The afternoon heat clung to the ground like a wet towel. Dust kicked up with each footfall, and the low rustle of wind barely reached the circle of large rocks they sparred in, up the hill from The Ghost of Mandachor. Riza moved with calm precision, her steps light, her blade steady. Soren was sweating.

  “You’re telegraphing again,” she ducked his jab and slid around him.

  “I am not,” he adjusted his stance. “You’re just cheating.”

  “With what? Skill?”

  He swung again, and she caught his wrist, twisted, and sent him stumbling back with a laugh.

  “That,” he said, catching his balance, “was rude.”

  She smirked and beckoned him forward. “Then don’t leave yourself open.”

  They traded strikes for another minute, bodies shifting, steps pivoting in the dirt. Then a familiar voice rang out from the edge of the ring.

  “Room for one more?”

  Veolo hopped down off a larger rock. Her tight chest-wrap and loose lower robes were damp and dusty, and sweat was already shining on her brow like she’d been warming up somewhere nearby.

  “You look better,” Soren said, catching his breath as Riza stepped aside to stretch. “Got your head straightened out?”

  Veolo cracked her neck. “Yeah. Turns out you were right, I can be resourceful.”

  Soren raised an eyebrow. “So that’s where you ended up the other day. Tarnik was an interesting choice.”

  Veolo gave a breathy laugh and started circling. “Regretting it a little, if I’m being honest.”

  He grimaced. “Why? Was it bad?”

  “Oh no, not at all,” she shrugged. “He’s turning out to be a halfway decent guy, and it was a sweet encounter when all was said and done.”

  Soren tilted his head. “Then what’s the regret?”

  Before Veolo could answer, Riza stepped back into the ring, rolling out her shoulders. “Because people have a tendency to fall in love with lacravida the first time they sleep with one.”

  Soren snorted. “Is that what made Elias hold out so long for you?”

  He didn’t even see her move.

  The world tilted, and he hit the dirt, hard. A blade pressed to his throat as Riza straddled him. Her face was only inches away.

  Then a smirk tugged at her lips. “We fell in love long before we ever had sex.” She eased off and offered him a hand. “Just took us a while to get out of our own way.”

  Soren stood with her help, brushing off his pants. “Point taken.”

  She flipped her dagger around and sheathed it.

  Veolo grinned as they reset their stances. “Damn, I thought you had that perception ability to help anticipate her strikes.”

  Riza and Soren both cocked an eyebrow at her.

  “What?” Veolo asked.

  Soren rubbed his chin. “I’ve been actively using it to anticipate her movements. She still beats my ass.”

  “Fuck,” Veolo breathed. “Seriously?”

  “After that first fight in the pavilion?” Soren shook his head. “I haven’t landed a clean win since.”

  Veolo turned to Riza. “How?!”

  She shrugged. “He doesn’t make it easy. I’ll give him that.”

  As Riza walked off toward the ship, Soren watched her go, then leaned toward Veolo. “They don’t call her a legend for nothing.”

  Night settled over Boadicea like a blanket of ash. The heat had finally broken, replaced by a cool breeze that stirred the yellow grass outside The Ghost of Mandachor. Inside, the lights were low, the crew tucked in for the night, sprawled across blankets, cushions, and each other in the central room. The silence was thick—but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It felt earned.

  Soren sat with his back against a wall, arms resting on his knees. He had felt the urge to go meditate, as he often did at night, but Amalia had found him before he had a chance. She argued around all of his excuses, and Veolo backed her up, so now he happily sat as they slept.

  He watched them all with quiet care. Riza, curled protectively beside Veolo. Inelius flat on his back, one arm over his eyes. He held Raine in a lower arm, the two intimate and close. In the other lower arm, Tamiyo was curled up, but not romantically—she just felt safe there.

  Brana was out at the bottom of the ramp, guarding them all. Brolgar snored in rhythm with the hum of the ship’s coolant fans. Even Aurania had given in to the quiet, her breathing slow and even beneath the folds of a thin blanket.

  Violet turned over, deep in slumber yet restless, as Amalia quietly rose to a crouch beside her. She carefully made her way out of the tangle of bodies over to where he sat, glancing up and placing a finger to her lips.

  Once she was next to him, she adopted a sheepish smile and softly asked, “You good?”

  “Yeah. You up to no good?”

  She smirked and patted him on the shoulder. “Oh, it will be very good.” Then she slipped out the hatch.

  Soren exhaled, letting the silence settle again. For a long while, all was quiet, until eventually his gaze drifted across the group and he found himself lingering on Violet. She stirred a little, twitching in her sleep. A moment later, her eyes flew open.

  She bolted upright.

  “Where’s Amalia?!”

  The panic in her voice cut through the stillness like a blade. The others stirred, groaning and blinking blearily at the sudden alarm.

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  “What?” Inelius mumbled, propping himself up.

  “Where’s my sister?” Violet repeated, eyes wide now. “Where is she?”

  “She’s fine,” Soren gently raised a hand. “She just… stepped out a little while ago.”

  Aurania sat up, her eyes sharp. “Stepped out where?”

  Soren hesitated to answer. He hesitated even more to use his perceptions, but this was important. He closed his eyes, inhaled deep, and searched for her. He could tell she wasn’t far away.

  “Oh.” He smirked and opened his eyes to find everyone watching him. “She went to see Venlin.”

  The room collectively paused.

  “We were pretty wrong about him,” Inelius finally said.

  Violet’s panic faded into something else—something softer. Her shoulders relaxed. “Of course she did.” She gave a breathy laugh. “She does have a thing for good, decent men.”

  It was the first time they’d heard her laugh since Amaryn died.

  The group slowly resettled. Someone mumbled something unintelligible, a blanket rustled, and the soft rhythm of sleep began to return. After a while, Soren realized everyone was snoozing soundly—except Aurania. She lay facing away from him, but he knew she was awake. He kept his distance, respectful of the quiet.

  She shifted and sat up. Aurania didn’t like to sleep with any clothes on, but she wrapped the light blanket around herself, then turned and looked at him. Standing, she moved toward him, somehow making almost no noise at all despite hooves stepping on metal. Quietly, she lowered herself to sit beside him.

  Neither spoke for a few moments. Aurania sat there, her posture loose but guarded, hands folded in her lap. The hum of the coolant fans and the distant chirp of some nocturnal insect outside filled the silence.

  Then she asked, “Why don’t you ever seem to sleep at night?”

  He hesitated. “I don’t want to risk you getting pulled into another dream. One of my memories.”

  Aurania frowned at him. “That hasn’t happened in months. The last time was back on Nox.”

  “Yeah, I know.” He fell quiet again, shifting uncomfortably against the wall.

  She narrowed her eyes. “Wait. Are you saying you haven’t slept since Nox?”

  He recoiled. “No, of course not! I’ve slept! Just… not when you're asleep.” He winced, then sheepishly added, “I can go longer without it than most people, so I’ve been trying to time it. That’s why Veolo keeps giving me shit for dozing off when I meditate.”

  Aurania blinked. Then she laughed—a small, sharp breath through her nose. They both looked at the silver-haired warrior, chest rising and falling, deep in REM.

  He smiled faintly. “You should’ve seen her that night in the town square. Barking orders, dragging people into place, it was like watching a younger version of you.”

  Aurania snorted. “I almost slapped the shit out of Inelius when he came into Venlin’s office and said I had been ordered back to the ship. Then he threw all four hands up and said, ‘I’m just the messenger, take it up with Veolo!’”

  They both laughed, the sound light and brief but genuine.

  “She is becoming a lot like me,” Aurania said. “Not surprising, we’re somewhat related.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, distant though. My grandmother was her great-grandmother’s sister.”

  “Oh, cool,” Soren said quietly. “Is she an Enderchild then?”

  “No, not exactly. Our surnames don’t work the way you’re used to, Enderchild belongs exclusively to the leadership of Berilinsk. Even Samara’s children don’t carry it unless one of them steps into a leadership role.”

  “Interesting.”

  They sat for a moment, then Aurania added, “Veolo wasn’t even raised on Nox, she only came to us a couple years ago. But I’ve liked having her here.”

  “Where was she raised?”

  “Lacravi, our homeworld. Same as Violet and Amalia.”

  “Is that common?”

  “Yeah. We’re a warrior culture, so if a mother isn’t in a position to raise a child, she can either return to Lacravi for the birth or have the child sent there to be raised.”

  Soren cast her a hard glance, more out of thought than judgement. “They send the baby away?”

  “I know it might be irregular for someone outside of our culture, but being raised Lacravi is actually a small badge of honor. There’s no shame in it.”

  Soren sat with his thoughts, comparing how different their way of life was from what he had been raised in. He found himself admiring it.

  After a pause, Aurania looked over the room, at their sleeping crew. “Here. How about you let yourself sleep for once. I’ll stay up. Keep watch.” Then, almost as an afterthought, she tapped her lap, inviting him to lay his head down.

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  She raised a brow. “Why not?”

  He rubbed the back of his neck. “Aurania, I don’t know if you realize how physically attracted I am to you.”

  Her lips curled into a little smile. “I realize it.”

  He stared at her, unsure. “I’m not sure you do. It’s not just the link. When I’m around you, it’s hard to focus. It’s like my thoughts can’t stay on anything else.”

  Aurania’s cheeks flushed, and she looked away. “Yeah, that might be… my fault.”

  His brain buffered. “What?”

  She flushed even harder, and visibly tensed. “Okay I’ll tell you. It’s just a bit… embarrassing. Considering how I always act towards you.”

  “I mean, you don’t have to tell me anything,” Soren said quickly. “But you can. I’m not gonna tease you.”

  Aurania sighed, then glanced at him, biting her lip. “The other day, when Veolo came to see you, how did you know how she was feeling? How did you know that she was aroused?”

  Soren blinked twice, caught off guard. “I—uh… I’m not sure. I could just kind of feel it? Not with my powers or anything. It was like…”

  “Like you could smell it?”

  He paused. “Kind of? There wasn’t an actual scent, but that’s a good way to describe it, I guess.”

  “Well,” Aurania said, matter-of-factly. “Veolo finds you attractive, there’s no denying that. And she’s at a time in her life where she’s still figuring everything out. She has a lot of urges. But she at least has the discipline to control them.”

  “Uh huh…” Soren answered, waiting for her to get to the point.

  She looked away again, face burning. “When a lacravida is aroused toward a specific person…” her voice was almost clinical, “we emit strong pheromones. To entice our partner.”

  He tilted his head. “Okay…?”

  Aurania cleared her throat. “That’s why you can’t think straight around me.”

  It took a second. Then his eyes went wide.

  “Wait… are you saying you’re so horny that I can’t think straight?!”

  She punched him in the face.

  It wasn’t hard, but it still rocked his head to the side and almost made him fall over. “Ow,” he muttered, rubbing his jaw.

  She massaged her knuckles, not returning his gaze.

  “Okay,” he said slowly. “So… I guess what I’m wondering is—if you’re that attracted to me, and I’ve already seen how open your people are with sex, why are you still keeping me at arm’s length?”

  Aurania frowned. “Because the biggest priority right now is saving Nox.”

  Soren raised an eyebrow. “That’s not stopping Veolo. Or Amalia at this very moment.”

  Aurania glared. “Yeah, well, they’re not trying to fuck a guy who can destroy planets.”

  “…Ooooh.”

  She folded her arms. “It’s not that I’m uninterested. I am. I know I act hostile sometimes, but that’s a defense mechanism. That doesn’t make it okay—it’s just… the truth. But your powers are emotional. They’re unpredictable. And if we—” her voice faltered as their eyes met, “—if we went too far and something triggered a reaction…”

  “You think you’re that good in bed, huh?”

  Aurania smirked, cheeks still flushed. “It would be the best fuck of your life.”

  He smiled back. “Will be. When you’re ready.”

  They sat in silence for a few heartbeats, the moment soft and honest.

  “Come here,” she said at last, patting her lap again.

  He hesitated.

  “It’s okay,” she whispered.

  He slowly leaned over and let his head rest in her lap, tense at first, then gradually relaxing.

  After a moment, he murmured, “I’m scared. What if I still dream the memories?”

  She slowly ran her fingers through his hair. “I’m right here.”

  And for the first time in weeks, Soren fell asleep.

  He dreamt only of Aurania.