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So, now you know, or at least, you should. I suppose I was vague enough that you might not understand everything I did yet. Or perhaps you skipped through that last section, like I hoped. One can always dream, right? Right now, you must be wondering why I con...

Leski was waiting in the hangar for us when we got home. If the outline of a familiar hallucination was standing beside her as well, I didn’t pay it much mind. As soon as we set down, Baely scrambled out of the skycruiser, sprinting to their mother, and at th...

I couldn’t move. If I did, I was afraid I might collapse into a puddle on the floor, and I didn’t want that. Better to stay numb until this horrid feeling, the one I was blatantly ignoring, faded. Right? Beside me, Korix said, “Mission’s over, Zae. Shall we d...

Absolute chaos had been unleashed at this most momentous of gatherings, and it wasn’t helping me with maintaining my grip on my focus. As it often had over the last two days, my mind kept drifting, mostly to the glassing of an island or to a tale that Talira h...

Unlike in the chamber I’d just left, a deadly quiet infected this assembly. Each of the shukusenth was perched on their seat, refusing to look at the empty chair in their midst. They’d done this for the last few months, but their avoidance of it was rigid now,...

I placidly waited while my grandmother secured the room, although I couldn’t stop myself from double checking her work as she disabled recorders. Habits died hard, it seemed. Once she was done, she turned to me as if expecting me to speak, which was a good ass...

We started our search for Sanya on the outskirts of Xygek. To my great surprise, Korix led us to an empty apartment there, but I didn’t notice much more about it at first, too busy with my incredulous stare at him. Why were we here? Seeing this, Korix chuckle...

Our next destination was on the other side of the city. As we set down, I wondered why Korix had brought us here. As far as I could tell, it was just another of the many House Kolb training facilities spread across Xygek. Perhaps aware of my many questions, K...

We’d set down a while ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to find out where we were. Throughout Korix’s story, I’d hung on his every word, silently dying inside for him, and when he fell silent, it felt as if the rest of the world went quiet too. I badly wanted ...

Writing up the report didn’t take as long as I’d thought it would, if only because Korix had made it easy for me. After requesting the clean-up of a body from Talira, he’d left the Preserve, but before a crew could arrive to comply with the request, an electri...

When it came to Damari’s formal Dispersal, their sister had been exceedingly kind to me. She’d delayed it for months, all to accommodate my busy schedule, because she knew how badly I needed to be here. So, on arriving to it, I found Misah, leaving Korix trail...

I’m sorry if that got too sappy for you at the end, Elliot, but I need you to understand this part of my life. I need you to know how important they are to me, much like you are as well. Plus, I can’t help but dwell on the sparse gems of happiness scattered ac...

Dorian   "-assemble at their assigned barracks by end of day tomorrow. The chosen color is... red." A rainbow flashed across the bakery, and people flinched as they checked their trackers. Dorian only spared his hand a glance—orange—before pulling his next ...

Elliot   Elliot was packing when Cathrine called him downstairs. Since he was almost finished, he ignored her summons, intent on stuffing his belongings into a sack. Intent on avoiding the reason he was doing it. When someone touched him, he flinched while ...

Dorian The world was bread. Dorian breathed in ground oats, dough had turned to crust on his hands, and the oven's heat was roasting his bare chest. All he knew was baking: kneading until his knuckles bled, bending to the fire until his spine felt ready to ...

Elliot His family was dead, gone in the blink of an eye and with the twist of a hand. How was that possible? In his white box, Elliot paced back and forth, focusing on the mechanics of what had killed his loved ones and on its puzzle. To dwell on anything ...

Dorian When Dorian had been a child, Mr. Mahon's house had always fascinated him. In a town of mostly mud-walled cottages, the other man's home had been the only building made of stone and wood. Distorted glass panes filled its windows, and metal brackets h...

Elliot The corporal of Twelfth Squad, or the Bloody Mongrels as they called themselves, barely stopped himself from cleaving Elliot in two. Somehow, he veered his sword to the left instead, leaving strands of hair fluttering to the ground in its wake. Ellio...

Dorian   This was it. Two weeks ago, an announcement had declared war between Escad and Flosari, and a few days later, Dorian's life had been turned upside down again, less than three months after he and Lisa had fled from Daka. For the last week, he'd work...

Elliot Someone was calling for him. Elliot didn't know how or when his squadmates had learned his name, but since that midnight scuffle a week ago, it had been a hushed whisper on their lips, silenced whenever he'd come near. Only one person had spoken it a...