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Talira was making me stand for this meeting. I’d walked into her office, and not a single chair had been waiting for me on my side of her desk, which was how I knew she was truly pissed. She’d always used subtle signs to express her displeasure. “Explain to m...

On stepping inside House Cerullis’ headquarters, I headed straight for the welcome desk with Feena by my side. She gave me a strange look for this, probably wondering why I’d stop here when I had the credentials needed to go anywhere in this tower. I didn’t bo...

Feena started surging for her feet, but my fingers, hooked in her belt loop, sent her crashing back into the grass. The instant she hit the ground, I released my hold, snatching her wrist to keep her from lifting her rifle. Never looking away from Sanya, I hi...

When we reached Feena’s apartment, I hardly registered it, although I was surprised that my unconscious feet had led us here. Why here and not my home? Once we were inside, Feena pulled ahead of me, guiding the way to her kitchen, and while I took a seat, she...

I was still considering today’s events when I reached my destination. Fortunately, Damari was the only person in the hangar, waving from the tail of a Packhorse, so I didn’t conceal my sour mood. As I approached, they chirped, “You look better! Bless those RR...

In the small room I’d rented, Gretchen and Luisa tangled ever tighter around each other, fighting to be the first to please her partner. Having already had my turn, I was watching this performance with someone’s arm—it was hard to tell whose—draped over me. I ...

“You must promise to keep this to yourself,” Orin said. Having never seen Kirst’s shukusen so serious before, I inclined my head toward him, fighting not to frown. Would this meeting end with yet another rejection? Since coming home yesterday, I’d been tryin...

While Sanya found a spot to sit amongst the pillows surrounding the holodrama plate, I poured myself a glass of water, working through why I’d been so upset with her earlier. Why had I been so illogical when it came to Sanya over the last week? It made no sens...

I hated assemblies. I might have mentioned this before, but it was doubly true today. Tension was rife in the air with the shukusenth, First Strata, and their aides standing in clumps around the room. As soon as the assembly began, House Kolb members would us...

I don’t have much to say this time. I’m sorry, Elliot. Even remembering this part of my life takes a lot out of me, so talking about it… Even still, you need to know what happened. These years were formative for me, the same as with the Ancients Crisis, and a...

It was too loud in this room. Around me, shukusenth and First Strata filled the air with their shouting, and as always, my far too observant brain tried to pick their words apart. “Yes, she was telling the truth about the neurotoxin, you ignorant-” “-playing...

Turning on my heel, I headed back toward a room full of self-important people, all of whom were furious with me. I hadn’t gotten far before a message from Talira popped into my array.  Stay away. Your presence will only make things worse, it said. That was… ...

When someone sat on the bench beside me, it was enough to drag me out of my lethargy. Most people didn’t approach me without a reason, scared off by who I was, so I half-expected someone to start begging for my help or maybe for an autograph, although it was w...

When I met Pheniks at his apartment, I said nothing to him. I said nothing as I led the way to a landing pad. I said nothing while waiting for him to climb into the skycruiser after me. I said nothing throughout the flight, staring at the Barasgami Mountains a...

Glancing at the empty moors around us, Pheniks frowned. “We’re here? But there’s nothing… wait. Isn’t this where someone’s estate was glassed a century ago?” Fortunately, I banged my foot into a distinctly metal portion of the ground at that moment, shutting...

Forgive me for the interruption, Elliot, but there’s something I should explain before we get into this chapter. You know where this past version of me is headed, just as you might have guessed who the scientists I’m seeking are. I am so sorry for bringing tho...

At the scientist’s nod, I stepped into the lift, quickly descending, but when I stopped, I was sure something had gone wrong with its mechanisms, despite the solid ground beneath my feet. It was pitch-black in here! No one should be in such a place. But when ...

I was impressed by the lab that Talira had confiscated for the scientists to work from. Deep in House Drav’s headquarters, it had all of the equipment that they might need and more, and the two we’d retrieved from Ibis must agree with my assessment, given how ...

For the one hundred and forty-sixth time, I stared down the display of a cannister, identical to every other one I’d seen for the last six days, and knew that the slightest mistake could see thousands of people dead within a couple of weeks. Even so, I pressed...

Leaving Feena and my mother behind, the rest of us traveled to House Drav’s headquarters in silence, although we mumbled apologies to one another when one of us weaved into another person’s path. This was most notable when I had to catch Damari after they trip...