friend did good. We started dropping, and I thought for sure we were dead, especially with you screaming bloody murder, but… he did well.” 

 Relaxing, Rowan tilted her head back, smiling at the figure standing over her. 

 “John,” she said. 

 “Hey, tiny bean,” John said. “It’s good to see you awake.” 

 While he folded to the ground, Rowan wrinkled her nose. 

 “What happened? The jet crashed and…” 

 She scrunched her eyebrows together. 

 “I thought I heard mom. Is she ok?” 

 “Fine. Arguing with Asher, Lieutenant Avisbell, and Oscar freaking Shalen about what to do next,” John said, pointing to the clustered group. “We’re lucky. Everyone’s alive, and our worst injury was a broken arm.” 

 Scooching under her, John pressed on Rowan’s forehead until she laid back in his lap. 

 “Why aren’t you…?” she started. 

 “Mom’s been watching you near constantly since we pulled you out of the jet. She needed a break,” John said. “And she’s better at… that—” 

 He flung a hand toward the people discussing their plans. 

 “—than me. Although I guess I’ll have to learn how to argue like her soon.” 

 Making a disgusted noise, he stroked her hair. 

 “You’ll be…” 

 Rowan didn’t know how to finish that statement, though, mostly because her head had started fiercely aching. Squinting, she turned away from the firelight, which was only making that ache worse. What had she been telling John? 

 Had it been about how something felt off? Why did her subconscious keep trying to trip her into a fight or flight reaction? Something was wrong… 

 Or maybe it wasn’t. 

 “Since we’re not worm food right now, I’m guessing the aliens have left us alone?” Rowan asked. 

 Nodding, John said, “They’d gone once we stumbled out of the jet with even that massive ship of theirs having disappeared from the sky. We’re not sure what happened, but we’re alive so…” 

 He shrugged before stretching toward something on the other side of her. 

 “But you shouldn’t worry about that,” he said. “We’re safe for the moment, away from the city’s mobs and with nothing alien in sight. You should look through this and make sure I packed everything you’ll need for the next few days. Lieutenant Avisbell wants to make a stop in Nasmi tomorrow for a few things. Let me know what you want added to the list.” 

 John plopped a knapsack onto the ground beside Rowan, which had her frowning up at him. Why did she feel like he was manipulating her into something right now? 

 Pulling the knapsack to her chest, she unzipped it, first digging something fuzzy and soft from it. Black and tan, Aurora stared up at Rowan with beady eyes, and she stared right back. She’d had the stuffed hedgehog for as long as she could remember, the only thing she owned that had come from her birth parents. Aurora had been her companion through the best and worst of times, and she could not sleep without the stuffed animal. She wasn’t sure why that was. 

 Rowan hugged the stuffed animal to her chest, burying her nose and mouth into the hedgehog’s face, and an irrational part of her found herself at home. After nuzzling her, Rowan trapped Aurora between the knapsack and her stomach so she could draw out the next few items. 

 Two sets of sensible outfits and a pair of sturdy boots were soon spread on the dried grass around her, and she nodded with approval. John had made good choices. An obligatory hygiene pack followed these, but after that came something that turned her nerve endings completely numb. 

 It was a framed photograph, carefully wrapped in a jacket. In it, Rowan was wearing one of those awful gowns that one was forced to wear during college graduations with her hair a mess and all of her joyous and exposed for the world to see. She’d hooked her arm around Henry’s neck, dragging him down so she could knead her knuckles into his scalp. He’d made some ribald joke the moment before, and there was John at his side, caught halfway through rolling his eyes. 

 Logan was on her other side, leaning in to lick her cheek, because of course he was. The younger boys had always fucking loved making trouble, spending hours planning pranks between them. 

 Paisley had her arms crossed and her eyes raised to the heavens while Veronica was swatting the back of Logan’s head, even with a fond smile in place. Anthony stood off to the side, tired and proud, and Bay watched everything by her wife’s side with her mischievous side showing through her approving half-smile. 

 It certainly wasn’t the most flattering picture of the Kolb family, but it was more candid than the formal portraits Rowan had sat through. She clung to its frame so hard that she thought she might break the glass, and air shuddered in and out of her lungs. 

 “That’s one of my favorites,” John said. “The last of the Kolb children leaves the safety of school, young and ready to conquer the world. Look at us now.” 

 The fire nearby popped, filling his weighty silence, and Rowan teetered on the edge of something she didn’t want, about to slide into a shattering that she’d staved off for almost twelve hours. 

 “I know it’s one of your fondest memories,” John continued. “Not many people showed up for your graduation, sure. Far less than any of us expected, but still, we were there, and don’t think we failed to notice how much that lit you up. I swear to avan, you nearly blinded us when you came running our way after the ceremony.” 

 He slowly breathed out with that air skipping over an impediment in his throat. 

 “I hate thinking about how much we ignored you. Fucking hell, all the things we thought were so important seem so damn pointless now…” 

 “And the ones who mattered are gone,” Rowan hollowly finished. 

 “Yes.” 

 Oh, how that word, had been ripped from her brother, twining around the awfulness coiling in her, and she couldn’t keep the monster down anymore. 

 “They’re gone, John,” she said. 

 When she tried to shoot upright, Rowan ended up right back in his lap with those cursed stars above them whirling. 

 “What do we do?” she whispered. 

 She hated the shake in her voice and the heat in her eyes. 

 “How do we keep living without them? How is the world still spinning when they’re fucking gone?” 

 And she screamed, at what she didn’t know. The noise was deafening and awful, and Rowan was pounding against what had made it until something stopped her. 

 But by then, the scream had turned intelligible. 

 “WHY?” 

 It was an idiotic question. Rowan knew life was stupid and cruel and indifferent to all those who suffered, but she couldn’t help voicing this protest, this uncontainable cry of indignity forced into a single word, one she was sure countless other people across Lutov had asked themselves today. She’d hoped she might hold out on joining them until the sun had dawned on a new day, but here she was with her face sticky from tears and a dribbling nose, and her throat was screaming its own protest about how much she’d abused it. 

 She didn’t dare let herself consider why she was in this much pain, not consciously at least. She just rode waves of grief with no heading to point her toward a safe harbor and no rudder to steer her there. Would she ever heal from this, or would this heartache plague her for the rest of her life? 

 If so, she didn’t want to live like this. 

 Almost as soon as the thought crossed her mind, something knotted and dragged itself through her hair, but it was comforting, this pull, and a voice lifted and dropped in a pleasing pattern, a melody Rowan had known since she’d been small. Light the stars, my warrior child; Keep the dark at bay. 

 The song, an old favorite from her childhood, reached into her and licked at her wounds, drawing her back to where her mother was kneeling beside her with a hand on her head. To John with his bitten lip, the smallest blood droplet swelling beneath a tooth, and his body, limp and barely upright. They were both staring at nothing, into the past, at things that were never to be. Mom was singing as if she was a radio, mindlessly repeating something fed to her, and Rowan couldn’t make herself lift her hands to stroke her mom’s cheek or squeeze John’s hand. 

 They were all of them caught in the tempest that true loss brought, one that couldn’t be explained to those who’d never experienced it, but the solidarity found in three of them, a House left dangerously swaying in the wake of this storm’s wind, eased what was clogging Rowan’s heart so badly that she thought it would rupture, squeezing her lungs so hard she couldn’t breathe. 

 And oh hell, it still hurt. She didn’t think it would ever stop aching, these five pits never to be filled again, but this was one of the ways humans helped one another. Rowan was not alone in her grief, and because of that, she would survive it. 

 So, taking a deep breath, she sat upright, swaying, and spun to her family, and when she threw her arms around them, pulling them together, her heart resumed a ponderously throbbing beat. They were stuck in place for a while, shuddering themselves into something that resembled stability, until someone gently cleared her throat above them. 

 “I thought you might want to join us for supper,” Aunt Hailey said. “We have everything ready.” 

 Disentangling from them, Bay wiped at her eyes. 

 “That’s a good idea. We’ll be there in a second.” 

 The shadowed shape of Hailey made a vague sign of acknowledgment, but it mostly passed beneath Rowan’s notice as her mom clasps her and John’s shoulders. 

 “We can do this,” she quietly said. “We can live and fight, no matter how hard it gets.” 

 John swung his hand to trap hers against his shoulder before Rowan closed her eyes, nuzzling into her mother. Standing, Bay offered them help up, straining against their weight, and the three of them crunch across drying grass to join the others around the fire. 

 Everyone was quiet, mechanically eating from flame-heated soup cans, but Rowan didn’t know if anyone could bring themselves to speak. The evidence of their near-death experience today loomed not a thousand paces away, and of course, they were all a little shell-shocked from what had happened over the course of this long day, or they looked it, at least. 

 The two troopers didn’t seem too bad off, even with Liam helping his subordinate eat. Rowan wasn’t sure if or how Corporal Spheris—she should really learn his first name—had had his broken arm set. Had anyone thought to pack medical supplies in their mad dash out of the capital? She hoped they had and that he wasn’t in too much pain. Considering what suffering through a broken arm without painkillers might be like made Rowan feel queasy. 

 Although that nausea might also have been caused by her blinding headache. 

 Her family was exactly as one might suspect: reserved and lost in themselves, although Aunt Hailey gently bumped her shoulder into her sister’s from time to time. 

 Across from Rowan, Mia was leaning against her father, staring into the glowing kindling. Her spoon’s trips between a can and her mouth were sluggish with something lively absent from her at the moment, and what had stolen it had cast the same effect on Oscar. He made the occasional unhappy face after swallowing another bite, but he didn’t say a word about how basic their food was, which from the few times Rowan had interacted with the man, seemed like a minor miracle. 

 Thomas was… not here. Rowan wasn’t surprised that he was nowhere near his father, and his refined palate might have had him skipping this meal, but at a time like this, he wouldn’t leave Mia alone without a good reason. 

 Finished with her food, Rowan set the empty can in front of her, scanning the horizon and finding nothing. 

 “Where’s Thomas?” she asked. 

 At that, a couple of heads jerked her way, but most of the people here remained listless, although Mia perked up. She pointed toward the nose of the crashed jet. 

 “He went that way,” she said. “Said something about checking on Asher.” 

 Asher… Asher! 

 When Rowan leapt to her feet, she wobbled with the world spinning around her. 

 “Rowan…” someone at her feet said. 

 “I’ll be right back,” she said over him. 

 As she carefully balanced over the lurching ground toward the jet, Rowan wondered why she’d forgotten about Asher for so long. He’d saved them, getting them out of the city during incredibly stressful circumstances. How could she forget about that? 

 But when she reached the jet, stumbling to support herself on its metal side while vomiting up the meal she’d just eaten, she thought she knew the answer to that question. What had her mom said in the swirl of conversation she’d heard while half-conscious? 

 ‘We think Rowan might have a concussion, but we won’t be sure until she wakes up’? 

 That would be inconvenient to deal with. Rowan wondered if anyone else had noticed her blatant symptoms and if they had, why they were letting her run around in the dark, alone. Sure, it wouldn’t be especially difficult to find her if she collapsed but still… 

 Wiping her mouth, she continued moving toward the jet’s nose. Now that she knew about her probable concussion, she should probably return to the fire, but she couldn’t force her feet to do that, and she didn’t know why. She just… couldn’t. 

 When she reached where the nose began its dig into the earth with the line between canopy and metal sweeping at an angle over her head, Rowan pressed the back of her hand to her nose and mouth. She’d noticed a foul smell a while ago, but combined with the sight ahead, it was walloping her in the face now. A mess of fur, viscera, and horn was splattered around the tip of the jet’s nose, and at the top of this small, gruesome crater, Rowan could see half of a figure. 

 She couldn’t tell if it was Thomas or Asher, but whichever boy it was, he was hugging his elbows like letting go of them might kill him. When Rowan turned to scramble up the side of the crater and get out of this horrifying pit, Asher’s voice pinned her in place. 

 “You can stop standing there. I’ve felt you staring at me for a while now.” 

 He’d what? Rowan had only been standing here for a few seconds!  

 Unless her concussion was making her lose time. That would be bad. 

 Before Rowan could panic, another figure came to a stop beside the half-hidden one. 

 “I didn’t know if I should join you or not.” 

 Thomas. Of course. That was who Asher had been talking to. Avan, Rowan was such an idiot. She should get up there and- 

 “I almost killed her,” Asher said. “A little further down and she’d be dead, all because I needed a co-pilot. I should have been able to handle that flight all by myself.” 

 A little further? 

 When Rowan glanced up at the canopy, her mouth went dry. A particularly long tine of an elk’s horns had been punched through its glass, and if she was judging that angle right, it should have gone through her head too. Avan, Asher was right. If the crash hadn’t careened her forward, she’d be dead right now. 

 “Hey, I won’t deny that listening to Rowan scream while we fell out of the sky froze my heart over,” Thomas said, “but she’s fine, man, and you… hell, Asher. You were fantastic . Think about everyone you saved! Who cares if you needed a little help with doing it?” 

 Asher tightened his finger on his elbows so much that Rowan was certain he’d snap a bone. 

 “Max would have,” he said. 

 …Max? His father? 

 Oh… hell. Rowan needed to let those two know she was here. She shouldn’t eavesdrop, accidentally or not, on a conversation of the sort this was turning into. 

 “Then, he’d have been dead wrong,” Thomas said. 

 Damn. That intensity only came from Rowan’s friend when he was exceptionally upset about something. The only times she’d heard it before had been when a couple of boys got pissy over Mia refusing their advances or the single time Rowan had witnessed someone attack a woman in Xygek’s transgender neighborhood. Damn, Thomas had looked so proud once he and that girl had been finished with the fight, black eye and all. 

 And he was using that same tone for this? Was Rowan… was she missing something? 

 With a sigh, Asher released his hold on his elbows, letting his hands swing to his sides. 

 “I know,” he said. 

 He was quiet for a moment while a breeze rustled through the grass stalks, and unsure what to do, Rowan was frozen. What was going on up there had turned into something she shouldn’t interrupt, just as much as she shouldn’t overhear it. She’d like to back away and maybe approach from another angle in a little bit, but the silence was so deep that she was afraid the slightest noise would alert the boys to her. So, she held perfectly still. 

 An unnerving laugh broke the quiet. 

 “It’s funny,” Asher soon said “I hated Max for so many, many reasons, but now that he’s gone…” 

 “It still hurts,” Thomas said, “and you probably had a lot you wanted to tell him.” 

 Hesitantly, he rested a hand on Asher’s shoulder. 

 “If you ever need someone to, I don’t know… listen, I’d be happy-” 

 Asher knocked Thomas’ hand off of him with scuffling sound accompanying the visible half of his body disappearing behind the jet. He was gasping, frantic for air, and Thomas hadn’t moved, stuck with his hand half-raised. 

 “I don’t-” 

 Hell, such raw ferocity. Even as Asher cut off, those two, small, seemingly meaningless words sliced through the air. 

 “I don’t need your pity, Thomas,” he eventually continued, calmer. “I don’t need your friendship, no matter how-” 

 A sob cut him off, and Rowan’s heart lurched. He was crying. Thomas fucking Shalen better do something about that before she came up there like a screaming banshee and tore into what had hurt her friend, no matter how invisible and incorporeal it was. Lowering his hand, Thomas said, “Ok. I get it. You don’t need me as a friend.” 

 Not helping! Avan above, that was not helping. 

 “But do you want me?” Thomas continued. 

 …Better. It certainly stopped Asher’s crying, which was ultimately what Rowan had wanted. 

 “Friendship is unnecessary.” 

 Oh, hell. This… this was so much worse. 

 Like an automaton, Asher recited, “Friends are unreliable. They’ll fail you when you need them. Friends are a weakness. They’ll put you in compromising situations that you’d otherwise avoid. Friends are ever malicious in the end. They’ll learn your deepest secret and share it with the world. We, as nobles, can’t afford that risk, so cut them out of your life, or I-” 

 Holy shit, someone had done a number on him. Did Thomas see it? Please, say he did. 

 “What about Rowan?” he dully asked. “Is she your friend, or are you using her? Because if she’s just a tool to you, I will tear you apart.” 

 “Rowan is…” 

 Yes? She was what? Rowan knew she was his friend, despite whatever bullshit he might decide to spew now, and yeah, that friendship was fragile, not nearly as deep as what she had with Mia and Thomas, but here and now, she was hurting in equal parts for both of her friends, trapped in a disaster of their own making. She was begging with everything she had for one of them to say something that would fix this. 

 “Different,” Asher said before continuing as if the words had been torn from him. “Not you.” 

 Oh, no. 

 “I… see,” Thomas said. “I suppose I’ll just… go then.” 

 “Probably best.” 

 With a strangled inhale, Thomas spun in place before marching away, and after the crunch of his footfalls faded, a muffled scream did its best to follow. 

 “Avan damnit!” Asher shouted. “Damn it!” 

 His knees hit the ground with something thunking into the side of the jet. 

 “Fuck you, Max. I did what you said. I can break a tiny rule after that.” 

 The metal beside Rowan rumbled again while quiet crying started up again. 

 “I hate you, dad. I hate you so much.” 

 Then, why did it feel like he was saying ‘love’ as well? 

 After a bit, Asher slapped his face, stomping away, and Rowan just… 

 Exhausted, she rubbed her face, adding a fissure between her friends to the problems she needed to tackle tomorrow. With the world spinning even more than before, it took her a while to return to the others, so when she drop beside John and everything around her fell still, she silently cheered. 

 “You all right?” her brother said. “You look a little worn.” 

 “Yeah, well. No one told me we crashed into a herd of elk, so that was fun,” Rowan said. “Also, I have a concussion.” 

 “I know,” John said. “I was planning to come after you if-” 

 Mia flopped in front of them. 

 “Ok. What happened?” she demanded. “You usually know about this sort of thing before me, so… why is Thomas-?” 

 She waved at where her brother was barely sitting within the firelight’s glow, facing the dark while hunched over on himself. Rowan sighed before reluctantly saying. 

 “He and Asher had another argument.” 

 With color draining from her face, Mia said, “I swear to avan. I thought my senseless brother had figured out-” 

 “It was Asher’s fault this time,” Rowan said, “although I wouldn’t get in his face about it tonight.” 

 Mia gave her a skeptical look while John leaned away to examine her. 

 “Why?” her friend asked. 

 Rowan didn’t know if she should share this. What she’d heard included a lot of personal information, but she didn’t know if she could handle this particular problem alone. Plus, secrets had seldom done anyone any good. So, she told her friend and brother a little of what had happened, although she did her best to be sparse with the details. 

 “That poor boy,” Mia whispered once Rowan had finished. 

 She looked horrified. 

 “So, you caught the implications too?” Rowan asked. 

 “They seem pretty obvious,” John growled. 

 The fury practically billowing from Rowan’s brother didn’t surprise her. He’d always hated parents who hurt their children, whether physically, mentally, or emotionally, using the example of their mothers and… previous experience to understand how utterly blessed the Kolb children were. Before… today, he’d spent quite a lot of time in homeless youth centers, helping people he might have once known, so Rowan had known this would get to him. Hopefully, he had the good sense to contain himself about it for now. 

 “I wonder what else-” Mia started. 

 “No.” 

 Cupping her cheek, Rowan brushed her finger over Mia’s skin. 

 “You cannot act differently around him, cannot give in to your innately human sense of curiosity,” she said. “Nothing’s changed about him except now you know another part of why he is who he is. Besides, don’t you have bigger things to worry about? If the past is any experience to go by, Thomas will probably be acting out a lot over the next few days.” 

 Making a face, Mia said, “That’ll be fun.” 

 Rowan patted her cheek. 

 “Wrangling Thomas under control is one of your top five skills,” she said. “I’m pretty sure at least one person would have kicked the crap out of him by now, if not for you.” 

 “The lucky bastard,” Mia said under her breath. 

 Chuckling, John said, “He’s friends with Rowan and has a remarkably intelligent, lovely young woman for a sister, so yes. He’s lucky.” Rowan narrowed her eyes at her brother. Was he… flirting with Mia? It had sounded like it to her, but she had an incredibly hard time with deciphering the subtle ways people showed each other their interest, and everyone in her life knew it. At the very least, Mia hadn’t reacted to what her brother had said, and he didn’t seem upset by that. Maybe she was misreading the situation? 

 “In any case,” John continued, “where is Asher? I’m surprised you didn’t go looking for him after everything.” 

 “I’m right here.” 

 Stepping into the firelight, Asher looked down at John. 

 “Did you need something?” 

 With his eyes popping, John rapidly shook his head, which had Asher drawing his eyebrows together, but whatever had caught his attention, he ignored it. He brought one of the cases in his hands to hold in front of his chest. 

 “Attention, everyone,” he said. “I come bearing gifts and peace offerings. Maybe with this, we can start smoothing ruffled feathers.” 

 Rowan might have helped his not-so-subtle apology along if what he was displaying for them didn’t already have her on her feet with her hands outstretched. 

 “Is that beer?” she asked. 

 “Indeed.” 

 Asher sets two twelve-packs at his feet. 

 “Something reminded me about my dad’s secret stash on the jet, so I went looking for it,” he said. “They’re not cold, but after the day we’ve had, I didn’t think anyone would mind. Plus, we deserve a drink.” 

 “Holy hell,” someone whispered. 

 Hurrying over, Liam crouched as if to inspect the cases for traps before rising to enthusiastically shake Asher’s hand. 

 “You, sir, are my new favorite,” he said. 

 With a weak laugh, Asher said, “I don’t suppose that means you’ll consider serving my family instead of the Kolbs?” 

 Bending to open the twelve-packs, Liam made a rude gesture at Asher without looking up. 

 “Not a chance in hell.” 

 Laughter broke apart any hesitation the group might have been clinging to as each of them came forward to claim a bottle. Corporal Spheris handed over the bottle opener on his keychain, which had quite a lot gratitude showered on him. Even Thomas emerged from his sulk, and as he stalked forward, Asher backed off. Their eyes met for a moment while a lord made as subtle of a bow to an untitled as possible, and huffing, Thomas snatched a beer for himself. 

 By unspoken agreement, they circled a rapidly dying fire with no one drinking until they were arranged. Here they were, these ten humans bereft of a home. These ten intent on surviving. 

 Raising her bottle, Bay called, “To all those lost.” 

 Murmured approval rumbled into the night, and hesitantly, Rowan lifted her drink as well. 

 “But also, to our new world.” 

 May they live to see what would be born from this. May we feeble humans be strong enough to shape it. 

 Meeting Rowan’s eyes, Mia said, “To a new world.” 

 And they drank. And the stars shone on them.

Chapter 17: A World in Chaos
The only other time Rowan had seen traffic this bad had been on her way home from the Cerullis’ estate yesterday, but that made sense. The people here were fleeing from the same thing. 

 The plan had been to reach the nearest road and hitch rides from as many people as possible until they reached Nasmi. Once in that town, they’d gather any supplies they’d forgotten in their haste to leave Xygek and continue onward. 

 That plan was looking increasingly untenable. 

 The road was packed with cars, both sides of it flooded with traffic heading away from Xygek, and none of it was moving. Rowan had seen people inch forward maybe twice in the thirty minutes they’d been walking beside asphalt. 

 She was surprised so many people were staying in those cars. Obviously, traveling by foot was faster in this particular instance, but still, people clung to their possessions as if those things continued to matter in their new world. Sure, cars would be incredibly useful in the coming days, or one would assume they would be, but right now, when they were hindering forward progress and therefore, survival? Not so much. 

 It was the same argument Rowan had used on Asher this morning. He’d been… upset, to put it lightly, about leaving so much of his scientific equipment behind, insisting that they’d need it if they were to learn anything useful about the beings that had invaded the planet, and yes, that was true. But this group had needed food and other provisions, the things that would get them through the mountains, more. Fortunately, Asher had accepted Rowan’s line of reasoning but… 

 He was still sulking near the back of the group, pulling along the one wagon that Bay had let him use for his possessions. 

 Rowan kept glancing back at him, unsure what she was looking for. He and Thomas equally looked like shit, but she was used to that from her oldest friend. Thomas had always seemed like a little boy, caught playing in the woods, who’d grown up too fast, and considering how little he slept each day, she didn’t tend to notice the thick lines of red that usually rimmed his eyes anymore, an appearance that matched his typically manic behavior. 

 Asher, on the other hand, had been well-put-together since Rowan had met him: all impeccable grooming, fashionable suits, and a well-rested demeanor. She wasn’t sure what to think of the stubble sprouting over his cheeks and chin or his bloodshot eyes. She wasn’t sure what to make of gashed trousers shoved into borrowed boots or a button-down shirt, sweat-stained with the sleeves rolled up. 

 And that was just her worries for them individually. Together? They’d been avoiding each other since last night, and Rowan didn’t know how to fix it. 

 She needed to fix it. 

 “They’re going to be ok.” 

 With a half-smile, Rowan glanced at Mia, striding beside her with her frizzy hair pulled into a ponytail. 

 “You really think so?” she asked. 

 “Mmhmm. Maybe not before we’re all slaughtered but…” 

 When Rowan narrowed her eyes at the other girl, Mia stuck her tongue out. 

 “Shouldn’t you be monitoring one of the men in your family,” Rowan said, “considering they can hardly do anything without embarrassing themselves, if left alone?” 

 Making a face, Mia said, “I needed a break. Sometimes, those two can be such pieces of work, and I have only so much valuable time to devote to them.” 

 Smiling fully now, Rowan edged closer to her, brushing their fingers against one another. 

 “Tell me, Ms. Shalen. Why aren’t you normally this vocal and quick-witted when other people are involved?” she said. “Do they scare you that badly?” 

 Smirking, Mia swung across her body to punch Rowan’s shoulder. 

 “Of course they don’t, Lady Kolb,” she said. “You know how I am, reserving my words for the right opportunity.” 

 “Yes, you do so love to fade into the background,” Rowan teased. 

 “All the better to bite those who’ve overlooked me in the ass later,” Mia said. 

 Rowan resisted the urge to nudge her before again glancing behind her. On catching that, though, Mia groaned a little. 

 “Why are you so worried about those two?” she asked. “Out of all of our problems, why fixate on them?” 

 They belonged to her one family that was still intact. 

 Rowan didn’t know where this thought had come from or why it had been pushed to the forefront now, but it definitely wasn’t something she could share with Mia. Not only would it put pressure on her friend but it would make Rowan sound like she didn’t care about her birth family, the one that was so clearly in pain right now. So, she focused on a secondary reason to explain her focus. 

 “They’re a problem I can help fix, if those two idiots will let me,” she said. “If I turn all of my attention on what might seem like a trivial problem, the rest don’t seem quite as overwhelming. Does that make sense?” 

 As she ducked her head, Mia pinched her lips together with a worried pull on her eyes. 

 “It does,” she said before meeting Rowan’s eyes. “Can I say it now, Rowan? That thing you wouldn’t let me say in your home.” 

 Rowan’s face went as tight as Mia’s while she nodded, and her friend hooked a pinky finger around hers. 

 “I’m so sorry,” Mia said. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through, nor will I make a pathetic attempt to relate. When I lost my mom, it was horrible, but this, everything you’re dealing with, is so much worse. So, yes. I can’t comprehend it, but I want you to know I’m here for you. Whatever you need.” 

 Rowan didn’t know how to share how deeply the horror hidden just below the surface had been embedded in her and how doubtful she was that her friend could help with it, but she took Mia at her word. If she meant to help, then she’d understand why Rowan turned to her with a mischievous smile and a sparkle in her eyes instead of gratitude. 

 “Whatever I need?” she asked. 

 Puffing out a breath, Mia rolled her eyes. 

 “Avan, I should have known you’d respond like that,” she said. “Yes, Rowan. Anything that will help you.” 

 For some reason, this made her smile die. 

 “Then…” 

 Shivering, Rowan pulled her finger free of Mia’s, rubbing her arms. 

 “Then, will you walk with me for a while?” she said. “And… will you help me with Thomas and Asher? I need those two to get along. I need…” 

 How did she put this into words? 

 “I know. I get what they mean to you,” Mia said. “So, of course I’ll help.” 

 Rowan fought to swallow the lump in her throat, refusing to look at her friend. Silently, they strode alongside stalled cars with friend and family around them. 

 It took a few more hours, but eventually, they reached Nasmi. The place was a small town, one that Xygek’s suburbs would have eaten in the next decade, if the city’s growth had been left unchecked. As it was, Nasmi gave off a sleepy village vibe with most people who were fleeing from the city continuing on the highway rather than taking the turnoff into the town. 

 As once spread-apart homes gradually drew closer together, bordering the single street running through the place, Rowan noticed curtains flicking closed, and with how deserted sidewalks had been until now, she wondered if Nasmi’s citizens had started barricading themselves inside. If so, it could be detrimental toward their goal of getting supplies. 

 When they reached the center of town—a strip of shops and restaurants with apartments above them—it seemed just as deserted with closed signs hanging on doors and no one in sight. 

 “Well, this doesn’t look good,” Liam said. 

 “No. No, it doesn’t,” Rowan said. “We should make this quick. We need… what? Drugs and food, right? So a pharmacy and grocery store of some sort.” 

 “I think I see both of those toward the far end of this strip,” John said. “Question is, how will we get inside any of these shops without their proprietors here?” 

 A grunt sounded from behind them, and Rowan turned to find her mom keeping Oscar from chucking a rock through a window. 

 “Not like that,” she said. “We will not stoop to destroying other people’s property.” 

 Sneering, Oscar tore his wrist out of Bay’s grip with more force than he should have needed. 

 “What do you suggest, then?” he growled. 

 Calmly, Bay glided to one of the wagons, digging through it until she found what she wanted. 

 “I thought we’d use this,” she said. 

 Withdrawing her hand, she displayed a lock pick gun. 

 “But I know a subtle method like this might be foreign to Shalen Corp, so I’ll overlook its owner’s near descent into barbarism.” 

 Oscar’s face started reddening, and with nothing else, Bay breezed past the others and toward the end of the strip. Meanwhile, Rowan scrambled to keep up with her. 

 “Mom…” she breathed. “What did you…? Holy hell, I think you just made my year.” 

 “And mine!” an out-of-breath Thomas said when he caught up. 

 Bay glanced at them with an odd smile quirking her lips. 

 “Because I humiliated someone I shouldn’t have?” she asked. 

 “Yes!” Thomas shouted. 

 “No,” Rowan said, frowning. 

 She shoved her friend, shaking her head at him. 

 “I didn’t know you owned something like that,” she said, pointing at what her mother was holding. “They’re so rare!” 

 “In Athari, yes,” Bay said with a laugh in her voice. “Remember, baby girl. This lovely nation isn’t my home. I am and always will be Shoya Drenish, just like your aunt.” 

 With slightly crossed eyes and a stuck-out tongue, she lifted the lock pick gun, making it click, and Rowan laughed. 

 “How could I forget?” she said. “I must say, though, that seeing you shut down Oscar Shalen was cool too. You have to admit it was.” Blowing out a breath, mom murmured, “We’ll see how cool it is in a week.” 

 “He does usually start a revenge scheme soon after anyone makes him that red,” Thomas said, looking over his shoulder. With a secret smile at Rowan, mom patted her friend’s shoulder. 

 “I can handle anything he throws at me.” 

 Once they were at the other end of the strip, she crouched, and a few pumps of the lock pick gun later, the doors they needed to be opened were unlocked. Asher accompanied Corporal Brandon Spheris—Rowan had learned his name this morning—into the pharmacy while everyone else, except for Liam, piled into the tiniest grocery store Rowan had seen in her life, leaving the lieutenant to stand guard outside. 

 While the others wandered down short aisles, Rowan lingered by the checkout counter near the front. A tented piece of paper was standing beside the register with the message ‘Please take only what you need’ on it, and reading this, her heart twinged. Whoever owned this place had cared enough to let desperate people know that they could have what they needed to survive, which was so very human. Compassion and reaching out to help one another, these were some of their species’ best qualities. 

 Digging in her pockets, Rowan found a couple of coins and notes, slotting them so they peeked out from under the register. She didn’t know how much good Atharian currency would be in the next few months, but on the off-chance that things returned to normal before society had completely collapsed, she’d like to leave something of value for what they took today. 

 In the likely event that their world fell apart, though, Rowan searched for a pen on the counter, smoothing the tented note once she’d found one. On its blank side, she left directions to her Uncle Ethan’s home—also learned this morning—extending an offer of safe haven to the grocery store’s owner. After she was finished, she returned the paper to its upright position, hiding her message from other potential looters. 

 Smiling at it, she’d turned to help the others when the door banged open beside her with a panic-stricken Asher filling it. 

 “We’ve got a problem,” he gasped. 

 Of course they did. They couldn’t go one fucking morning without something going wrong. 

 Those deeper in the grocery store peeked their heads above the aisles with confusion and hesitation on them, so Rowan decided she’d handle this crisis, leaving the next one for them. 

 “Ok. Show me,” she said before calling to the others. “Hurry it up, people. I get the feeling that we’ll need to be out of here soon.” 

 As she trotted outside, following Asher to the pharmacy, she noted Liam giving his rifle a once over while keeping an eye on possible avenues of attack, which was reassuring. No one would be sneaking up on them while they dealt with… whatever the problem was. 

 Unlike in the grocery store, the pharmacy was dark inside with no lights turning on when Rowan flicked a switch. Why was electricity working next door but not here? 

 Rowan activated her wristcom’s flashlight before following after Asher, hoping the charge that the device had gotten from the sun this morning would last. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her friend to know where he was going. It was just that this scenario was screaming ‘trap’ to her, although she could see how the other two might not have seen it, given that they hadn’t been next door beforehand. 

 Asher took Rowan around displays to the counter that separated convenience store items from restricted drugs. Slowing down, he stopped beside a door that opened into the back, and when Rowan came around to stand beside him, she pressed a hand to her mouth. 

 Laid out on the floor, Corporal Spheris gave her a weak smile. 

 “I’m afraid I’ve made quite the mistake, Lady Kolb,” he said in a strained tone. 

 “You… Stop talking, corporal,” Rowan said into her hand. “Asher, please tell me you got your hands on some high-grade painkillers before this happened.” 

 Because Brandon was going to need them and for more than just his poorly splinted arm now. A length of barbed wire looked to have been strung at calf height across this entryway, and wile one end had snapped off of its attachment point, the other one was still in place, straining for freedom against the weight of Brandon’s leg. The wire was wrapped around the man’s ankle and lower calf, leaving the limb bloody and with bone peeking through where its tissue had been scraped away. 

 “We hadn’t gotten that far,” Asher said, “but I’ll just-” 

 Cutting off, he edged around Brandon, and the rattle of his search began as Rowan fell to my hands and knees. She brought her nose within a hairsbreadth of the wire, clicking jer tongue when she saw rust clinging to it. 

 “We’ll also need antibiotics and a lot of first aid supplies,” she called. 

 “Already on it,” Asher said. He made a brief reappearance to throw Rowan a pair of rubber gloves. 

 “Those might help.” 

 “Thank you,” Rowan said. 

 Shoving her hands into them, she turned to the part of the barbed wire that was still attached to the door. 

 “What- what are you-?” Brandon started. 

 “I said to shut up, trooper,” Rowan said. 

 Gently, she unwound the wire’s end from the nail binding it to the door before lowering it to the floor. When she turned to Corporal Spheris, she was met by him raised onto his elbows with a stormy expression presented. 

 “You can’t, Lady Kolb. You must have seen the security cameras trained on this door. They’re working, even without the electricity running,” he said. “Whoever set up this stupid trap will be coming sooner or later. You need to get out of here before then. You need to leave me-” 

 Taking hold of the ends of the barbed wire, Rowan pulled on them the smallest of fractions, tightening it around Brandon’s leg, and he screamed, a noise he quickly swallowed. Instantly loosening the wire’s grip, Rowan didn’t look up at him as she began her work. 

 “Don’t you dare suggest that I leave you behind, Corporal Spheris. You are one of mine, and I will need every one of you in the coming days,” she said. “More importantly, I do. not. abandon people who have given my family their loyalty. It isn’t a fucking option for me. So, I’d better never hear any such words coming out of your mouth again.” 

 Rowan didn’t know how much of that Brandon had heard. He’d fallen to the floor again with his eyes glazed and veins bulging in his neck to contain a shout, but she couldn’t stop what she was doing. When she was nearly finished, Asher stopped beside her, holding a shopping bag full of pill bottles. 

 “He won’t be able to walk,” he said. 

 “I know,” Rowan said. “Can you get John and Thomas for me?” 

 She swore to avan, she heard Asher gulp when she said her friend’s name, but he took off regardless. Not long after he was gone, Rowan finished disentangling the barbed wire from around its victim, throwing it into an out-of-the-way corner. Shuffling to kneel at Brandon’s head, she brushed sweat-soaked hair off of his skin. 

 “All done,” she said. “We’re finished.” 

 She repeated this until his eyes cleared, and then, grazed her fingertips along his cheeks. 

 “Hey. Still with me?” she said. 

 Swallowing, Brandon licked his lips. 

 “I believe so, Lady Kolb,” he rasped. 

 “Good. You had me worried there for a moment,” Rowan said before chuckling. “It seems misfortune has taken an extra shine to you over these last two days, Spheris.” 

 With a ghost of a smile, Brandon said, “I must have pissed off fate one too many times.” 

 Rowan sagely nodded. 

 “That’s quite possible.” 

 As he laughed, Rowan glanced up at the sound of approaching feet. When Thomas and John came into view, both stopped short, but while her brother merely flattened his lips, her friend was almost sick all over the pharmacy’s carpet. 

 “John-” Rowan said. 

 “I know,” he said. 

 Coming to them, he crouched in front of Brandon. 

 “This is going to hurt,” he said. 

 “Avan send that it’ll knock me out first,” Brandon said. 

 With his lips twitching, John clapped the trooper’s shoulder before standing and lifting Brandon into a fireman’s carry. Rowan clenched her jaw at the pained shout that filled the air before the corporal’s body went limp, and John stumbled for a moment. 

 After taking a moment to adjust, he said, “Meet you where the road joins with the highway?” 

 Rowan nodded, and as he trotted off, Thomas shuffled in place, obviously unsure of why he was there. 

 “Um-” 

 “Where’s Asher?” Rowan asked. 

 A disgruntled look passed over her friend’s face, but he answered. 

 “Organizing everyone to get out of here.” 

 “Good. You go with John,” Rowan said. “Help him when he gets tired.” 

 Instead of sprinting away, as he should, Thomas gave her an odd look. 

 “You’re… good at this, Rowan,” he said. “Why-?” 

 “It’s how I grew up, how I was trained, and it’s partly what I meant to spend my life doing,” Rowan cut in. “Go help my brother please, Thomas.” 

 “Right.” 

 He stared for a moment more before leaving, and only once he was gone did Rowan scrub her face. How was this already happening? 

 With the aliens’ arrival, she’d expected people to start turning on each other. It was what humans did, one of their worst qualities, but she hadn’t thought it would happen this soon. One fucking day had passed since… Icrodon. Since the world had ended. She’d thought they were better than this. 

 By the time Rowan emerged from the pharmacy, most of their people were gone. She was left with Liam, her mom, and… 

 “Who’s on the roof?” she asked, squinting at the reflected light that was bouncing to her from across the street. 

 “Your aunt,” Bay distractedly said. 

 She was patting at various spots on her body, mouthing to herself, and after a moment, she sharply nodded. Pulling Rowan to her, Bay kissed her forehead. 

 “I’m going to take up position,” she said. “You don’t have to stay, but if you do, good luck, baby girl.” 

 Liam paid Bay no mind as she slunk away, but Rowan couldn’t keep her eyes off of her mom until she’d vanished. She hadn’t known her mother could fight. 

 “Do you need an extra magazine?” Liam asked. 

 Jerking her head to him, Rowan found him slowly sweeping his eyes over their surroundings with his rifle swaying as he bounced it in the cradle of his arms, and at this subtle reminder, she cursed under her breath. Drawing her pistol, she cocked it, holding it to the side while she checked her other accouterments. 

 Adrenaline beginning its pound through her body? Check. Side knife? Check. Spare magazine? Check. With two of those, Rowan would have twenty-two rounds. That should be plenty unless… 

 “How many do you think are coming?” she asked. 

 Liam shrugged, which was about what she’d expected. Nasmi was a small town with a population of roughly twelve hundred, according to its welcome sign, and while Rowan seriously doubted that all of those people were in on this trap, that didn’t mean the majority weren’t. Better to be safe. 

 When she reached toward him, Liam slapped a magazine into her hand without her having to ask, and she absently pocketed it.  

 Why the hell had their current adversaries laid the trap that they had? Sure, people looking to loot supplies would probably find the pharmacy’s drugs tempting, and the trap had been laid well enough that a highly trained trooper had fallen into it, but why? 

 That trap could have ensnared only one victim, at the most, and everyone else that person had been traveling with wouldn’t typically stick around, as they had. What could be gained from incapacitating one person? 

 Rowan did so love to chew on the hypotheticals of a problem while waiting for action, had always done so. She’d never cared whether they were important or not, just worrying away at them until she’d worked herself into a tizzy. Sometimes, she had to remind herself to relax, to clear her mind, before the conflict began. 

 Fortunately, Liam was here to help with that today. As he slowly shifted from foot to foot, he hummed under his breath. The melody that had drawn Rowan out of her grief last night was on his lips, and she silently sang along. 

 Light the stars, my warrior child 

 Keep the dark at bay 

 You are who guards against violent death 

 The innocent made to stay 

 Hold the line, don’t back down 

 Bare your teeth, show your strength 

 You are the few 

 Who will pave the way 

 For you know how 

 You know how 

 You know how to give everything 

 Somewhere in the fourth repetition of this, movement from further down the street silenced the song, pushing Rowan and Liam into cover. A band of ten or so people ambled down the pavement toward the end of the strip, and as they came closer, Rowan’s chest fell still with air ceasing its flow. 

 They had guns. POWERFUL guns. Fucking semi-automatic rifles. Where the hell had they gotten those? The distribution of firearms was supposed to be heavily restricted in Athari! 

 “That’s far enough.” 

 Apparently unfazed by what they were facing, mom let her voice echo down the strip, seemingly everywhere and nowhere, and the hostile group approaching Rowan and Liam went on alert, swiveling their rifles above and around as they searched for a target. 

 “You have attacked someone belonging to House Kolb,” Bay continued. “You have thirty seconds to lay down your arms and explain yourselves, or we will show you what happens to those who harm us.” 

 Which meant… what? They’d hurt these people in turn? They’d kill them? Rowan knew the protocol for military missions where someone had requested Kolb troopers, but this situation wasn’t that. Civilians were standing against them. Malicious civilians, but civilians nonetheless. 

 Knowledge of her family’s name rippled through the hostile group, and some of them wavered, but a woman stepped out from among them, lifting her chin. 

 “Sure, you’re from the Kolb family,” she said. “Anyone can claim that now. Why don’t you come out and prove-?” 

 “Time’s up.” 

 A flash sped through the air before something punched into the woman’s neck, and she weakly scrabbled as it as she fell to the ground. Sucking in a breath, Rowan blinked, watching bullets precisely cut down each member of the group until one of them was left standing, and the entire time, she was stuck in the moment before violence had begun. 

 She’d fought plenty of people before, causing a ridiculous number of injuries during those fights, but she’d never killed someone. So, bullets had started flying, and she’d locked up. The two seconds needed for the bodies to drop hadn’t been long enough to shake her free of her shock. 

 The woman who’d been left alive wildly swung her rifle through the air, searching for the people who’d killed her comrades, and when its muzzle fell still, pointing toward where Aunt Hailey was lying, Rowan reacted. Her finger moved to her pistol’s trigger, and when she squeezed it, the woman’s rifle was torn out of her grasp. 

 As she hissed, rubbing her hand, Rowan gasped. She couldn’t believe she’d made that shot. She’d always been extraordinarily accurate with guns, but at this distance and with a handgun no less, the round should have gone wildly off-course. 

 After a moment of shocked silence, Bay spoke again. 

 “Leave.” 

 The woman scurried away like wild wolves were on her tail, and once she’d vanished, they waited a solid minute before emerging from hiding. Mom strode for the corpses, jerking items out of them. Meanwhile, Rowan stood in the middle of the road, watching her mother while she chewed on her lip, until Aunt Hailey joined them. 

 “That was unfortunate,” she said “I hate it when they don’t run.” 

 When they didn’t… run. 

 “I don’t like it either,” Bay said as she approached Rowan. 

 “Those people wouldn’t have backed down, no matter what we did,” Liam said. “At the slowed pace we’ll need to take, they’d have hounded us until we were forced to let Corporal Spheris serve as a distraction, which none of us wanted. We had to kill them.” 

 Had to… kill them. 

 “Did we?” Rowan breathed. 

 Her elders glanced at her as if they’d forgotten she existed. 

 “We couldn’t have…negotiated with them or… tried another scare tactic?” she shakily asked. “We couldn’t have disarmed them? Tied them up and… left?” 

 After a moment of wordless staring, Liam said, “Not all of us are as precise with our shots as you, Lady Rowan. And we did give them a chance to back down. When they didn’t, their lives were forfeit, all of them but the one we left to serve as a warning. That’s the Kolb way.” 

 His words rang in Rowan’s head over and over and over again until her shoulders started shaking alongside their beat. Something entirely broken spilled out of her mouth, bouncing until ragged sobs interrupted their rhythm, and at that, her mom reached for her. 

 Swiping at her hands, Rowan yelled, “Don’t touch me!” 

 She turned away, couldn’t bear to see her mom’s face, while she struggled to regain control. 

 When she could breathe evenly again, she said, “Let’s join the others.” 

 She didn’t wait for their confirmations. Tucking her chin to her chest, Rowan trudged down the road, desperately fighting to keep from thinking of the corpses left cooling in their wake.

Chapter 18: Everything's Under Control
Hiking over the mountains took a grand total of eight days, made longer by several complications. 

 The first of these was, of course, Brandon. Figuring out a decent way to carry the trooper took much more thought than it should have, especially after a fever set in and his thrashing about became violent. They all breathed a silent sigh of relief when he came out on the other side of this, weak but alive. 

 The second difficulty came in the path they’d decided to take. When they reached the tunnel running beneath the mountain, it was blocked off by a tall concrete barrier with people holding guns patrolling along its length. They never figured out who’d claimed that length of the road, whether a corp or a well-organized group or a noble family, but they still steered clear of them. Pushing their luck with unknowns didn’t seem wise after Nasmi. 

 Following a heated discussion, it was decided that, in light of recent events, risking the trip over the unknown mountains would be better than taking the time to circle them. As they traveled toward the peaks, they stuck to the roads. With every passing day, they saw fewer cars traveling away from Xygek until it seemed like we were walking through an empty wilderness. 

 Despite everyone’s expectations, they’d come across no trouble on their lengthy ascent and hurried descent, nothing besides what the elements threw at them. This morning’s chill seemed like nothing when compared to the night they’d spent near the top of the mountains, but that didn’t stop Rowan teeth from chattering as she brought Brandon his refilled canteen. A heavier coat or a pile of blankets sounded heavenly right now. 

 When she handed it off, Brandon chugged from his canteen before lowering it and wiping his mouth. 

 “Thank you, Lady Rowan,” he said. “I’m sorry to have been an imposition.” 

 “It was nothing. What else was I supposed to do? Leave you thirsty?” Rowan said. “Besides, there’s not much else I can do right now. We’re almost ready to move out for the day.” 

 “As soon as Lady Bay returns, yes?” Brandon said. 

 “…Yes.” 

 With a smile, Rowan checked whether Corporal Spheris needed anything else before wandering off. Save for the bare minimum needed for travel, she hadn’t spoken to her mom since Nasmi. She could bring herself to exchange words with Lieutenant Avisbell and Aunt Hailey. After all, Liam was a trooper with his course of action in the town a given for him, and Hailey was practically a stranger to Rowan, even with their past and after everything they’d endured since Icrodon. 

 But mom... 

 If she was being honest, Rowan wasn’t sure why she was so pissed at her. Turn her a little more jaded and she might have done exactly what her mom had done. She didn’t even see what had happened in Nasmi as inherently evil. Avoidable? Yes. Not necessarily the most moral course of action? Yes. But totally evil? 

 Well… the townspeople had attacked them first. What had they thought would happen if the survivors of their trap had stuck around to greet their ambushers? 

 Avan, just thinking that made Rowan feel like a kid again, getting in an argument with Henry or Logan and pointing a finger at them when their parents had broken it up. 

 “He started it!” 

 She wished she could think of a better way to rationalize those people’s deaths, if only so she could live with what had happened, but she couldn’t, and so, she avoided her mom. John had tried talking to her about it over the last couple of days, but Rowan couldn’t bring herself to explain why she was so upset. She’d rather endure his looks of disappointment than have him go through what she was experiencing right now. 

 For now, Bay was out with Aunt Hailey, hunting. Their food stock had been running low, and rather than rationing it, those two had decided to supplement what the group had with game instead, especially considering how close they’d come to Uncle Ethan’s place. 

 While the rest of the group have been waiting for them to return, almost everyone else had been busy with breaking down camp. After changing Brandon’s bandaging, Asher had been messing with one of his toys, probably trying to get a good read on what sort of weather they could expect today. Mia had brewed them coffee, which everyone had accepted with more gratitude than the act truly deserved, but Rowan thought she was secretly pleased by this. Liam was on his fourth inspection of their supplies while Thomas had been puttering about, doing what light grunt work still needed doing. John was helping him, and Rowan had been tending to the fire, which left… Oscar. 

 He’d gotten out of his bedroll maybe fifteen minutes ago, and after disappearing into the woods for a little bit, he’d proceeded to retrieve a book from his pack and read. 

 Now, don’t get her wrong. Rowan understood the need for leisurely activity and what a lack of it did to the human psyche. She was even about to undertake a little of it herself, but as she settled into the scrabbly grass beside the road, she couldn’t help but glare at Oscar. 

 He’d treated their flight from Xygek as nothing but a vacation, and Rowan didn’t know if he was doing that out of revenge for mom embarrassing him in Nasmi, due to sheer obliviousness, or because he was an asshole, but oo… Rowan had been tempted to squeeze her fingers around his neck often over the last few days. 

 Slowly, she tore her eyes off of him, turning them to her wristcom, and checked if she’d received any messages overnight. The network was still up in Athari, to her utter shock, but she had yet to hear much from anyone who had her contact info. Five days ago, she’d received a garbled message from one of the Breyham girls, a random line of nonsensical letters and symbols with only the words ‘aliens’ and ‘safe’ intelligible from it, but that was all. 

 Sucking on her lip, Rowan logged into the game client for Nedrya’s Breaking. Typically, this was where she’d launch the game, if she had a storecase to do it with, but it also let her access any private messages that had been sent through Break from other players. She’d gotten most of the information she’d been sharing with the group from here, even if that source of information had been just as sparse. 

 She’d heard basically nothing about what was happening in her home nation or in Shoya Dren, but from what Rowan understood, the aliens had basically left Sasmor alone, which didn’t surprise me. That nation had never had many redeeming qualities, although she didn’t know if she should trust everything she’d heard about it. Sasmor’s renowned isolationism made it difficult to form an accurate opinion on the nation or its culture. 

 As for Roswines, both Potatoad and HauntedFox—natives of the nation—had reported alien ships, vehicles, and structures congregating around the capital city of Stralberg. They thought that a siege might be eminent, which had spurred much debate between the members of Rowan’s traveling group. Why would a civilization advanced enough to travel between the stars resort to such a crude military tactic? 

 Nobody in Nedrya had anything new for Rowan today, so she closed the game client with a disappointed sigh. She’d hoped that checking her messages would take longer, keeping her preoccupied until her mom and Aunt Hailey had returned with breakfast, but they still weren’t here. 

 John was staring at her from where he’d finished tying packs down to a wagon, obviously about to make another attempt to reconcile his family members, so when he started toward her, Rowan leapt to my feet. 

 “Aunt Hailey and mom are taking a while. I’ll go make sure they’re all right,” she announced, flushing when everyone turned their eyes on her. 

 Dropping the pack he was holding, Thomas said, “I’ll come with you.” 

 He hurried to meet Rowan’s path where it would intersect with the forest, and she concealed a smile. Over the last week, she hadn’t had much time alone with Thomas, time where she could pick at the problem of him and Asher. Her personal project. 

 Those two had been avoiding each other more than Rowan had been with her mom, almost zealous in their attempts to create space between them. They wouldn’t even look at each other unless they had to. Fortunately, when they were forced together, they were cordial enough, causing no arguments, otherwise the group might have had a real problem. 

 As it was, the boys’ disastrous relationship was still something Rowan could use as a distraction, horrible as that sounded. When it came to solving this problem, she’d been hoping to talk things through with Asher first, what with him being the one to cause a rift this time, but at this point, she was grateful for the chance to speak with either of them. 

 “Wait, please!” 

 Pausing in the forest’s eaves, Rowan suppressed a groan, flicking her eyes to Thomas. He’d gone taut, which was the opposite of what she needed, as was another person’s presence while they enjoyed their little hike, especially Asher’s. 

 But neither of them spoke a word of protest when he joined them. 

 “Which way do you suppose they went in?” Asher asked. 

 Rowan locked eyes with Thomas, smirking on seeing him suppressing a laugh. He’d seen her desire to check on their huntresses as the excuse to get away that it had been, and that warmed Rowan, especially when he raised an arm to randomly point into the forest’s depths. 

 “They were headed that way when they left,” he said. “We should start in the same direction, see if we can pick up their trail.” 

 “Good idea!” Rowan said with a bright smile. 

 Taking the lead, she marched off, resisting the urge to hum. For some reason, she had a theme song running through her head, one from a flic about the explorers of centuries past. She didn’t know where the song was coming from, hadn’t thought about it in ages, not since history teachers had made her class watch it in high school. Rowan had never understood why her school had focused so much of their attention on those crown-sanctioned sailing trips, considering nothing had ever come of them, but she did understand the excitement of entering new territory, even if it was new for only her and her friends. 

 That excitement was dulled by the tense and, frankly, awkward air around them, but Rowan didn’t know how to break the silence. What did she say that wouldn’t antagonize either boy? 

 Asher did it for her. 

 Clearing his throat, he said, “Thomas, do you mind if I ask Rowan a personal question?” 

 Oh, shit. Rowan purposefully did not look behind her to watch Thomas’ reaction, remembering how Asher had insisted a week ago that her old friend was nothing like her. Was that idiot trying to emphasize how much more highly he valued her? 

 “Why would I mind?” Thomas said before lowering his voice. “Minding implies I give a shit about what you do.” 

 Thankfully, Asher either didn’t hear that comment or chose not to respond to it. He scurried to match Rowan’s pace with his eyes roving over the forest. 

 “From what I understand, we’ll be reaching our destination soon,” he said. “I was hoping we could discuss what sort of reception I can expect there.” 

 “Probably not one much different from what you’ve received while with us. Why do you ask?” Rowan said before teasingly poking his side. “Do you think you deserve better treatment than the rest of us?” 

 “Um.” 

 Asher looked lost, as if unsure of how to say something, and with an exasperated groan, Thomas joined them on the other side of Rowan. 

 “He’s the head of a rival noble family. He’s worried he’ll be turned out into the cold after coming all this way,” he said. “It’s actually why I wanted to come with you too. How anti-corp is your Uncle Ethan? Do Mia and I need to worry about anything when we reach his home?” 

 “I…” 

 Rowan hadn’t thought about that. With their world coming apart at the seams, she’d thought silly things like social standing would fall by the wayside, but perhaps she’d been expecting too much from her fellow human beings again. They did so love to feel superior to one another. 

 “Thomas, you and Mia will be fine because we’ve been friends for forever, and I will throw the biggest temper tantrum the world’s ever seen if Uncle Ethan tries anything on you,” she said. “And Asher. Once he hears about how you saved my family’s ass, Ethan will have no choice but to welcome you into his home.” 

 Thomas and Asher exchanged a glance, not even bothering to hide it. They leaned forward, raising eyebrows and everything, before Rowan’s oldest friend spoke up. 

 “Don’t you think you’re being a little optimistic about this?” 

 Perhaps she was, but seeing those two agree on anything inclined her to continue with said optimism, giving them a common obstacle to overcome. 

 So, she said, “Not really, no. I’ve spoken with Uncle Ethan a few times since he first made contact, and while I won’t argue that his general attitude can be off-putting, he seems like a reasonable man at heart.” 

 Thomas rolled his eyes. 

 “You always think the best of people,” he grumbled. 

 “Does she?” Asher asked, staring at Thomas over Rowan’s head. 

 He vigorously nodded. 

 “One time, she dragged me to one of her college parties-” he started. 

 “I beg your pardon!” Rowan interrupted. “I didn’t force you to go to those. You begged me to let you come.” 

 “Yeah, well,” Thomas said, “if dad wouldn’t let me have my own college experience, I had to live it through you.” 

 “You mean you were lucky enough to live it through me,” Rowan said. 

 Wincing, Thomas said, “Fair.” 

 They walked along in companionable silence, reliving fond memories, until Asher cleared his throat. 

 “What happened at the party?” he asked. 

 Thomas cast an annoyed glance his way before continuing with the story. 

 “One of the guys there was obviously using the party’s chaos to his benefit. He was slipping drugs into other people’s drinks, not being very discriminate with it either. You know the drug I’m talking about? The pill that dissolves in liquid until it looks like nothing’s been added? It turns people loopy.” 

 “I am, unfortunately, aware of the drug you’re referencing, yes,” Asher said with his voice clipped. 

 Something in his tone of voice made Thomas stop, forcing Asher and Rowan to slow. When she glanced back, Thomas’ face was pinched. 

 “You all right, man?” he said. “I didn’t mean to-” 

 “It’s fine,” Asher interrupted. “I just hate it when people take advantage of each other, like you were talking about.” 

 Thomas looked doubtful, as if expecting to hear more, but he didn’t argue, continuing on without prompting. 

 “So, yeah. Guy drugging partygoers,” he said. “When I pointed him out, Rowan here gave the bastard the benefit of the doubt. We kept an eye on him as the party progressed, but she didn’t want to get the authorities involved until we had proof that he was actually being a massive asshole.” 

 When Asher shot a carefully blank stare at her, Rowan shrugged. 

 “I knew what he was likely trying to do, but the guy was spreading those pills around like he had an unlimited supply,” she said. “He could have been pulling a bad prank or something equally as innocent, and I didn’t want to get him in trouble for mostly harmless mischief.” 

 Asher didn’t look any less wary of her after that explanation, but she let that slide for now. He should know her well enough by now to know she would never have let the man in the story keep spreading his plague if she’d thought anyone had been in true danger. 

 “So, we watched the guy throughout the night until he got someone to taste his poison,” Thomas said, “and predictably, as soon as she started getting woozy, he led her toward a private corner. That’s when Rowan of House Kolb made her appearance.” 

 He’d said her name with emphasis, as if it carried weight, and Rowan did her best not to snort. 

 Glancing between them, Asher said, “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

 “Mm.” 

 With a distracted smile, Thomas picked up the pace, bouncing ahead of them. Whirling, he pointed at Asher. 

 “You,” he said, “have never seen Rowan after someone’s stoked her temper. Let me tell you, man. It is an absolute delight to behold.” 

 Flushing, Rowan fixed her gaze on her boots, desperately seeking a way to change the subject. She’d gotten what she needed from it. The boys had relaxed around one another, and while this wouldn’t last, it was a start. Time to move on. 

 But Asher wouldn’t let her. 

 “What did you do?” he asked. 

 Rowan chewed at her lip, working through what to say, until Thomas started incessantly poking her, and she slapped his hand down with a frown. 

 “I kicked the bastard’s ass. Dragged him to the closest police station while Thomas brought the girl, making sure she got treatment for the drugs after they arrived,” she said. “When the authorities delayed with beginning the investigation’s proceedings so they could contact the guy’s family with no damn mention made of doing the same for the girl, I pitched a fit, started throwing my family name around. That got things started. 

 “I stayed with the girl until everyone had made their statements, the asshole was booked, and three parents came for their daughter. Failed a fucking Into to Economics exam the next day. The whole thing irritated the hell out of my moms, but I think they were secretly pleased.” 

 With wide eyes, Asher breathed, “Avan above.” 

 “Yep.” 

 Shoving his hands in his pockets, Thomas kicked at fallen leaves. 

 “That’s Rowan,” he said, “but that incident also shows how wonderfully idealistic she can be about human nature.” 

 “I can see that,” Asher said. “I can also see that I’m lucky to be her friend.” 

 Thomas’ face darkened, which had the lightened mood they’d obtained souring, and Rowan hurried into the gap to stop a sniping battle before it began. 

 “If you’re going to judge the quality of someone’s friendship on that story alone, then Thomas is a better friend than I’ll ever be. He stuck with me through all of that unpleasantness, knowing his dad would chew him out at the end, or at least, that’s what he complained about all night,” she said, smirking at her old friend.  

 Rolling his eyes, Thomas swatted at her, although he still seemed a little miffed, but that didn’t stop her from continuing. 

 “You should spend more time with him, Asher.” 

 Rowan smirked at the other boy as his stride suddenly hitched. Maybe that would be enough to keep those two from fighting again. 

 “In any case,” she said, “weren’t we looking for my aunt and-?” 

 “You’re kind, Rowan. I know what you’re trying to do, but it doesn’t matter how nice a portrait you paint of me. I’m not good enough to be his friend, not that I’m sure I’d want to be after the last few days,” Thomas said in a falsely pleasant tone. “That’s ok, though. I have you and Mia. Why would I need anyone else?” 

 Hooking an elbow around Rowan’s arm, he dragged her along with the forest rushing past them, but before Asher could fall behind them, Rowan saw the boy’s eyes flash, stuck on the point of contact between her and Thomas. 

 “Do you really want to discuss this again?” he said. “And in front of her, no less?” 

 Thomas painfully clenched his arm around Rowan’s, and when he spun, it twirled her too, hard enough that whiplash set a dull ache in her neck. 

 “Don’t bring Rowan into this,” he said. 

 With a smirk, Asher said, “I rather think you’re the one who’s done that.” 

 As if she was made of acid, Thomas released Rowan before taking several steadying breaths. 

 “You’re right. About that,” he said. “And in answer to your question, no. I don’t want to discuss anything with you. You made your opinion on the matter in question pretty fucking clear last time.” 

 Something pained burrowed into Asher, and clicking her tongue, Rowan stepped between them before this situation could tumble even further out of control. 

 “Stop it, you idiots!” 

 Rounding on Thomas, she ground her fingertip into his chest. 

 “That complete and total moron opposite you wants to be your friend, no matter what he says to the contrary,” she hissed as quietly as she could. “Knowing the Cerullis family as I’ve come to recently, I can say that he probably had a life quite similar to yours while growing up. Do you remember how often you ignored me in grade school when I was trying to make friends with you? Do you remember how persistent I had to be before you let me in? He’s never had anyone like that, not until me and you and Mia. 

 “I don’t know why I got through his defenses before you, but it doesn’t matter. You want to be his friend? You have to be as annoying as I once was with you.” 

 When Rowan backed off, Thomas looked stunned, but she couldn’t revel in possible success. Flipping the other way, she marched toward Asher, jabbing at him. 

 “And you! I don’t even know what to say to you,” she growled. “You can’t treat people like they’re disposable, meant to be used and thrown away, because you have some unspoken trauma in your past. Everything your dad told you about friendship in the past is bullshit, Asher. Friends aren’t unreliable, a weakness, or malicious, or at least, good friends aren’t. Sure, we make mistakes, human as we are, but we help each other through the good times and the bad. We-” 

 But she stopped talking because something terrifying had made its way onto Asher’s face. He was looking over her shoulder with his amber skin further darkening and brown eyes flashing, and on seeing this, Rowan wasn’t not sure how much of her tirade he’d heard. 

 “You told her?” he said, biting off each word. 

 With that look to douse her passion, Rowan reviewed what she’d said and started cursing in her head. She’d just ripped into Asher about things she shouldn’t know, things he’d shared with Thomas on the night of the plane crash. She knew why those words had slipped out of her—she’d been replaying and analyzing everything Asher had said that night in the time since—but it made her no less horrified when she considered her mistake. She needed to admit she’d been eavesdropping before- 

 “You’ve got to be kidding me,” Thomas said. “That’s the conclusion you jump to? That I betrayed your trust?” 

 Oh, no. 

 “What else am I supposed to think?” Asher snapped, throwing his hands to either side of him. “How else would she know about… that?” 

 Oh no, no, no. 

 “I don’t know, man. You were pretty fucking loud that night,” Thomas said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if everyone in our happy, little group heard what you said.” 

 Rowan couldn’t get a word in. Why wouldn’t they let her speak, clearing up this misunderstanding? 

 Why wouldn’t she let herself interrupt them? 

 Turning away, Asher cupped his forehead. 

 “I can’t believe…” he breathed. 

 That whisper was loud in the forest’s quiet, though. 

 “Can’t believe what? Huh?” Thomas asked, finally resorting to shouting. “I can’t believe you’re upset about this. You spouted that horrid drivel about what friendship is after rejecting me. Why should I have cared to keep any of it to myself?” 

 No, Thomas… 

 Her friend couldn’t take the blame for this, even if unintentionally. Rowan opened her mouth to confess, and Asher flashed past her. In a heartbeat, he had fistfuls of Thomas’ shirt, drawing the other boy closer until their noses were almost touching. 

 “So, you did tell her?” he said. 

 And really, Thomas should be incensed about the treatment he was receiving. Really, he should be a tad frightened. A smile should not be tugging on his lips. 

 “If I did, what are you going to do about it?” he asked. 

 They held perfectly still with Rowan creeping closer to break them up, and she could almost see considered possibilities ratcheting through Asher’s mind. When she touched his elbow, he jumped before thrusting Thomas away hard enough that he fell on his ass, and Rowan winced, pulling back. 

 As if in reaction, something at the corner of her eye moved. 

 “I don’t know what else I should have expected from you,” Asher coldly said. “Considering what you’ve done, it’s clear unfiltered corp blood must be running through your veins, as I thought. The same as your father.” 

 Normally, Rowan would be throwing herself between her friends at this, spilling her guilty guts before making Asher grovel for what he’d said, but she was too fascinated by the glimpses of an approaching… something that she’d caught from between the trees. She didn’t know what type of animal it could be or if perhaps she’d spied a human in poorly made camouflage gear. What else could be rust-red and moving in this wilderness? 

 Because of her fascination, though, Thomas managed to get to his feet. He threw himself at Asher, hollering all the while, and collapsing, the two of them wrestled across the forest floor, swinging and kicking at each other. Thankfully, only glancing blows landed, but Thomas did sink his teeth into Asher’s shoulder at one point, which drew a sharp gasp from the other boy. 

 Almost, Rowan had the attention span needed to focus on this massive mess she’d made of reconciling her friends. Almost, she dove, screaming, into their midst to pull them apart, but before she could, what she’d seen between the leaves and branches of the forest ambled into view. 

 And she froze. 

 “Guys,” she whispered. 

 Avan, her eyes had gone so wide. They felt as if they’d push their way out of their sockets, and a tremble had rooted in her hands as she drew her pistol, loosely holding it at her side. 

 And still, Asher and Thomas were fighting. 

 “Guys!” Rowan roared. “Get the hell up and help me.” 

 Something in her voice had them rolling away from each other and to their feet, and when they saw what had made her so tense, Asher hunkered down, making himself a smaller target while Thomas stepped in front of her, which was sweet, if annoying. 

 Moving out from behind him, Rowan examined what had her licking her dry lips with her dry tongue while her heart desperately fought to resume its normal rhythm. Because what they were facing is neither a human nor an animal, as she’d thought, but was instead, unmistakably an alien.

Chapter 19: The Enemy Is... Adorable?
Rowan didn’t know what she’d thought an alien would look like if she encountered one, too busy running away from them since they’d arrived to consider it, but it was definitely not this. 

 Where it was standing at the edge of the clearing, the top of the being’s head skimmed the lower branches of the trees around it, towering at least half of Thomas’ height over them. A face that more resembles a wooden mask with curling horns in place of ears sat atop a long neck that gradually tapered into slender shoulders. Thin, upper arms yielded to enormous scoops below with pointy fingers at the end of these. The longest of those fingers brushed against the forest floor, and a puffed chest became a lower body that resembled the stubby legs that the ancient reptiles from long ago had once claimed. Instead of an inflexible tail, though, this being had one like a fox’s: swishing back and forth, red, and distinctly furry. 

 As was the rest of the being. Black, tribal markings ran over its tail, chest, and arms, mixing with the burnt-red carpet of the softest looking fur Rowan had ever seen. As if to complete the look, a second, thin tail was draped in front of the being’s abdomen to coil around its neck, partially hiding the row of blipping, blue and purple lights that were embedded there. 

 It was the strangest, most off-the-wall, cutest thing Rowan had seen in a while, and she badly wanted to pet it, even knowing how dangerous it must be. All it was doing right now, though, was holding perfectly still, sans its twitching tails, with the black lines that must be its eyes shortening, as if paint was seeping across its wooden background. 

 In front of her, Thomas hissed, “What are you doing, Rowan? Shoot it!” 

 “Do you seriously want me to start a fight with something that’s probably stronger than us?” Rowan hissed right back. “Besides, I don’t want to hurt something that hasn’t done the same to me.” 

 Both boys snapped their heads toward her. 

 “Icrodon?” Asher growled. 

 Right. For a moment there, both her pattern of enforced ignorance and her shock had overridden her memory of the recent past. With it brought to the forefront again, however, Rowan found herself strangely… calm, at least in her mind. She considered everything about the situation she was in and everything she knew about other disasters like it, including all the ones she’d watched in science-fiction flics over the years, and she knew just what to say. 

 “So, because part of this alien’s civilization attacked us, I should shoot any of them I find on sight? That’s very… racist? No. That’s very speciesist of you, Asher,” she said. “Plus, we still don’t know why its people attacked ours. If we’re not already in a full-blown war with them, I won’t be the one who tips us into battle, just because I’m pissed and want revenge for my family.” 

 Which she did. Her body spoke the truth, even if she didn’t feel anything right now. Avan, she must want it badly, considering how much her pistol was shaking at her side, but she forced herself to keep it there. She couldn’t lift it to shoot that wooden mask-face off. She couldn’t. 

 “I’ll spend the entirety of our afterlife pestering you if that thing kills us because you won’t shoot it on principle,” Thomas hissed. 

 “Well, now you’re just making me glad I’m the only one with a gun,” Rowan whispered at his back. 

 They fell silent, not daring to move and with their eyes pinned on the alien for what seemed like an eternity.  

 Rowan wasn’t sure where to go from here. Should she try to greet it? Would it understand her if she did? Should they retreat into the forest, run back to camp, and get the hell out of dodge? 

 A string of noises spilled out of the alien, a mix of tones similar to the sounds elephants made, if muffled and much lower-pitched, and after a moment where all four of them waited, the alien turned as if moving through a vat of honey and lumbered away. Without a word, Rowan holstered her pistol and started after it, only to be jerked to a halt by Thomas’ grip on her wrist. 

 His eyes were wide with fear as he asked. 

 “What are you doing?” 

 “Getting answers,” Rowan said. “Let go of me.” 

 Reluctantly, Thomas peeled his fingers off of her skin, and Rowan hurried after flashes of red among the forest’s green. 

 Why hadn’t the alien killed them? No matter what Rowan had told Asher and Thomas, she’d thought they were dead back there, but they weren’t, and instead of counting her luck and leaving, she was chasing something that was supposed to be her enemy. It was, wasn’t it? 

 Rowan was half-aware of the boys catching up with her while she requested a connection with Mia over her wristcom. The network had been spotty up here in the mountains, but when heading out to find her mom and aunt, they hadn’t hike that far from the camp, and while there earlier, she’d had enough access to open the game client for Nedrya’s Breaking. 

 Sure enough, the request for connection was accepted within seconds of her making it. Before Mia could greet her, Rowan barreled over her with a question that the she and Shalens had used to pull each other into trouble since they’d been kids. 

 “Want to go on an adventure?” 

 “…Rowan?” Mia started. 

 But she couldn’t get much further before Thomas was tugging on Rowan’s arm. 

 “Oh no, you don’t,” he growled. “You’re not involving my sister in this.” 

 “Hush, Thomas,” Mia and Rowan said together. 

 And then, the other girl continued, “What’s the adventure?” 

 “We met an alien in the forest,” Rowan said. “Chasing it now. Damn, it’s fast.” 

 “What?” 

 Mia’s voice blared from her wristcom with other sounds of startlement from those left behind accompanying it, and Rowan couldn’t help but grin. 

 “I know,” she said. “So? Want to come?” 

 “Hell , yes,” Mia said. “You have your wristcom ready for me to track it?” 

 After a few taps on the device’s screen, Rowan said, “Yup.” 

 “Cool. I’ll see you in a bit.” 

 “What do you think-?” Oscar started before Mia cut the connection. 

 What was it with the Shalen men and unnecessarily sheltering their one female member? 

 Levelly meeting Thomas’ glare, Rowan said, “If you don’t start paying attention to where you’re going, you’ll trip.” 

 Gasping laughter erupted on the other side of her, and she noted with concern that Asher had pressed his hand to his side while he sucked down air. 

 “Got a stitch?” she asked. “We can slow down a little.” 

 Waving at her, Asher shook his head. 

 “‘m fine,” he mumbled. “Forgot how much fun the three of you are.” 

 “Kind of easy to do when you act like a jerk to one of us and he decides to reciprocate,” Rowan said. 

 Making a face, Asher said, “I know. Apologies later. Focus now.” 

 Rowan didn’t think there was a need to focus. Tracking the enormous, brilliantly red alien wasn’t that difficult, but she respected her friend’s tacit request for silence anyway. 

 Jogging through the forest while between two men who’d been fighting —really? who did that?—not too long ago with her acting as the barrier between them was… awkward. Extremely awkward.  If the boys thought she didn’t catch the unreadable glances they were shooting at each other, then they had to be oblivious, which… yeah. Rowan wouldn’t put that past them, but no matter how much this tension was making her suffer, she dealt with it, praying for Mia to rendezvous with them soon. 

 She arrived in a near-silent vault over a fallen tree, and Rowan breathed out some of the strain that had been eating at her. 

 “Where is it?” she asked, out of breath. 

 Rowan pointed toward splotches of red ahead, splotches that seemed to be slowing down. To match the alien’s speed, they dropped to a walk while Mia pouted. 

 “That’s all I get for running all this way?” she asked. “Teasing glances?” 

 Grabbing her hand, Rowan patted it. 

 “I’m sure you’ll see every bit of it soon enough.” 

 Behind her, Thomas snorted, covering a laugh when she checked on him. 

 “Don’t mind me,” he said. “You keep chasing the scary-ass—” 

 They broke free of tree cover, and Rowan expected to barrel through another small clearing, but instead, she was greeted by flat tundra for as far as the eye could see. 

 Well, it was flat except for a cluster of steel structures, shaped like the upper half of a dumpling, far ahead of them, a cluster that their quarry was ambling toward. 

 “—aliens,” Thomas breathed. 

 All of them had stopped at some point. Rowan wasn’t quite sure when that had been. She’d been too preoccupied by not only the encampment they’d stumbled upon but by the fact that sometime during the chase, they’d reached the base of the mountains to notice them slowing down. Granted, they’d been close to this point when bedding down last night but this… 

 How far were they from their allies right now? 

 “We’re going in there, right?” 

 As one, Rowan and the boys stared at Mia, and a flush crept into her cheeks. 

 “What? I figured Rowan would want to talk with them. Given how advanced they seem to be, they must have a way to communicate with us, even if they speak a different language,” she said. “And we could use the opportunity to scout and maybe learn something about this enemy we’ll eventually have to fight. It’s not like the aliens here will attack us if the one you met didn’t. It did ignore you, yes?” 

 When their stares failed to relent, Mia shifted under the weight of their gazes until Rowan spoke up. 

 “She’s right,” she said, ignoring her closing throat. “We should pay our alien guests a visit.” 

 “Are you crazy?” Thomas hissed. “You want to get us surrounded by… creatures that murdered tens of thousands of people without cause?” 

 Rowan didn’t appreciate the reminder of what the aliens had done, didn’t need it. This whole situation required the utmost of rationality. She was fighting to stay in that state, to keep her emotions at arm’s length, and Thomas wasn’t helping with that. 

 “How do you know that we didn’t provoke them? We know nothing about these aliens, least of all what would set them off,” she said. “And like I said, how can we know if this group agrees with the rest of its people? Given how many factions humanity has, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that they have a few too.” 

 “Now who’s generalizing?” Asher said. 

 At Rowan’s glare, he placatingly patted at the air. 

 “Still, I’m curious why such a small portion of them is here, in the back end of nowhere.” 

 With his face draining of color, Thomas took a step away from Asher. 

 “Don’t tell me you agree with them,” he said. “I thought I could count on at least you to appreciate how dangerous this would be.” 

 Averting his eyes, Asher shrugged with one shoulder, and an evil grin spread across Rowan’s face. 

 “Thomas…” she softly said. 

 Reaching for her friend, she advanced on him with wiggling finger, and he backed away with a yelp. 

 “No. No, Rowan,” he squeaked. “Don’t you dare.” 

 But Mia had already guessed Rowan’s intentions, sneaking around to her brother’s back so she could hold him in place. Rowan found every ticklish part of her friend’s body, and while he cried with laughter, she planted wet, sloppy kisses on his cheeks and jaw. At some point, she whispered in his ear. 

 “What to go on an adventure?” 

 After that, it didn’t take long for him to shrug Mia off, slapping at Rowan’s hands all the while. 

 “F-fine,” he stuttered with his cheeks bright red. “If you mean to get us killed, I suppose I should come along. I can pull us out when this all goes to hell.” 

 Bouncing on the balls of her feet, Rowan excitedly clapped. 

 “Yay! We should go before he changes his mind.” 

 As she waited for the others to agree, she noted the carefully blank expression on Asher’s face while he flicked his eyes between her and Thomas with a frown, but she didn’t have long to contemplate it. As soon as she had everyone’s consent, she was striding across clumped grass toward a camp full of enemies, this moment’s definition of trouble’s epitome. 

 As was her wont.

Chapter 20: Misunderstandings and Their Consequences
Rowan didn’t like this. 

 And yes, she knew how silly that was. Once Mia had suggested it, Rowan had been the one to badger her friends into this plan, but still, it was making her skin prickle, leaving sweat beading on it. 

 Now that they’d reached this camp, the aliens were, for the most part, ignoring them, which was good but fucking creepy as well. When they’d first entered the confines of these strange structures, a few of the aliens had stopped what they’d been doing with their mask-faces tracking her group’s progress, but now, they were pretending the humans didn’t exist. 

 Rowan wasn’t sure what they were doing. Between the six onion-shaped domes of their encampment, spikes with blinking lights on one end had been driven into the earth, forming a line that disappeared into the tundra. An alien was hovering beside each of these, swaying back and forth, and as they did this, their arms swung like pendulums with their enormous hands scooping at the air. They were making more of the elephantine noises that she and the boys had heard in the forest, softly thrumming those noises together into a barely-heard chant.  

 Mia, the boys, and Rowan had given those aliens a wide birth. 

 The minority who’d been left idle seemed to just come and go from their buildings. Some had bowls held at neck level with straws poking beneath the bottom ridge of their mask-faces. One of the aliens emerged with a handful of flat, colored rocks that it tossed across the ground. Plopping into the grass, it rested its hands atop its bent knees, unwinding its long-tail from around its neck to nudge at those rocks. 

 When he saw this, Thomas shuddered, but Rowan couldn’t blame him for his reaction. Even fighting with her every breath to keep prior perceptions from coloring her vision, that casual flick of a fluffy chord had looked unnatural to her. 

 Despite the distractions around them, she and her continued following the alien who’d found them in the forest. When it reached the dome furthest from where they’d entered the encampment, it ponderously turned, and after its painted eyes landed on the humans, they stretched into long lines. Dropping to the ground, it pushed its stubby legs out in front of it with grass strands puffing into the air all around. 

 Once more, Rowan was hit with an overwhelming urge to pet it. Why did she want to crawl into the enemy’s lap and let it cuddle her? 

 “Now what?” Thomas asked from the corner of his mouth. 

 Now… now, Rowan took the lead on this venture and prayed to everything good and holy that eloquence decided to pay her a visit today. 

 Stepping forward, she said, “Hello? Can you understand me? If possible, we’d like to speak with you.” 

 Please, let this be an alien species that communicated with verbal utterance and not with—Rowan didn’t know—telepathy or some such bullshit. That would make things difficult . 

 For a moment, she didn’t think the alien understood her, not with its only reaction being to shorten its eyes and manically swish its fox-tail, and seeing that, she was glad. Perhaps she could indulge in this wrath, boiling far below the surface. 

 Then, it leaned forward, hesitantly extending its long-tail toward Rowan. She held still, hoping she was projecting calm to the creature instead of fury, and it must have worked because the alien traced its tail in a delicate path over the smooth skin of her face. She snapped her eyes closed, listening to one of her friends growl under their breath, until the tail moved to her hair, lifting its red strands into view. Fortunately, the alien didn’t take its exploration further, abruptly removing its touch. 

 Unintelligible noise emerged from it, and at the end of that, its fox-tail flicked toward Rowan with the long-tail poking at a light on its neck. Had that been a cue for her to speak? 

 “Um… Do you-? Should I-?” 

 Fuck. She couldn’t lose my cool now. 

 Sighing, she said, “My name is Rowan Kolb. If you can understand me, what should I call you?” 

 When the alien removed pressure from the light, it blipped a few times before a mechanical voice chirped from it in both understandable sentences and garbled nonsense. With both of them overlapping, it was to make out anything Rowan could understand, but she struggled to do so anyway. 

 “Mammalian species. Syntax similar to the Arodnes. Translation services prepared.” 

 The mechanical voice said something more in solely elephantine tones, and the alien slowly flipped its hand a few times before returning with more noise. 

 After a few minutes, the mechanical voice said, “We didn’t realize the worker bees possess intelligence. Sincerest apologies for the blunder. Much repentance must be made for your diminishment but not now. Now is the time for sharing signifiers. Well met, Rowan of the Kolb catalyst. Tanovsinka of the Janak sustenance am I.” 

 Oh, hell. For how much Rowan had wanted an explanatory conversation with the aliens, she hadn’t thought it would actually happen. Caught out, she didn’t know what to say. She spun through ways to respond, trying to pick the best one, but she was coming up with nothing, and if she was the reason humanity died out—over her damn inability to communicate—the shame of it would atomize her. 

 Someone lightly brushed their fingers over her shoulder, reorganizing her spinning thoughts. 

 “Maybe introduce us?” Mia whispered in her ear. 

 Slumping, Rowan squeezed Mia’s hand before waving hers over the people behind her. 

 “These are my friends,” she said, pointing to each. “Mia Shalen, Thomas Shalen, and Asher Cerullis.” 

 She waited while the mechanical voice and the alien conferred, and with each word spoken, the sway of its fox-tail grew more rapid. 

 “Yes, I remember the last two,” the mechanical voice eventually said. “They were tangled together on the ground. Was that some sort of mating ritual?” 

 From the strangled squeak behind her, Rowan could imagine that at least Thomas had gone beet red, and the mental image made her smile, but then, she had to consider how to respond. 

 “No, we um… that’s not a part of how we um… mate,” she said, “and if you don’t mind taking advice from someone like me, you might not want to discuss… that topic so openly with other humans.” 

 Once the mechanical voice had finished translating, the alien trumpeted its noise into the air, drawing its knees up so its hands and long-tail could encircle them. Across the rest of the camp, other aliens stopped what they were doing, slowly turning to the group, and no matter how much Rowan wanted to coo over Tanovsinka’s adorable pose, she hovered her hand beside her pistol. 

 “My apologies,” the mechanical voice soon said. “I didn’t mean to offend, but that seems to be all I can do today.” 

 Well, this was… weird. Rowan hadn’t expected the enemy to be so… 

 “Why is it being so polite, do you think?” Thomas asked. 

 Rowan shrugged, still keeping a wary eye on the possible hostiles. 

 “Please, don’t apologize. You didn’t offend me,” she said. “I just wanted to warn you against the subject in case you come across other humans in the future.” 

 If said humans didn’t immediately try to murder it first. 

 On hearing the translation of her words, Tanovsinka slowly unfurled its arms and tail from around its legs with the tail rapidly swishing through the air. 

 “Oh, good. I would have hated to hurt another piece of the great cosmos, may we all work in harmony,” it said. “Do your people call yourselves human, then?” 

 Another piece of the great cosmos? 

 “Yes,” Rowan absently said, still caught on that piece. “What about yours?” 

 “Our name is long and difficult for most to say and hear,” the mechanical voice said, “but we go by <loosely translated> ‘those from beyond the stars’ here. It is what the first of the many different parts of this galaxy called us when we arrived, long ago.” 

 When they’d arrived…? 

 “Rowan, what are you waiting for?” Thomas hissed. “As it why.” 

 Right. 

 Drawing herself up, Rowan took a deep breath, hoping she wasn’t about to get them killed. 

 “I have a question, Tanovsinka of the Janak sustenance, one that my friends and I followed you here to ask.” 

 After the usual pause, the mechanical voice said, “Please, ask what you like. I have never before been so honored as to have another part of the great cosmos approach me.” 

 Nope. Not getting sucked in by her curiosity about the aliens’ culture. Not when she ha greater concerns. 

 “Why did you attack us?” Rowan asked. “Did we offend you or…? I don’t know. Why did you kill so many of us?” 

 Tanovsinka’s painted eyes shortened to dashes with its tail falling still. 

 “Attack… you?” it asked. 

 Was- was it showing Rowan confusion right now? That looked like confusion. Why would this alien be confused about murdering tens of thousands of people? How could it forget? So many dead. HER FAMILY. What was there to be confused about? 

 With her blood boiling, Rowan had opened her mouth to snap at Tanovsinka when a faint tone whined between them. At that sound’s commencement, the hair all over the alien’s body stood on end, making its tails thrash while it swiped its hands at the air. One of those hands caught on a horn, and a crack accompanied a piece of it flying by her face. The force of that blow toppled Tanovsinka into the grass. 

 All around them, the other aliens were acting similarly, and while Rowan didn’t know what was going on, it was clear something was hurting them. 

 And no matter how much she might hate these beings, Rowan couldn’t stand seeing a creature in pain like this. 

 Rushing to Tanovsinka, she dodged its swiping hands, wincing at how large they looked up close, and gently laid a hand on its back. 

 “Hey! How do I help?” she shouted. 

 Dutifully, the mechanical voice translated while Rowan dodged punches that might have killed her. Once its translation mechanism was done droning, Tanovsinka lessened the ferocity of its thrashing, turning its head so the dashes on its mask-face could meet her eyes. 

 “Inside,” it said. 

 Nodding, Rowan shouted, “Guys, lend me a hand?” 

 “Fucking really, Rowan?” someone yelled. 

 “YES, DAMNIT. NOW.” 

 Turning to Tanovsinka, she said, “Can you hold still for a little while?” 

 Its answering bark sounded pained, but the mechanical voice gave Rowan an affirmative while the alien became like a stone, and her friends gathered around her. 

 “Asher, you join me at the head. Thomas, you’ve got the legs,” she said. “Mia, grab the piece of its horn that broke off, and then, help where you can.” 

 If they were lucky, these aliens—those from beyond the stars, as they called themselves—would have a way to reattach the detached piece. 

 Rowan’s friends scrambled to do what she’d said, no matter how reluctant they look about it. That reluctance changed to something far worse while they struggled to move Tanovsinka, and Rowan knew she’d be hearing an earful from each of them later. 

 Because dragging an alien that was twice one’s size across the ground turned out to be really fucking difficult. Puffing and panting, they got Tanovsinka to the two, short steps that led into the nearest building, and looking over the handful of its compatriots that were now laid out, twitching, in the grass, Rowan wondered how many of them they’d be able to move before their own bodies gave out. 

 That was when a sharp, deafening crack sounded somewhere nearby, and Rowan went cold with ice water sluicing through her body. Gunfire. The cacophonous stutter of gunfire was rising all around them. 

 Humans had caused this hurt. 

 As she increased the urgency of her tugs on Tanovsinka’s body, Rowan silently railed against the people attacking this place. Why now? They’d been getting somewhere with these aliens, and someone had come along and ruined it. 

 She let these furious thoughts burn through her, assisting with one final pull into the dome, rather than consider the other implication of what had happened, but once they carefully lowered the alien to a gel-padded floor, she let it seep to the forefront. 

 They could hurt this foe, one that Rowan had thought was invincible for weeks. They could fight. 

 A fight was not, however, what she wanted right now. 

 As her friends cautiously exited the structure, probably just as unnerved by the alien architecture around them as Rowan was, she knelt beside Tanovsinka, rubbing her hand across the smooth fur of its shoulder. 

 “You need to stay here. Do not leave this place under any circumstances,” she said. “It’s the only way I can help you. Do you understand me?” 

 She squeezed a little as she said this, and while it listened, Tanovsinka’s eyes stretched and shortened in a crawl. 

 “I understand,” its mechanical voice said. 

 “I will try to help your companions as much as I can, but I- I don’t-” 

 Biting her lip, Rowan glanced over her shoulder at the door, where its thin surface was muffling the gunfire outside, before hanging her head. 

 “I’m sorry,” she said.  

 Shooting to her feet, she paused as an idea formed. With gritted teeth, she snatched up the broken part of Tanovsinka’s horn, digging its tip along the seam of her neck and shoulder, and as warmth trickled beneath my shirt’s neckline, she drew her pistol, firing it two times into the part of the dome that was furthest from them. 

 As she hurried to the door, a mechanical voice asked, “Why?” 

 And squeezing her eyes closed, Rowan left, failing to answer either of the questions the alien had been asking. 

 As soon as the sun’s rays splashed on her skin, she stopped short, gut-punched by what she was seeing. The aliens were dead. An unreasoning, vicious part of her roared with delight at this, the minuscule balancing of the scales between her and these creatures that had harmed her, and she had to bite her tongue, driving her fingernails into her palms, to push that anger down. She had to remind herself that she didn’t know if these particular living beings had wronged her, and once she’d done that, something vastly different and, in many ways, worse than rage trickled into her until her heart was filled. 

 What she’d encountered here, though, was what Rowan had thought she’d find on emerging from the dome, considering how incapacitated the aliens had seemed before the first signs of violence had appeared, but the people loosely holding rifles, strolling between bodies, and lifting red-fuzzed heads by the toe? They were wearing House Kolb uniforms. They were her family’s troopers. 

 And two of them were currently aiming rifles at her friends, who had their hands above their heads. 

 “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Rowan said, marching down the steps. “Back the hell away from these civilians, or I swear to avan, I’ll make sure my brother cuts your commissions short. How long do you think you’ll survive-?” 

 When the troopers swung two rifle barrels toward her, making her stare them down, she shut up. Facing imminent, violent death often did that to a person. 

 It didn’t stop her instincts, though. As soon as those rifles had started moving toward her, Rowan had angled her body to present a smaller profile while leveling her pistol at the closest trooper to her. 

 Fortunately, her brain caught up with her body before either of the troopers could react to the danger she’d become. 

 “I don’t want to kill you. We’ve seen enough death recently,” she said, pouring ice into her voice, “but if you don’t stop aiming the weapons that my family gave you at me, I’ll take at least one of you with me when bullets start flying.” 

 Still, they didn’t back down, and though Rowan saw someone else approaching from the corner of her eye, she couldn’t give this person her attention yet. 

 “At ease. I’ve got this,” they said. 

 Slowly, the troopers lowered their rifles, and Rowan matched their weapons’ descent with her own. With the threat level lowered, the troopers gave the new arrival their full attention, and she patted their shoulders. 

 “Thank you, gentlemen,” she said. “You can join the others.” 

 While they did so, Rowan gave this woman a once over. She had her helmet under her arm with her brown hair cut short, but Rowan didn’t seem much else before she was bowing. 

 “Lady Kolb, my apologies for those two,” the woman said. “Until Icrodon, most of us here hadn’t seen combat, not since training at least. Our inexperience has made nerves run a little high.” 

 “No one was hurt, so it’s fine,” Rowan coldly said. “Although if any of you threaten my friends like that again…” 

 She didn’t know what had come over her. She didn’t act in this aloof manner, the way most nobles carried themselves. She didn’t make threats, even those unspoken, to the people who served her. 

 “It won’t happen, Lady Kolb,” the woman said. 

 Was she that upset about what had happened here? Why did she care if these aliens were dead? They were the enemy. They’d killed her family. She hated them. 

 Right? 

 Avan, these questions were making her head hurt. Best to put them aside for now. 

 “You may rise,” Rowan said and once the trooper was upright, continued with. “How did you come to be here… captain, is it?’ 

 “Yes, ma’am,” the captain said. “We were on a scouting mission and saw these domes. Came to investigate, and I’m right glad we did. I could never have lived with myself if a member of House Kolb or her friends came to harm because of my negligence. Although you do look like you handled your own.” 

 She drifted her eyes to the scratch across Rowan’s shoulder. 

 “Mm,” Rowan said, refusing to comment. “And how did you… do what you did with the aliens?” 

 So specific, that question, but from her grin, the captain seemed to know what she’d meant. 

 “We’ve learned some things in the week since the two-tails arrived, although most of it seem useless,” she said, “but we do know that certain radio frequencies mess with them, even if we’re not sure why. They also only work if the aliens are unprotected by tech, like these ones were. Looks like they might have been in the process of raising one of their damnable shields with those spikes, even if the formation of them isn’t quite right. It’s a good thing we arrived before they’d finished.” 

 Rowan nodded along, pretending to be delighted by this news while secretly finding nothing good in it. What this captain had described sounded like a weak advantage, one they couldn’t use except in the most impossible of circumstances, so she couldn’t take any joy from it, and if this group of aliens had been on the precipice of protection from these troopers, what might a difference of five minutes have made? What more could Rowan have learned from Tanovsinka? 

 This was all assuming that the captain had been right when it came to her conjecture about the spikes, of course. 

 “All well and good,” Rowan said, “but I’m also a little curious about why you’re here, in the tundra. That’s what I meant by my first question. Are you the first of those who’ve come from Xygek, and if so, how did you find one another? You should have been more scattered than this.” 

 “Oh! No, we didn’t come from Xygek, ma’am,” the captain said. “We’re part of your Uncle Ethan’s honor guard.” 

 Asher made a note of comprehension, which was strange. Why would he know about a practice that only Rowan’s family had employed, among the nobles in Athari at least? 

 If these troopers were part of an extended family member’s honor guard, though, it would explain why they hadn’t seen combat, assigned to stick with that family member as they were. 

 “Excellent! Does that mean we’re close to my uncle’s home, then?” Rowan asked. “If so, perhaps you could escort us back. I’m afraid we’ve been separated from the rest of our group.” 

 Shifting in place, the captain said, “We would be… happy to serve as such, if you don’t mind a short wait first. I’d like to make sure these domes are clear. It wouldn’t do to leave any two-tails alive, this close to base.” 

 Rowan’s friends, silently watching to this point, unconsciously drew together, flicking their eyes to the door behind her while Mia hunched on herself. Rowan doubted they cared about whether she succeeded in protecting Tanovsinka, but the fact that she meant to shelter an alien probably wouldn’t reflect well on her while among these already twitchy troopers. She didn’t want to push that dynamic. 

 “There’s no need for that. As soon as I heard gunfire, I started clearing these domes myself. I only found one enemy, in there,” she said, jerking a thumb over her shoulder. “Thank you for the assist, by the way. I wasn’t sure how we’d escape after one of those bastards captured us earlier today.” 

 Internally cringing, Rowan cast an evil eye at a dead alien and suddenly realized why this massacre had disturbed her so much. For a moment, a face from Nasmi was superimposed over a wooden mask-face. She couldn’t think about that or let it create a swirl of conflicting emotions in her gut right now, though. 

 “I couldn’t do much with only a pistol at my disposal, although…” 

 Cradling said pistol, Rowan smirked. 

 “It seemed sufficient for killing one of these… two-tails, is it?” 

 While the captain weighed her words, she holstered her weapon and stashed Tanovsinka’s horn— avan, she wished she could return it—in a pocket before heading for her friends, all as she would normally act. 

 “All right, then. We’ll head out immediately,” the captain said. “It’s only a short walk to our off-road vehicles, although…  

 “Forgive me, Lady Kolb, but my Lord Kolb will want to know your friends’ names before we arrive. He’s been mighty antsy, what with your side of the family keeping those secrets to yourselves.” 

 So, maybe Thomas and Asher had been right to be paranoid about Uncle Ethan’s reaction to them. 

 Having reached Thomas, Rowan rose to her tiptoes so she could sling an arm around his neck before dragging him down to her level. He swiped at her in protest. 

 “You can tell my dear uncle that these people’s names don’t matter. They are like family to me and should be treated as such,” she said. “Now, which way to our ride?” 

 The captain pursed her lips, but she shouted for the troopers milling around them to move out before leading them at a brisk pace ahead. As they left the domes behind, Rowan hoped none of those trigger-happy people would decide to go exploring before following their orders. She hoped Tanovsinka would be ok, but she couldn’t worry about it any more than she already had. 

 She had bigger problems to handle now, namely greeting her paranoid uncle who’d never been a part of her life before. Hell, this would be interesting.

Chapter 21: I Didn't Need Your Help
Given the flat, treeless nature of the tundra on this side of the mountains, Rowan wasn’t sure how Uncle Ethan kept his home hidden. As they once more rolled over bumpy ground, she didn’t think it was wise to ask this question of his honor guard, and with the grumpy, old trooper driving them nearby, she couldn’t speculate on it with her friends. They also couldn’t discuss what  had happened in the alien encampment, which only added to an already tense atmosphere. 

 So, it was with far too much relief that she spotted four colored lights ahead: two green and two red. Rowan wasn’t sure how they related to her Uncle Ethan’s home, but they were the only sign of a human touch on these barely habitable lands, and the car was headed straight for them. 

 The trooper aligned the car to pass between the green lights of the outlined box, and as they came closer, Rowan glanced around, checking the sky as well. Maybe they were about to take another plane ride, although what they would potentially fly in would have to be much larger than the Cerullis’ jet to accommodate all these cars. The lights could indicate a pick-up zone, though. Rowan wasn’t sure where Ethan could have gotten his hands on a- 

 Their car’s front wheels hit the invisible line between the green lights, and it angled down with its hood about to hit solid ground. Despite Rowan’s cringing anticipation, however, there was no impact. As they passed through the grass and frozen earth, something flickered, and they were no longer bouncing along the outside tundra. They were rolling down a paved ramp with stark lighting and bricked walls to border it, leading into some sort of garage. 

 Holy hell. Uncle Ethan had used his portion of the family money to build an underground bunker. He really was crazy. 

 Beside Rowan, Asher had twisted to look out the rear windshield with color draining from his face. 

 “What-? I- Where- were did he get that prototype?” he whispered to himself. “Max said it wasn’t finished yet.” 

 The trooper driving the car glanced up to the rear-view mirror with an unseen frown pinching her eyes, and both Thomas and Rowan laid a hand on Asher’s thighs while Mia drew her shoulders together in the front. When Rowan squeezed her hold, Asher flipped forward again, but he couldn’t stop chewing on his lip, so preoccupied that he didn’t sweep their hands off of him. Rowan left hers in place, gently patting her friend, but after a moment, Thomas drew his hand back, crossing his arms as he leaned his forehead on the car’s glass. 

 Now, yes. Uncle Ethan knew that Asher Cerullis had been traveling with mom, John, and me, and yes, he probably knew what her friend looked like too. It was kind of hard to keep one’s photo from circling throughout Athari when one came from a noble family as recognizable as one of theirs. On the off chance that he hadn’t seen such a photo, however, Rowan would like to keep Ethan guessing about her friends for as long as possible. 

 Once the car was in park, everyone piled out of it, and at least Thomas, out of all of us, rubbed his back side, wincing. None of them were used to off-road rides yet. Before they could start taking in their surroundings, the same captain from before marched to them from the car she’d taken to get here. 

 “Lady Kolb, you’ll be pleased to know that another of our squads ran across the rest of your group while we were on our way here,” she called. “They’ll be joining us soon.” 

 Oh, thank avan. Rowan knew this was supposed to be a sanctuary for her traveling group, but because of who her friends were, she couldn’t help but feel as if she was in hostile territory. Her immediate family and their troopers, an addition of allies, would be welcome. 

 “That’s wonderful news!” she said. “Thank you, captain.” 

 Slowly, she turned in a circle, taking the lay of the land, which besides it being underground, was nothing special. A dozen or so off-road vehicles sat in two, neat lines around them, and the same gray-painted brick walls from the ramp had followed them into this place. It was about the size of the building where Cerullis had stored their vehicles in Xygek, if with a slightly taller ceiling, and no effort had been made to hide the steel supports overhead with domed lights interspersed between them. A giant, rolling door filled up most of one wall, perhaps leading into another garage, while three smaller ones promised entrance to possibly more eye-pleasing parts of the bunker. 

 Rowan saw no sign of Uncle Ethan, just the troopers who’d stumbled upon them. 

 “So, what’s the plan now that we’re here?” she asked. “Are we meant to greet my uncle, or does he want us to settle in first? Maybe a bit of both?” 

 “My Lord Kolb has asked me to show you to your assigned quarters for the length of your stay here,” the captain said, “but technically, Lady Kolb, you have a greater rank than him among Kolb’s troopers, higher up the line of succession as you are. If you want, I could bring all of you to him, or if your friends would like to rest, one of my people can take them to their rooms while I escort you to your uncle.” 

 Hiding a smile, Rowan turned to her friends. It seemed she needed to learn another trooper’s name. Reading her intentions and providing a viable path toward them—diplomacy, of a sort—were rare talents among the people who fought for her family. She’d like to cultivate those skills in this captain, if she could. 

 To her friends, she said, “Want to come with me or no?” 

 “I doubt we’d help you during this first meeting,” Mia said. 

 “From everything I’ve heard, Lord Ethan is likely to focus on us instead of you, if we came,” Asher added. 

 “Plus, I don’t know about these two, but I’m tired.” 

 With a fairly convincing yawn, Thomas stretched his arms overhead before draping one of them over Mia’s shoulders. 

 “I could use a nap.” 

 Bullshit. On the way here, they’d had days much more strenuous than what they’d experienced this morning, and during them, Thomas had still bounced around like an overly excited puppy at the end of them. Rowan doubted he’d suddenly lost all of that energy now. 

 Still, she smiled because they’d known what she needed without her having to tell them. 

 “All right,” the captain said, signaling to a pair of troopers. “If you’ll follow these two, they’ll take you to your quarters. Lady Kolb?” 

 “After you,” Rowan said, waving the captain ahead. “I’ll see you in a little while, guys.” 

 Please, be safe, she silently added. 

 From their guarded eyes and the excess of enthusiasm in their waves, she thought they might have heard it anyway. 

 To her surprise, not much changed between the garage and the halls of Uncle Ethan’s home. Drywall had replaced brick, and the floor was made of wood planks instead of painted concrete. The ceilings were closer to the floor, letting the warm light here spread over every surface, but the roof’s girders were still visible, and the same stark style from before continued around every corner. 

 The further along they went, the more Rowan’s pace slowed down, prompting the captain to glance over her shoulder several times. When they’d almost gotten to a crawl, she pulled back, still in the lead but close enough for Rowan to see her face. 

 “Something wrong, ma’am?” she asked. 

 Biting my lip, Rowan looked away. 

 “I’m not sure how to handle—” 

 She vaguely waved. 

 “—this. Ethan is my last living aunt or uncle on the Kolb side of the family. I have plenty of them in Shoya Dren from the Chinooks, but in Athari, it was just him and Aunt Sally before she died. It never mattered before because he wasn’t a part of our lives, but now, with so many dead-” 

 Rowan hiccupped into silence, stopping short in the hall as the monster she’d kept caged since the plane crash made a bid for freedom. For a moment, she could do nothing more than choke on her tears, forcing them down, forcing herself to focus elsewhere. To temporarily forget. FORGET. 

 When she could breathe again, she moved along. Thankfully, the captain made no comment on the pause. 

 “I need this meeting to go well,” Rowan said, “and considering some of the things we must discuss, I don’t think it will.” 

 “Because the issues are contentious?” the captain asked. 

 Thinking on all of the problems that existed between her and Uncle Ethan, some of which he was unaware of, Rowan hugged herself, nodding. The captain was quiet for a while, keeping her eyes distant while she walked down a well-known path.  

 Eventually, they stepped into a foyer of some sort, hexagonal in shape. An arch, much like they’d passed through to enter this space, created a passageway through the wall that mirrored theirs, and a grand, double door stood between these arches with an elevator installed opposite it. 

 Seven or so people, troopers or otherwise, were gathered here while more passed through. Rowan had seen a couple of attendants and other staff on their way to this place, but here, she finally found enough living people to make this cold bunker seem alive. 

 Automatically assuming her uncle was waiting behind the double doors, she started that way, halting when the captain lightly pressed fingers into her shoulder. 

 “If I may, Lady Kolb?” she said. 

 Intrigued by her initiative, Rowan said, “Of course.” 

 Letting her finger slip away, the captain stood at relaxed attention. 

 “My Lord Ethan is many things, too much for me to quickly share. As it is for all people,” she said, “but I can tell you that you shouldn’t take the gruff, insensitive personality that he typically presents at face value. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions about him, but at least trust me when I say that that isn’t the real him. He will listen to your every concern, Lady Kolb, whether they’ll cause friction in this household or not, and he will respect you for bringing them to him in the most honest and direct manner that you can. Take that as you will.” 

 Lifting her hands on either side of her body, she took a step back, and Rowan narrowed her eyes. 

 “How do you know so much about him?” she asked. “What you’ve shared sounds like a deeper understanding of him than most people have of their employers, especially since he’s a noble.” 

 As the captain shifted her eyes away from Rowan, a half-smile forced its way onto her lips. 

 “You’ll find out,” she said. “Would you like me to accompany you inside, Lady Kolb, or may I return to my duties?” 

 That was an interesting answer. 

 “Please, don’t let me keep you, captain,” Rowan said. “Thank you for your help.” 

 With a short bow, the captain hurried off, and Rowan watched her go until she couldn’t see her anymore. Yep. Definitely need to learn her name, preferably in a way that would make it plausible that Rowan had known who she was all along. She seemed like the type who’d like a commanding officer taking enough interest in her to dig up at least that tiny detail on their own. 

 But she should focus on why she was here. 

 Squaring her shoulders, Rowan briskly marched to a set of doors, looming intimidatingly over her, and eased one open. Slipping through, she was buffeted by the amount of noise and activity that greeted me. 

 People in the House Kolb uniform were bustling about the circular room, staying within its confines for the most part, but some of them were coming in and out of doors along the back wall.  

 Damn. How had Uncle Ethan got his hands on so many troopers? Had the ones from Xygek started trickling in? Maybe he’d been recruiting, although that seemed unlikely, considering how far they were from the closest source of civilization. Rowan would have to ask him about it later. 

 Most of the troopers in the room appeared to be acting as aides: fetching food or other supplies for the rest, giving reports or taking orders, or pulling requested information from storecases. The rest were sitting at tables, haphazardly scattered across the floor. Each table had storecases below them as well as touch screens embedded in their surfaces. Far too much paper sat in front of the troopers with some of those sheets spilling across the giant blocks of tile beneath their feet and the table’s legs.  

 They also had… Asher’s button, the one that establishes direct connections, hanging off of their ears. Strange. Rowan had thought those weren’t available to the public yet, as her friend had once said. 

 Shaking herself, she sucked on her lip while examining the ring of monitors hanging from the wall, high above her head. A mix of images was shown there. One or two depicted pictures of the northern half of Athari from far away, obviously satellite feeds. Some were simply black, feeds that had been cut she was guessing, but most looked out over the tundra, swaying like what one would encounter in a first-person shooter game. Body cams, probably. 

 Above this ring, the concrete walls rose far overhead, ending in a grid of clouded, glass panes. The sun’s feeble attempt at illumination through those panes was helped by spotlights, placed in various places along this tube, as well as a few lamps on the floor. 

 The arrangement reminded Rowan, in a vague way, of the Cerullis lab, where their employees had monitored outer space and the Ancient’s Source, but that only made sense. Both places’ primary purpose was to collect data through human observation, although this room also seemed to act as a command center, of sorts. 

 So, where was the commander? 

 With a jolt, Rowan realized that she didn’t know what her Uncle Ethan looks like. It had never came up during the few times he’d been mentioned while growing up, and no one in their traveling group had thought to clarify during their journey. 

 In the end, though, she didn’t need a description. Since she’d entered this room, a man had been standing in the center of it with his hands clasped behind his back. She hadn’t initially paid him much attention because not only was this place a lot to take in, but he was wearing the same House Kolb uniform as the other soldiers here. 

 As she glanced over the room’s occupants, however, something about him caught her eye. She wasn’t sure what it was, though, so she watched this man until he turned toward her, enough for her to see his face. 

 Her resulting, gasping squeak was soul-grippingly loud, at least to her ears, but it was quickly muffled by the back of her hand, slapped to her mouth. As she sank her teeth into its skin, her vision crystallized from the tears filling her eyes, and she thought she’d be sick, her heart hurt so badly. She was shaking with restrained sobs or maybe crazed laughter? She couldn’t tell. 

 Because this, an echo of Rowan’s mother blazing from her brother’s face, was not fucking fair. 

 Somehow, Rowan got herself back under control.  Avan help her if she had to explain how she did that because she couldn’t express the effort it took with words. Not accurately at least. 

 It was kind of like pushing and shoving and fighting an overstuffed piece of luggage closed, only to realize you’d forgotten to pack a charger for your wristcom. Carefully, you’d ease your luggage open the barest of cracks, but it would spring open instead, flinging clothes across the floor, and you’d have to repeat the process but with the addition of a charger this time. 

 But Rowan did it. She… did it, and exhausted, she strode toward her uncle, projecting as much of a pleased expression as she could. He saw her coming when she was halfway to him, pinning a stiff smile to his mouth as he faced her. 

 “You must be Rowan,” he said. “Anya told me you were coming.” 

 Anya?  

 No, she couldn’t let that distract her. 

 “Hello, Uncle Ethan,” Rowan said. “Thank you for extending refuge to me and my family. I’m sure John and mom will be equally as grateful when they arrive.” 

 Ethan shifted to another foot with a wave of tensing muscles crawling over his frame, which Rowan could only stare at. Had that been a squirm? 

 “Yes, I’d heard you were separated from the rest,” he said. “How did that happen?” 

 What? No hug for a niece he’d never met? No attempt to make a guest feel comfortable? Rowan might find this lack of hospitality more annoying if she hadn’t wanted the coming confrontation to be over and done with. 

 “I don’t suppose we could speak privately about that, could we?” she asked. “It looks like you’re running a few ops at the moment. I can wait, although I’d rather not.” 

 Almost before she could catch it, Ethan’s stiff smile flickered into something more genuine before going rigid again. 

 “Now is fine. Give me a moment?” 

 When she nodded, he twisted toward one of the tables behind him. 

 “Diedrick, you’re in command,” he shouted. “Shouldn’t be more than half an hour gone.” 

 A dark-haired man answered this with a loose salute, never looking up from the touchscreen in front of him, but rather than berate the man for disrespect, as most nobles would, Ethan softly chuckled, waving for Rowan to follow him. 

 She didn’t know what to say as she trailed behind this stranger of a man. How did one bridge a gap of so many years and missed opportunities? 

 Uncle Ethan was having the same problem, though, if that was what his silence meant. The stiff pace of his march matched the drumming of his fingers on his hands, still clasped behind him, and Rowan wondered if that tic was meant to hide the slight twitches in them, although she wasn’t sure why he’d make an effort like that. Those twitches were faint enough that only someone extraordinarily observant or fixated on him, like her, would notice. 

 As they entered a dimmed room, Ethan pressed the button hanging from his ear, and it blinked more rapidly, as if waiting for input. 

 “Captain Anya Ivanov.” 

 Wait, captain? As in Rowan’s captain, the one who’d brought her here? 

 She frowned as the button’s blinking became a solid glow, but even as he moved to a sideboard, turning in order to pour a drink, Ethan didn’t notice Rowan’s confusion or questioning stare. 

 “Anya,” he said. 

 There was a pause. 

 “Yes, she found me. Thank you for bringing her,” he continued. “Are the others handled?’ 

 Another pause. 

 “Good. Private debrief in fifteen minutes. My usual spot.” 

 Pushing the button again, Uncle Ethan removed it from his ear before giving Rowan his full attention, sipping at his drink. 

 “So?” he asked. “What happened?” 

 “Um.” 

 Was Rowan supposed to stand in the entrance of this room while answering that? Damn, if their conversation was going to go that way, he could at least offer her- 

 “Oh, hell. I’ve done it again, haven’t I?” Ethan said, covering his eyes. “Please, forgive me. I get so comfortable here. I forget…” 

 He rubbed his face before dropping his arm. 

 “Anyway. Come in, Rowan. Make yourself comfortable,” he said. “Would you like something to drink?” 

 “I… would like that, yes,” Rowan said. “Thank you.” 

 She slowly wandered into the shadows, letting her eyes adjust, with her arm stretched in front of her. 

 “Anything in particular you want?” Ethan asked. 

 “Surprise me,” Rowan said. 

 Hidden in the dark, the precariously stacked towers of notebooks and paper, crammed into nearly every one of the room’s free spaces, impressed upon her eyes, and half-consciously, she cocked her head. Where were we? Some sort of poorly organized filing room? The leather armchair in one corner and a desk chair, peeking from the stacks lining one wall, would suggest otherwise. But what else could it be? 

 “Here,” Uncle Ethan said. 

 He handed Rowan a tumbler, and while she took a sip, he looked over the room with one arm crossed. At the flavor that hit her tongue, Rowan sprang her eyes open wide, that combination of smoke and cherry wood flavors was so familiar. She almost spilled the rest of it when jerking her head toward Ethan. 

 “Do you like it?” he asked. “It was your mother’s favorite. Glenbacken 1171.” 

 Rowan took one, ragged sip of air, two, before joining him in his examination. 

 “I do,” she said with a rough voice. “You look a lot like her, you know.” 

 “So I’ve been told.” 

 They took a sip together with nothing spoken, and Rowan wondered if he was thinking about Veronica, like her. 

 “Don’t worry,” Ethan said. “I’ll limit my contact with Bay, at least at first. I wouldn’t want to distress her.” 

 Rowan hadn’t even considered how he might affect her surviving mother. That he had first surprised her. 

 “I think that might be best,” she said. 

 She drained her tumbler, and when she lowered it, Ethan had his hand outstretched. 

 “Go ahead and sit down,” he said. “I’ll pour you another.” 

 Rowan did as he said, or she meant to, but as she was picking her way between stacks of paper, she spied what they and an office chair had been hiding. 

 A storecase. There had been storecases in that strategy room, sure, but this was the first free one she’d come across since leaving Xygek, and her fingers ached to touch it. 

 “Uncle Ethan? How good of a connection do you have with the network?” she asked. 

 “Only the best. I couldn’t do my work here without it,” Ethan said. “Why?” 

 Rowan tried to swallow, but her mouth was dry, emphasized when she passed a rough tongue over her lips. 

 “Can- can I use the storecase in here?” she asked. 

 A glass bottle heavily thunked onto wood, and Rowan counted to eleven before Uncle Ethan tightly answered. 

 “Sure. Just use the guest account, please.” 

 “Can do.” 

 Dropping into the office chair, Rowan flexed her fingers before laying one hand on the keyboard while using the other to power the storecase. The whir of fans as it began its boot process set a flutter in her heart, and after logging in, she opened a network portal with trepidation. 

 And a window appeared on the monitor. 

 Oh, thank avan. The network was still up and running. Why hadn’t the aliens disrupted it yet? 

 Rowan didn’t give that question much thought, navigating to the site for  Nedrya’s Breaking so she could start downloading it. To do so, she had to force administration privileges onto this account, but she’d been doing things like that since she was small, so it didn’t take her long. 

 Uncle Ethan had not been kidding about his network connection’s strength. Downloading Break took a little under three minutes, and it was a big game, one that would have taken fifteen minutes to download back home. 

 While it was working, Uncle Ethan set her tumbler beside her jittering fingers. 

 “You wanted to play a video game?” he asked. 

 No audible contempt had been infused in his voice, but Rowan heard it nonetheless, which set her into a bristled state. 

 “No. I wanted to check in with my guild. My friends,” she said with each word short. “We don’t have a meet date for a few more days, but still, they’ve been sending me messages in game. It’s how I’ve learned what’s going on with Sasmor and Roswines, but I can’t see chat channels unless I’m properly logged into the game. I want to look through the ones I set up on the day of… Icrodon. See if anyone’s dropped any useful info. Make sure no one’s being an asshole with them. Et cetera. it’d be nice to say hi to my guildmates too, but I doubt anyone’s online.” 

 Rowan could feel her Uncle Ethan hovering behind her as she started the game and selected one of the characters under her FatalisticFable account to play. 

 “You set this up on the day of the attack?” he asked. 

 “Mmhmm.” 

 “I’m impressed,” Ethan said. 

 And he’d sounded impressed too, if also a little surprised. 

 “Thanks,” Rowan said. "Give me five minutes, at most, and we can talk.” 

 By that point, though, she was too far gone to hear his reply. She’d returned to Nedrya, and avan above, if it didn’t feel glorious. She’d missed it. 

 More of her guildmates were online than she’d expected, and of course, as soon as one of them noticed Rowan had logged on, they flooded her with messages. These trickled to almost nothing once she posted that she didn’t have a headset in the guild’s general chat. A few people expressed wishes to speak with her once she could do so vocally, but besides that, no one bothered her, leaving her free to go through her new chat channels’ logs. 

 It took her a little longer than she’d estimated to get through them. Still, most entries only mentioned a guild member’s projected destination and timetable to arrive there. Not many of those timetables had expired yet, which gave Rowan hope that most people in her guild had yet to reach their safe havens. She held the nuggets of golden information that she gained from her trawl close to heart, to use as needed while she and her people settled into their new home. 

 Once she was done, she logged out, but she left the storecase on, finding comfort in its monitor’s glow when facing this member of her family that she barely know. The ice in her drink had melted, but she sipped it regardless and pinned her eyes on her Uncle Ethan. She’d felt him doing the same throughout her time in Nedrya, so it was a bit of a relief to finally meet that gaze. 

 “So,” she said. 

 “So,” Ethan echoed. 

 They stared at one another for a bit, but he was the first make a move in breaking it. 

 Gesturing at the stacks of paper around them, he said, “Apologies for the mess. My study wasn’t so cluttered a week ago, but when it became clear we’d need an unconventional method to defeat the two-tails, I had all the notes from my childhood brought up from storage.” 

 Rowan raised an eyebrow, picking at a towering pile of paper beside her. 

 “This is all yours?” she said. 

 It was a lot of scribbling to come from one man. 

 “Yes,” Ethan said, running his eyes over what he’d written. “I’ve always been… different, especially as a child. Researching and writing about the strange and fantastic phenomena of our world helped me feel normal.” 

 Snatching her fingers into her lap, Rowan swallowed a surge of shame for the voice that was whispering ‘eccentric’ in her head. At the same time, she pushed down memories of Logan, times when he’d struggled to justify his fascination with numbers to the high school sports coaches who’d tried to recruit him. 

 “I see. Considering what’s attacked us, I believe a look into the strange and fantastic is warranted,” she said. 

 Uncle Ethan snapped his eyes back to her for a split second before looking away again. 

 “I’m glad to hear you say that,” he said. “Now, if you don’t mind…” 

 He waved his glass toward Rowan suggestively, and she puffed out a sigh. 

 “Yes, yes.” 

 She told him what had happened from the moment she’d left the group’s campsite this morning to when his honor guard had slaughtered the aliens, including a… polite criticism of overdone violence, and through this, Uncle Ethan didn’t move. Even once she’d finished, he swirled his drink, gazing into nothing. 

 “And you’re sure you were getting somewhere with this Tanovsinka?” he eventually asked. 

 “We could have at least established why they attacked us,” Rowan said, fighting to keep from growling. “We could maybe have extrapolated a way to appease them, if we knew that.” 

 Groaning, Ethan slumped in his armchair, thunking his head on its back. After a moment, he lifted his tumbler to precariously drink from it. 

 “What a missed opportunity,” he said. “If Anya had attacked just a few minutes later…” 

 “So, you see it too?” Rowan asked, scooting to the edge of her seat. “The chance we had today?” 

 That she’d never needed help? 

 As if his neck was grating on its hinge, Uncle Ethan nodsded 

 “Maybe your Tanovsinka’s still alive… but going back to check so soon after inflicting so much violence probably isn’t a good idea,” he said. “Best to let it settle. Time has a way of dulling hurts, thank avan.” 

 Thank avan indeed. Rowan didn’t know what she’d do if she had to live for the rest of her life with these random upsurges of grief or pain, waiting below the surface for her to loosen her control. 

 “But I assume you didn’t want to speak in private just because of that op’s disastrous conclusion,” Ethan said. “So, what’s bothering you, Rowan?” 

 It was her turn to refuse to meet his gaze. 

 “My friends. I want to make sure they’ll be safe. They can’t be treated any differently than I am while they’re here,” she said. “That’s why I’ve done my best to conceal their identities throughout our trip, although I’m sure you’ve worked out who they are by now.” 

 “Yes, but I wasn’t terribly surprised when Anya shared their names with me,” Ethan said. “I already knew about the Cerullis boy, and your mother often spoke of the Shalen children at the same time as you in her letters.” 

 After swallowing a lump in her throat, Rowan slowly breathed out. 

 “So?” she said. “Do I need to worry about anything horrible happening to them here?” 

 Keep it short and blunt, much like he’d been with her. He was more likely to respect that and therefore, her if she avoided flowery words. 

 “The Shalen children and their father, who I’m assuming you brought with you at your friends’ insistence?” 

 Not exactly true. Rowan was sure at least Thomas wouldn’t have minded leaving Oscar behind. Still, she made a face and nodded. 

 “They may have free reign here, and I’ll spread the word that they’re to be treated as regular, untitled people rather than those who are corp-related, which is what they’ve become,” Ethan continued. “Without Shalen Corp, which is most assuredly gone now, they no longer hold power and are unlikely to sway what we do here because of that. I’ve had Anya show the children to rooms that are appropriate for their station.” 

 Rowan stopped herself from clicking her tongue, but it wasn’t because of her uncle’s decision about Mia and Thomas. That had been more than acceptable. She was more annoyed by certain words he’d used. 

 Untitled? Station? These were words she’d hoped to have finally escaped, one of the few good things to come from the arrival of the aliens, but she couldn’t exactly protest that right now. 

 “Sounds fair,” she said. “What about Asher?” 

 “The Cerullis boy…” 

 Shifting, Uncle Ethan balanced his tumbler on the arm of his chair so he could scrub his eyes. 

 “I don’t want him wandering around my home unsupervised,” he said. “It’s not that I don’t trust your judgment of him. Veronica shared enough of your childhood with me to trust you, and your decisions on this journey have more than proven it to be sound. I just-” 

 Sighing, he fully reclined in his chair, watching Rowan with the monitor’s glow glinting in his unreadable eyes. 

 “There are… things here that I don’t want your friend to stumble upon before I’m ready to show them to him,” he said, “and even given what I said about your judgment, anyone bearing the Cerullis name rankles me for—” 

 With his breath catching, he looked away. 

 “—personal reasons,” he eventually continued. “I wish that weren’t the case as I’m sure Asher is a nice young man, but it would make me feel more at ease to know he’s been restricted in his movements until I’ve grown comfortable with him.” 

 Considering how antagonistic the Kolb and Cerullis families had been with one another for the last thirty years or so, Rowan was surprised by how reasonable Ethan was being. She hadn’t thought he was likely to toss Asher out of this place, leaving him to fend for himself in Athari’s harsh tundra, but she also hadn’t been stupid enough to believe her uncle would want to go without precautions concerning Asher. Not only that but the justifications he’d given her for these precautions were logical, not ones spawned from vicious hate. 

 Ethan made a funny noise, snapping Rowan out of contemplation. 

 At the strange look he was giving her, she said, “What?” 

 “It’s… nothing. Only…” he said before chewing on his lip for a moment. “You’re smiling. May I ask why?” 

 “Huh.” 

 Prodding her lips, Rowan indeed found them curled into a grin. 

 “It’s probably because I realized I like you,” she said. “I think we’ll get along well.” 

 Scrunching up on himself, Ethan stammered, “Good? Yes, good. I’m sorry. It’s been a while since anyone-” 

 He clicked his teeth together before forcing himself upright in his chair. 

 “I like you too, Rowan.” 

 …Odd. Not the behavior Rowan would expect from the man she’d spoken with over their connections for this last week, but the captain—Anya, she was fairly certain—had mentioned that her Uncle Ethan wore his gruffness like a mask. Was this what he was really like? 

 She rolled her chair forward until their knees were touching, but when she moved to take one of Ethan’s hands, he pulled them to his stomach, which was fine. Rowan didn’t much like unnecessary touching, except with people she was intimately familiar with, and now, she had an excuse not to do it. She planted her palms on her hips instead. 

 “How about if Asher had a guardian? Someone always watching him so he doesn’t run across anything you don’t want him to see,” she said. “That way, he wouldn’t have to be cooped up while you get accustomed to one another.” 

 Lacing his fingers together, Ethan cocked his head with narrowed eyes and his bottom lip visibly red, even in the low light. Hell, how much was he going to gnaw at that? 

 “I could handle that,” he said. “Who’d do it, though? Maybe your friend, Thomas.” 

 Hissing, Rowan recoiled from Ethan. 

 “Noooo,” she drawled, rapidly shaking her head. “They have a complicated relationship. There’s something weird between them that always has them at each other’s throats. They’d probably kill one another if they were constantly forced into the one another’s presence.” 

 “That’s unfortunate,” Ethan said, back at his lip chewing. “Who do you suggest, then?” 

 Silently, Rowan raised her hand, and Ethan snapped his eyes wide open. 

 “You realize this arrangement would have whoever’s watching Asher sleeping in the same room as him,” he flatly said. 

 “Yes. And?” 

 Furrowing his brow, Ethan took a breath before stopping to drum his fingers on pursed lips. 

 “And… propriety?” he said with uncertainty rife in his voice. 

 Rowan might have taken offense to what Ethan was suggesting, but the way he’d put it, it had sounded more like something he’d felt obligated to mention than something he actually cared about. 

 Snorting a laugh, she said, “I don’t think stupid things like that matter much anymore. Plus, I’m old enough to decide what I do with my body, have been for a while, but if it makes you feel better, I can guarantee you that nothing scandalous will happen between us. We don’t like each other in that way.” 

 At least, Rowan didn’t think they did. She’d never truly considered it, though. She liked looking at Asher, considering the proportions of his body and face lined up to make an exceptionally pleasing picture, and she thoroughly enjoyed his company. Those two items usually added up to pretty fantastic sex with said person, something Rowan wouldn’t mind trying out with Asher, but he’d never expressed interest in anything like that before, besides the one time he’d asked her to dance. Or she didn’t think he had. 

 Had he? 

 Hell, she’d be thinking about this for the rest of the night, wouldn’t she? 

 “Rowan?” 

 Ethan lightly touched her knee, retracting his hand so quickly one would think Rowan’s skin had been as hot as a heated stove eye, and she shook myself. 

 “Sorry. I was making sure that I told you the truth, and I’m positive that I did,” she said. “So? Can I annoy the hell out of my friend by making him stay with me for an undetermined length of time?” 

 Oo, that would be interesting. Thinking of ways she could irritate Asher in the coming days, Rowan bounced in place with her smile threatening to split her face. 

 “If you think you can handle the task, you can have it. Let me know if it gets to be too much,” Ethan said, lifting a hand before she could celebrate. “I’m trusting you with this, Rowan. Please… be careful.” 

 Reading between the lines, Rowan sobered, setting her jaw. 

 “I won’t let him dig into your life, uncle,” she said. “He and everyone else in our group are already stressing you enough.” 

 “You’re not, though. I’m happy to finally have a way to contribute to our family,” Ethan said with a half-smile. “Now. Was there anything else?” 

 Rowan was sure she’d think of more than they’d need to discuss in the future but for now… 

 “That’s it,” she said. “Unless you have something to share with me, I’d like to check on my friends now.” 

 “Of course. I’ve put all of you in neighboring rooms. To get there, simply head left from this room, take the next right and the second left from there. You’re the three doors on that hallway, although it should be fairly obvious with the troopers guarding the Cerullis boy’s room,” Ethan said. “I’ll contact them and let them know custody’s been transferred to you. Think you can find your way alone?” Rolling her chair back to the desk, Rowan said, “Sounds easy enough. Besides, if I have trouble, I can just ask someone for help.” 

 “And they’ll be happy to provide it.” 

 Getting to his feet, Uncle Ethan marched to her, awkwardly offering her a hug, but she shoved a palm almost into his face. 

 “You don’t have to touch me unless you want to,” she said. “Ok?” 

 Ethan lowered his arms, shifting in place while he stared at Rowan as if trying to read her mind. 

 “Understood,” he said. 

 “It was nice to finally meet you,” Rowan said, smirking. 

 She did so love making people pleasantly uncomfortable. 

 Clearing his throat, Ethan said, “Same to you.” 

 With a final smile, Rowan left that set of problems behind, content with their solutions, and hurried to pick up the next snarl.

Chapter 22: Leave My Friend Alone
Troopers weren’t waiting in the hall that Uncle Ethan had directed Rowan to. Maybe they’d left after he’d told them she was taking over Asher’s supervision? 

 Shrugging at herself, Rowan started knocking on doors, beginning with the third from the hallway’s end. When no one answered, she moved on, assuming that one was hers. At the second, petulant shouting pierced through the door, and recognizing Thomas’ voice, she eased it open. 

 “Can I come in?” she asked. 

 “Oh, Rowan! Yeah, get in here.” 

 Rowan did as she’d been bidden, looking around the cozy room beyond with curiosity. Two twin beds were shoved against opposite walls with a single desk between them and nightstands tucked into the corner each bed made with a wall. Drywall had made a reappearance in here, but it was painted a soft gold with a few framed drawings to accent that color. Thick carpet on the floor made her wish she had her shoes off so she could squish her toes in it, and a door to her right probably led to a washroom. She wondered if a closet was in there too, since she didn’t see one out here. 

 “This is nice,” she cautiously said. 

 Because Thomas, sprawled on one of the beds, had storm clouds roiling across his face so powerfully that Rowan felt like she could poke their invisible, fluffy moisture. 

 “It doesn’t matter how nice it is,” he said. “Not when I have to share it with her.” 

 He flung an arm toward Mia, sitting at the desk and engrossed in the monitor in front of her. 

 “You know us, Rowan. You know we need to have our own spaces. We’ll kill each other if we’re forced to stay together,” he continued. “I mean, look at her! She sat down at the storecase without any discussion about who’d get to use it first.” 

 “Hush, drama queen,” Mia said. “I’m looking for any news about what’s happening back home, whereas we all know you’d have fallen into Break the moment you sat here. Also. Hi, Rowan.” 

 While Thomas sputtered, Rowan strode to stand between them, planting kisses on their cheeks. 

 “Ah, sometimes, I wonder why we’re friends, and then, you two show me you’re just as much of a glorious mess as me,” she said, patting their heads. “Has my family arrived yet?” 

 In another room, something thumped against a wall or maybe another surface, and frowning, Rowan tried to figure out exactly where the noise had come from. How thin were the walls here? 

 Fortunately, Mia soon drew her attention away from that silly distraction. 

 “When I spoke to John, he said it’ll be a while,” she said. “Apparently, there were complications with Corporal Spheris after we left. They want him stable before moving him again.” 

 Oh, no. 

 “What happened?” Rowan asked. “I… He seemed fine this morning.” 

 Sitting up, Thomas leaned against a wall with his legs crossed, picking at his shirt’s hem. 

 “Apparently, his fever’s flared up again. It spiked soon after your uncle’s people found the group,” he said before looking up at Rowan. “It’s not good. The squad’s medic is worried that the fever’s heat might be cooking his brain, and there’s not much they can do to alleviate it where they are, especially after it’s gone for so long without proper medical treatment.” 

 A fever, something usually no more dangerous than say, rock climbing, and it was killing a man, all because of those from beyond the stars. 

 “Fuck,” Rowan coughed, dropping onto the bed beside Thomas. 

 She leaned on her knees with him rubbing her back, and rotating in the chair, Mia took her hand. 

 “I’m sure everything will be fine,” she said. “Brandon is a strong, young man, right?” 

 Sighing, Rowan said, “Right. Sorry. I didn’t mean to focus on something so grim.” 

 “It’s ok,” Mia said. “You’re not totally at fault, after all. I could have kept it to myself-” 

 Shooting upright, Rowan said, “Don’t you dare go blaming yourself like that.” 

 With an evil grin, Mia patted her cheek, looking so condescending as she did it. 

 “I won’t if you won’t.” 

 Rowan stuck her tongue out at her before falling back on Thomas. Hugging an arm around her shoulders, he pressed his cheek into the top of her head. 

 “How’d it go with your uncle?” he asked. 

 “Better than I thought it would, actually. He’s… not what I expected,” Rowan said with a soft smile. “We hashed out a few things, including what to do with the lot of you. You two have nothing to worry about. From what I can tell, Uncle Ethan doesn’t give a shit about Shalen Corp and everything affiliated with it.  

 “Asher, on the other hand… well, he’s in for a fun few weeks. In fact—” 

 She sprung to my hands and knees, pausing when she heard another thump from next door. What was that? Was Asher having trouble with unpacking or something? 

 “—we should go tell him about it,” she said, trying to pluck her mischievous grin from where she’d lost it. “What do you think?” 

 “Sounds fun,” Mia said. 

 They both looked at Thomas, and he huffed. 

 “Ok, fine,” he said, “but only because I know that grin. He’s not going to like what you tell him.” 

 “Nope,” Rowan said, popping the ‘p’. 

 She clambered off of the bed with her friends at her side, one joining her with giggles and the other with a predatorially gleeful smile. When she knocked on the last of the three doors, however, no one answered her. 

 “Asher?” she called. 

 Again, she heard nothing, but when she turned to consult with Mia and Thomas, a muffled shout drifted to them from inside. With her breath catching, she met her friends’ eyes. 

 “It’s probably nothing,” she said, ignoring how her heartbeat had already started accelerating like a train. 

 “We should check anyway,” Thomas said. 

 He could deny any affection that he might hold for Asher as much as he liked, but Rowan knew he didn’t actually mean anything by it. She saw an example of how much he cared in this moment, where only restrained fear was on his face. 

 Nodding, Rowan drew my pistol—just in case—and slammed the door open. 

 Asher’s room was almost an exact copy of Thomas and Mia’s, except it had a single bed instead of two and wood was covering the floor instead of carpet. 

 Something else was different too: the pair of troopers who were pinning Rowan’s friend to a wall. One of them had hastily slid her hand over Asher’s bloodied mouth with his eyes wide and glistening above it. 

 Hell no. 

 Jerking her pistol up, Rowan cleared the entrance to the room, and to her great and utter surprise, Thomas came barreling inside after her. Taking hold of one trooper’s collar, he bodily threw her across the room, storming after her to straddle her stomach so her arms were pinned to her sides. Once he was in place, he raised a fist, which captures Rowan’s attention for half a moment. 

 “Don’t hurt her, Thomas,” she said. “We don’t know how my uncle will react if you do. Just keep her where she is.” 

 While he deflated, Rowan cautiously crossed the room, keeping her pistol trained on the other trooper. 

 When she was at an appropriate distance, she said, “Let him go.” 

 As commanded, the trooper stepped aside, but Asher didn’t take advantage of his new freedom, caught in something no one should ever experience. Rowan knew those distant eyes. She’d seen them far too many times. 

 Footsteps approached her from behind. 

 “Just a second, Mia,” she said. “You. Gun and knife on the ground. Slowly.” 

 Once the weapons were on the floor, Rowan raised her eyebrows, and sighing, the trooper kicked them to her, lifting his gaze toward the heavens. 

 “Ok. Mia, take Asher into the hall. Check him over for obvious injuries, but do not touch him more than you have to. Wait until Thomas or I can help,” Rowan said. “Can you do that?” 

 “Of course,” Mia softly said. 

 While she gently took Asher’s hand, Rowan stepped forward, extending her hand. 

 “Your button, earpiece, whatever the hell your people are calling it,” she said. 

 For the first time, the bastard blanched, as if just now realizing the shit he’d landed himself in. 

 “You don’t understand,” he said. “The Cerullis family-” 

 “I can’t even begin to tell you how little I care,” Rowan interrupted. “Give me what I want, or I will make sure you no longer have a commission with my family by the end of the day.” 

 Gulping, the trooper lifted a trembling hand to the side of his head. When the button was hanging off of Rowan’s ear, she pushed it before moving to stand over the surrendered weapons. 

 “Lord Ethan Kolb,” she said. “Or possibly Commander Ethan Kolb.” 

 While a tone told her a connection had been requested, she listened to her heartbeat, slow and steady. It had been dropping from the pace of a train since she’d first seen her friend two minutes ago, finally steadying out after she’d guaranteed his physical safety. 

 Her uncle sounded distracted when he accepted the connection, out of breath and with his voice’s pitch weirdly dropped. 

 “What is it?” he said. “I’m a little… busy-” 

 “I need you to send troopers to Asher’s room,” Rowan said. 

 His side of the connection went very quiet, and Rowan wondered if he’d noticed how detached she sound. She’d laugh at how ridiculous that idea was, but humor felt… foreign right now. 

 “What happened?” Ethan said. 

 “The troopers you had stationed here assaulted my friend,” Rowan said. “I’d like to make sure they can’t do it again.” 

 “…Shit,” Ethan quietly said. “Ok, Rowan. You’ll have your backup soon. Avan, I- What do I say? I’m sorry. I-” 

 “You have nothing to apologize for,” Rowan said. “A commander isn’t always at fault for their subordinates’ failings.” 

 She didn’t know how long silence reigned after she said that, not caring to keep count. 

 “Your backup will be there soon, Rowan,” Ethan repeated. “I have to-” 

 “Thank you, uncle.” 

 Pushing the button hanging from her ear, Rowan dropped it beside a gun and knife. It probably hadn’t been wise, cutting the connection, but as she was right now, further words had seemed unnecessary. 

 She held still in body and mind, only aware enough to watch her potential target for movement, until someone in a uniform crept into the edge of her vision. 

 “Lady Kolb?” she asked, as if it hadn’t been the first time she’d said that name. 

 “I hear you,” Rowan said. “You may apprehend this man without fear of me shooting you.” 

 “As you say.” 

 The woman swiftly went about the process, but Rowan didn’t lower my pistol until zip ties were around her potential target’s wrists. 

 Glancing around, she saw a handful of unknown troopers in the room, gathering weapons and otherwise processing what had become a crime scene, but Thomas and Mia had vanished. 

 “Where are my friends?” she asked. 

 One of the troopers who wasn’t occupied with a prisoner glanced at her. 

 “We had them move to your room, Lady Kolb,” he carefully said. “Is that acceptable?” 

 Why were they being so cautious, refusing to step in front of her and eyeing her like she might attack them? 

 Holstering her pistol, Rowan nodded. 

 “Perfectly fine. Thank you,” she said. “Please, let me know if you need anything else from me.” 

 She left before they could reply with her feet gobbling up the distance to her friends. Before opening the door to her room, she paused, trying to gather herself. People could react so many ways in the face of an assault, especially when it had come after several days spent under threat. Rowan wasn’t sure how Asher was going to respond—by pretending nothing had happened, by retreating from the world, by getting angry, or something else entirely—and she wanted to be prepared for whatever she’d soon face. 

 When she entered her room, she didn’t get time to appreciate its opulence. Barely visible, Asher was in a corner, whimpering and swiping at Thomas and Mia when they tried to come near him. 

 Fuck. This was an interesting response from her usually cool and level-headed friend, but… why did that matter right now? 

 Shaking off her shock, Rowan shouted,  “Back off of him! I swear. It’s like you’ve never dealt with someone who’s been traumatized before.” 

 Pulling the Shalens to their feet, she dragged them toward the entrance of the room while Thomas yanked on her with panicked eyes. Dropping Mia’s arm, she spun him to face her. 

 “Stop,” she hissed. “You can’t allow yourself anything but confidence and calm right now, do you understand me? If we screw this up, it’ll make this already horrible experience so much worse for him.” 

 Slowly, panic receded from her friend, and with his throat working, he nodded. 

 “Good,” Rowan said. “It’s going to be ok, Thomas. You have to believe that.” 

 “I… do,” he said. 

 Grinning, Rowan nudged his chin. 

 “We should have a talk about why you, of all people, had the most violent reaction to this horribleness but first.” 

 She turned to Mia. 

 “What’s the damage?” 

 While she’d been calming Thomas down, Mia had been watching her brother with her arms crossed and a chewed lip, but she focused on Rowan at that question. 

 “I think we got there before they really started hurting him,” she said, “but he still has a… a lot of bruising, Rowan. It’s mostly on the abdomen and other parts of his torso, but he’ll have rings around his wrists too. There’s a particularly bad bruise on his side where I- I think they might have broken one or more ribs, but I’m not certain about that. We’ll need a doctor to make sure.” 

 For a moment, detachment fell away from Rowan, and flaming red filled her vision. She was going to kill those monsters. It would be slow. Painful 

 As soon as she caught herself having those vengeful thoughts, though, she shook her head. What happened to those two troopers wouldn’t be her decision to make. 

 Taking a deep breath, she said, “Thomas, can you let the troopers outside know that we need a doctor?” 

 “I-” 

 Before Thomas could finish whatever protest he’d had on his tongue, Rowan glared at him, which promptly shut his mouth. He trotted for the door with a clenched jaw, and Rowan finally let herself look at Asher.  

 Her room’s double bed almost obscured him from view, cutting the room in half as it was, and when she rounded the monstrous thing, she squeezed her eyes closed on seeing a flimsy nightstand knocked over with its lamp on the floor and broken glass all around it. 

 Taking a steadying breath through her nose, she carefully navigated around that hazard, slowly crouching in front of her friend. 

 He was huddled in a tight ball with his arms over his head, just breathing. Something in the scuffle had torn a gaping rent in the back of his already ripped shirt, and through it, Rowan could see the initial darkened splotching of bruises, just as Mia had reported. 

 Without moving, she said, “Asher? You’re safe, buddy. It’s just me and Mia. Thomas went to get a doctor, but he’ll be here in a bit. Can you look at me?” 

 Guarded, brown eyes peeked over the top of Asher’s knees, and keeping her face otherwise blank, Rowan smiled. 

 “Hey,” she softly said. “There you are.” 

 She waited for a bit, watching him blink, before moving on. 

 “We need to get you sitting on the bed, all right? If you stayed here, the doctor would have a hard time making sure everything’s ok with you, wouldn’t they?” 

 Slowly, Rowan lifted her hand, and when Asher tensed, she went still. 

 “It’s only me, Asher. You know me. I would never hurt you, would I? Neither would Mia. Neither would Thomas, not like this at least.” 

 She pulled a face, getting a soft laugh as a reward, and even with how strained that had sounded, a part of Rowan, left holding her breath, released it, only to retain another.  

 On the other side of the bed, the door opened and closed, making Asher scrunch back on himself. 

 “Thomas, can you lock that, please?” Rowan asked. “We don’t want anyone else coming in here without knocking first, do we?” 

 The lock’s thunk was loud in this confined space, but a small amount of tension drained from Asher when he heard it. 

 When footsteps stop behind her, Rowan said, “See? It’s only us, your friends. May I please help you up?” 

 She gradually extended a hand, and Asher initially recoiled from it, eyeing it as if it were a snake, but Rowan waited, never moving. Giving him all of the time he needed. 

 His shoulders rose and fell, and he hesitantly reached out to touch Rowan’s hand. Never breaking eye contact, she curled her fingers around his and got to her feet, gently tugging Asher up with her. He managed it with a pained grunt and every motion stiff, and Rowan didn’t let herself look at his split lip or the finger marks around his mouth. 

 “Would you like to sit?” she asked. 

 Clearing his throat, Asher croaked, “That… would be… nice. Yes.” 

 Shit. How loudly had he been screaming to tear up his voice like that? How had they not heard it, or had those bastards simply muffled him that well? 

 Once she had Asher settled, Rowan stayed on her feet in front of him, but the Shalens sat on either side, although neither of them was dumb enough to stretch out behind him, thank avan. Thomas moved like he wanted to touch Asher, pausing before she could warn him off. 

 “May I?” he asked. 

 He was learning. 

 Asher had his eyes fixed on Thomas’ hand, taking forever to decide, but when he gave a slight nod, Thomas lightly rubbed his arm. Mia 

 didn’t need to ask to touch him. Asher took her hand himself, squeezing it. 

 “I’m… sorry if I… hurt you,” he rasped. 

 Wincing at the gravel in his voice, Rowan raised a finger, letting them know she’d be right back. When she entered the washroom, she hardly noticed its luxuries, zeroing in on her quested-after item. Returning to her friends, she offered a glass of water to Asher, which he gratefully accepted. 

 While he drank, Mia shifted in place. 

 “If you want to—I don’t know— talk or anything like that, we’ll listen,” she said. “But you don’t have to. Avan knows how many things I keep bottled up inside. I’d be a hypocrite to tell you that you have to share.” 

 Rowan sharply glanced at her. What was she keeping to herself? Could Rowan help with it? 

 One friend at a time. 

 Lowering the glass, Asher stared at his lap. 

 “Thank you. I’ll… keep it in mind,” he said before turning to Thomas. “Why… are you being so… kind to me?” 

 “You mean because you’ve been such a jackass over the last week?” Thomas said. 

 Asher lowered his head, and Rowan struggled to keep her hand at her side and not smack the shit out of Thomas. Even Mia was glaring daggers at him, but he didn’t seem to notice, just leaning back on his hands to watch Asher with a soft smile. 

 “Yeah,” the other boy whispered. 

 “Now, that’s a good question,” Thomas said. “In answer, I’d say that Rowan shared something earlier today in the forest, and it gave me some perspective. So, you can push me away as much as you like, and I may hate your guts at times, but I’m going to be your friend, whether you like it or not. Because I-” 

 Shifting, he looked away. 

 “Well. I like you, Asher. As a person. Even if you make me stupid jealous with how you act around Rowan.” 

 Jealous? Did Rowan still need to spell out to that moron that no one could replace him or Mia? 

 Sighing, Asher rubbed his face, avoiding his mouth. 

 “Great. Another challenge,” he said. 

 “Oo. I like that,” Thomas said. “I’m a challenge.” 

 He bounced on the bed, and when Asher clutched at his side, groaning, Rowan pulled the excitable boy off of it. 

 “Why don’t you and Mia go check on that doctor?” she said. “Let’s get this battered sand bag some painkillers, shall we?” 

 Thomas glared at her, even as Mia hopped off of the bed. Even as she dragged him to the door. Even as it closed behind them. But then, Rowan was crouching again, cautiously curling her fingers into Asher’s free hand. 

 “I need you to think about what you want to do once the doctor’s seen you,” she said. “My uncle will want to know what happened at some point, and you’re the only one who can tell your side of the story. I’m sorry to ask this of you, and it can wait until tomorrow if you like, but it has to happen eventually.” 

 “I’m… aware. I know how this procedure goes quite… well.” 

 Asher was looking at her, but Rowan didn’t think he saw her when he squeezed his fingers around hers. 

 “I didn’t want to go through this again,” he said. “At home, things were always... predictable, so I knew how to keep myself safe there, but that isn’t possible in the rest of the world. After… after it happened when I was in high school, I swore I’d never be so vulnerable again. I can’t be… violent . It isn’t in my nature, so I developed tech to keep me safe. It… it didn’t work. Obviously . And I- I don’t know what to do. I can’t do this again. Can’t.” 

 Leaning his elbows on his knees, Asher lifted Rowan’s hand to his forehead with his shoulders shaking, and she ignored the droplets that were falling to soak into his pants. Biting her lip, she waited, letting him take what comfort he could from her touch because she didn’t know how else to help. Drawing people out of a shell-shocked state, she could do, but when they started crying, she floundered, on the verge of her own breakdown. It was something she’d been struggling with over the last few months. 

 She kept herself from joining in with Asher’s pained tears this time by pondering what he’d said. This wasn’t the first time something like this had happened to him? As if his father’s treatment of him, whatever it might have been hadn’t been bad enough. Something else had devastated his youth? 

 Oh avan, wait a second. Had his father been the one who hurt him? Emotional and physical abuse were equally as horrid and destructive toward the people who experienced them, but growing up with both? Hell, it made Rowan want to shiver her way out of my crawling skin. She’d heard enough horror stories from John and Henry to understand exactly how wounding it could be. 

 That wasn’t necessarily what had happened to Asher, of course. It was a possibility, but Rowan didn’t have enough details to cobble together a working theory, and she certainly wasn’t going to ask for them. No fucking way. He was welcome to share if he wanted, but she wouldn’t prod. 

 But maybe she could help Asher with keeping anything like this from happening again. 

 Reaching up to play with his hair, she said, “If you like, I can teach you a little about self-defense. I know! You said you’re not a violent person, but what I’m offering to show you would be moves you can use if someone’s already decided to attack you. That plus tech should keep aggressive assholes the hell away from you.” 

 Asher raised his head with his eyebrows drawn together. 

 “There’s no harm in learning, I suppose,” he said, “but when would I find the time for it?” 

 Rowan laughed, poorly trying to cover it up, and waved at his annoyed expression. 

 “It shouldn’t be too hard, given the agreement my uncle and I came to about you. He really doesn’t like your family, Asher,” she said. “Basically, you and I will be attached at the hip until Ethan comes to trust you. He wanted someone to watch you at all times, and I volunteered.” 

 Groaning, Asher released her. 

 “That’s just brilliant . No alone time… wait,” he said. “He wants us sleeping in the same room too?” 

 When Rowan nodded, Asher mumbled several wonderfully creative curses before sighing. 

 “All right. I’ll adjust to it,” he said. “Spending time with you, after all, is infinitely better than being confined to a room, guarded by-” 

 Sucking in a gasp, he went rigid with his eyes far too wide open. 

 “Hey. Hey!” Rowan said, continuing only once she was holding his gaze. “It’s over. You’re safe, and I will keep you safe until you can defend yourself.” 

 Slowly, Asher nodded. 

 “I know. It’s just-” 

 Rowan rested a hand on his knee. 

 “You never have to explain yourself to me.” 

 Swallowing, Asher rapidly blinked before rubbing his eyes. 

 “Then… is tomorrow ok for talking to your uncle?” he asked. 

 “Of course,” Rowan said. “Don’t push yourself.” 

 She hoped her family would understand if she wasn’t there to greet them when they arrived. Who knew when that would be, what with… Brandon, but Rowan would be surprised if they weren’t here by midday tomorrow. She wouldn’t let herself worry about that now, though, not when she could do nothing to change it. 

 With her legs aching, she stood and was about to sit on the bed when someone knocked on the door. 

 “Someone called for a doctor?” a muffled voice called. 

 Rowan raised an eyebrow at Asher. 

 When he nodded, she yelled, “Come in.” 

 While the burly man who entered started working on Asher, Rowan headed for the washroom, making sure to keep an eye on the only way out of her room. She seriously doubted her friend would purposefully do anything to upset her uncle, especially not right now, but she had to keep her promise to Ethan regardless. 

 When the doctor eventually left, he promised to send Rowan a full report on Asher’s condition later, having already received permission for it from his patient, and after she thanked him, he switched places with Mia and Thomas. On stepping inside, they looked to Rowan for guidance, and she beckoned them closer. 

 “You can be a little more boisterous, but keep in mind that he’ll probably startle easily,” she whispered. “We’ll have to walk a fine line between being cheerful and careful.” 

 “We can do it, though,” Mia said. 

 “Of course we can!” Thomas said, nudging his sister. “Before we go back in there, though, how did you know how to handle all of this so well? You’ve been so calm through it, and I’ve…” 

 Folding his arms, he made a face. 

 “You’ve acted like yourself, which we all love?” Mia said, hugging him before glancing at Rowan. “You never told him what part of the family business you decided to take over?” 

 “Hey! I’ve been oscillating on that since graduation,” Rowan said, glaring at Mia. “I wanted to make sure the idea stuck before announcing my decision.” 

 Mia, of course, just smiled back at her, the infuriating woman. Glancing between them, Thomas waved a hand in front of Rowan’s face. 

 “Well?” he said. 

 “Well… there’s more to battle than tactics and knowing how to use your weapon. There’s also what’s left once it’s over,” she said. “For the last few months, that part of combat has become my focus. Helping physically hurt troopers, to be sure, but also reintegrating traumatized soldiers into civilian life or otherwise helping them cope. I was planning to assume control of that side of Kolb’s business.” 

 “Oh. That makes perfect sense for you, actually,” Thomas said before smirking at her. “So, when do you plan to use those skills on yourself?” 

 Oh, he’d noticed, had he? Damn. It had taken Rowan much longer than a few seconds to realize why she’d been so drawn to this type of work several months ago. Than again, he had the luxury of an outside perspective, which could usually pierce through a person’s protective denial much faster than said person could. 

 But she still had to respond to her friend. 

 “When I can, you ass, and besides, I’ve only been at this for a little while. Avan . Give me a break,” she said, lightly smacking his shoulder. “Now, stop delaying. Let’s go. Asher’s been alone for long enough.” 

 When they spilled out of the washroom, said boy was stretched out on the bed with his shirt off and a bandaging wrapped around his chest. Seeing all of that bruising revealed, Rowan stopped short while Thomas gasped. Mia squeezed Rowan’s hand before slipping past them to flop beside Asher’s head. 

 “How are you feeling?” she asked. 

 Right. She was supposed to be helping him. Rowan hurried to the bed, flinging herself onto it while Asher answered. 

 “Fun-ny.” 

 Lifting his head, he frowned at Rowan, and she shrugged apologetically. 

 “The doctor gave me something before he started his exam,” he said, leaning back into the pillows. “I think it’s working because I feel strange.” 

 “Good strange or bad strange?” Rowan asked. 

 While Asher hummed in contemplation, Thomas perched on the bedside, stiff and pulled in on himself. Which wasn’t like him at all. Before Rowan could consider that further, Asher sat up, scooting to rest against the headboard. 

 “Neither?” he said, cocking his head. “But I’m not aching all over, so that’s good.” 

 It also seemed to have helped his mood, which was a fantastic stopgap. They’d have their work cut out for them over the next few days, but for now, Asher seemed to have forgotten the specifics of what had happened to him. 

 Looking down at himself, he lifted an arm. 

 “Where’d my shirt go?” he said with a pout. 

 Snickering to herself, Mia said, “I’ll get you another one, although I don’t think I’ve seen your luggage anywhere. Oh, well. You’re about Thomas’ size. I’ll get you one of his.” 

 Jumping, Thomas whirled on her. 

 “Don’t you dare,” he said. “Don’t- What will dad-? Don’t you dare!” 

 But Mia was already at the door, fluttering a wave over her shoulder, and when Thomas tried to go after her, Asher hooked his fingers into the waistband of the other boy’s jeans. 

 “Don’t go,” he petulantly said. “I’ve been terr- awf- mean . I’ve been so mean to you. I have to make it up to you somehow. How should I do that?” 

 Bright red, Thomas gaped at the other boy, trying and failing to speak, and Asher laughed. 

 “This is a good look on you,” he said, poking at Thomas’ cheek. 

 Avan, this was fucking hilarious, the most amusing spectacle Rowan had watched in ages, but she should probably rescue her friend. 

 Before she could do that, the door flung open with Mia hurrying to them. 

 Shoving a t-shirt at Asher, she asked, “What did I miss?” 

 “Asher wants to show your brother how sorry he is for being an asshole over this last week,” Rowan said. 

 “Oo, fun.” 

 Mia folded her hands in her lap. 

 “And how exactly are you planning on doing that?” she asked Asher. 

 He was caught halfway through shoving the t-shirt on, wincing as he shrugged it into place. 

 “I don’t know…” he said before pausing. 

 Picking at the t-shirt’s neckline, Asher brought it up to his nose and took a big sniff. With a wide smile, he turned to Thomas. 

 “This smells like you,” he said. “I like it.” 

 Still flaming red, Thomas awkwardly said, “Well… good. I guess.” 

 With a sleepy smile firmly entrenched on his face, Asher relaxed back into the bed’s pillows, slowly blinking. 

 “I’ll think of something to make it up to you. I always do. I’m very good at fixing my mistakes,” he said under his breath, “but I think I’m too sleepy right now. It’ll have to wait until tomorrow. Is that ok?” 

 Apparently unable to form words now, Thomas just gaped like a fish at the other boy, so Rowan clicked her tongue. 

 “I’m sure that will be fine,” she said. “You should just relax. We’ll all huddle up in this room and have a sleepover. Does that sound nice?” 

 “Mm. Yeah, I like that idea,” Asher said, almost mumbling now. “Need something, though…” 

 Looking over all of them, he eventually moved his gaze right back to Thomas, which gave Rowan pause. Why was he so focused on her oldest friend? 

 “You,” he said, pointing. “You’re like a teddy bear, sorta. Soft in all the right places. Come ‘ere. You can keep me warm.” 

 He spread his arms wide, which did nothing to help Thomas’ apparently perpetual frozen state. The only thing he seemed able to do was flick his eyes to Mia, silently begging for help, and seeing that, his sister sighed. 

 “Baby bro, remember what we talked about a few days ago?” she quietly said, and when he reluctantly nodded, she continues. “This will be fun. And you’ll be ok. I promise.” 

 Blowing out a breath, Thomas squeaked out an, “Ok.” 

 But then, he stretched out beside Asher, and the other boy tugged him closer, smacking his lips as he closed his eyes. 

 “Much better,” he mumbled. 

 Thomas looked very stiff, but when nothing untoward happens after a few moments—besides Asher starting to snore—he gradually loosened his body. 

 “Well, all right. Since I’m apparently going to be trapped here for a while, could you go get some pillows and blankets, Mia?” he said. “If we’re making this a sleepover, we’re going to need it.” 

 “Sure thing, baby bro,” Mia said with a slight tease in her voice this time. “Rowan? Why don’t you come with me? I could use an extra set of hands.” 

 Rowan had expected this to make Thomas start protesting about getting left alone with Asher, but when she got to her feet, only silence greeted her. Frowning back at her friends, she raised an eyebrow to see his eyes closed as well while he slowly took deeper breaths. The two boys actually made a sweet picture like this. Hopefully, she’d get to keep this view of them in the future, rather than one where they kept throwing insults at one another. 

 Once they were in the Shalens’ room, though, she couldn’t help but ask, “Is there something going on with Thomas and Asher? Those two were acting really weird back there. They were almost… getting along, which felt strange to see after how much they were arguing this morning.” 

 In answer, Mia rolled her eyes while grabbing pillows from one of the beds. 

 “You know boys, Rowan,” she said. “Sometimes, they’re the dumbest, most oblivious brutes you could imagine.” 

 Rowan might argue that—after all, she was horribly oblivious about a lot of things—but for now, she just grinned wide, gesturing to take some of Mia’s burden. 

 “I couldn’t agree more.”