“Something?” My mind turned to the small ships to Red Island. Could I have found them this easily? Reo seemed to be a lucky charm. “Hang on, where is this bulbous bow thingy?” I giggled. “Sounds funny to say.” A touch of airheadedness to soften my inquisitiveness.
“The front o...
2023-11-01 04:26:47 +0000 UTC View Post“Where did Reo go?” I wondered aloud upon reaching the place where I left him—the main-entrance-lobby-whatever of the cruise ship. Many people roamed about, but I would’ve certainly spotted Reo if he were present. His neon beach shorts and pink shirt were like beacons.
After our her...
2023-10-30 02:26:03 +0000 UTC View PostReo whistled. “I always thought I’d be the first to crack. Looks like someone beat me to it.”
“Don’t mention anything to her, Reo,” Dario said as he pulled additional seats to our table for a total of nine. “Everyone, act like Imani is fine. Allow her space to pull herself tog...
2023-10-05 11:38:31 +0000 UTC View Post“I’m not sure you got your definition of ‘public’ right,” I whispered to Deen.
I craned my neck to check if there were any round convex mirrors hanging from the ceiling, those thingies used to spot shoplifters. There were none, but there was a security camera ahead of us. I elbowe...
2023-10-04 01:39:55 +0000 UTC View Post(Author's Notes: I'm stuck thinking about what to write in the second half of the next REND chapter, so I decided to hop over ExD first. We'll have another ExD chapter after this, then I'll return to finish the pending REND chapter. We'll have 3 REND and 2 ExD chapters per cycle.)
After a t...
2023-10-02 11:50:29 +0000 UTC View Post“Deen, calm down.” I tugged the hem of her shirt. “People are staring. You’re drawing attention to us, like more than usual.”
“You’re not going to die,” Deen hissed at Reo. She spun a pointed finger around the table. “None of us are. I won’t allow it.”
“What do...
2023-09-28 09:51:48 +0000 UTC View PostReo Hinode—codename: Oberon, the ‘king of fairies,’ something stupid like that—didn’t tie his long black hair in a ponytail. This might be the first time I’d seen him with his hair down, but I couldn’t be sure because his existence barely registered to me. Surprising how silkily str...
2023-09-26 09:41:31 +0000 UTC View Post“This is Tiskas…” whispered Hiero.
To many, a stray cat looked the same as any other strolling the streets, a bird was identical to the rest of its flock, and an ant was indistinguishable from the next in line. The average person couldn’t differentiate dragons of the same species ot...
2023-08-26 07:53:53 +0000 UTC View Post“There should be a seizure warning when entering this city.” I ranted to Deen, my head hurting from the array of lights piercing even the tinted windows of Deen’s car. “Just hang it under the ‘Welcome to Las Vegas’ sign or something.”
Night had fallen in the city of enhancemen...
2023-08-15 10:31:54 +0000 UTC View PostAmber Deen Leska
Amber Deen Leska rubbed her throat.
For a moment, she panicked that it was deformed. But that was silly. She knew women could do some wild stuff with their throats. She wondered how the size of Blanchette’s tongue compared to—Deen shook h...
2023-08-14 12:21:39 +0000 UTC View Post“Good morning,” said a cabin stewardess through the open door of the room opposite mine. She stepped onto the corridor with bunched-up sheets and towels in her arms, dumping them into a hamper on wheels. “I finished cleaning your room earlier, ma’am.”
“You did?” I blurted, ang...
2023-08-13 12:12:04 +0000 UTC View PostThis is the last time I’ll exist, I thought, trudging to the restaurant doors as if heading for the gallows. My lips quivered as my throat tightened. I struggled to hold back tears. It’d be a miracle if Erind would tag out with me again. But I shouldn’t be pathetic on my way out of...
2023-08-09 05:37:24 +0000 UTC View Post“Hiero?” Aileen Fahllyr asked. That couldn’t be right. She must’ve misheard it; the man’s accent was atrocious.
Only head-thumped Krysperians would take the names of Emperors as their own. It wasn’t illegal. But crown names were doubly holy, so it might as well be.
Not onl...
2023-07-24 07:30:56 +0000 UTC View Post(Author's Notes: I decided to make a three-part special of Deen's pov of this whole thing. So, the next chapter after this will also be Deen's pov. It’s best to reread the previous chapter before this one for smooth continuity and a better experience.)
Amber Deen Leska 2023-07-18 01:10:13 +0000 UTC View Post
The ship sliced through the ocean, leaving its temporary mark on the blue expanse, waves fanning out in its wake like a sprawling white dress. Shimmers of the sun danced on the crests of the rising water. On the horizon were hints of the continent, silhouettes of buildings, houses, and trees agai...
2023-07-16 09:36:11 +0000 UTC View PostI should’ve paid attention in geography class! As a kid, I figured I could look things up on a map when needed, like not listening in math class because calculators weren’t illegal as teachers made them out to be. But how could I have known I’d end up in this situation?
“Whi-which c...
2023-07-12 08:14:08 +0000 UTC View Post“Room three hundred and sixty-seven, how are you?” Aileen Fahllyr asked, pulling up a random number as she poked her head into a room. It had been empty since the Gaolyans vanished from Tabithala thousands of years ago.
Maybe not so empty. It had hosted generations of mites, spiders, an...
2023-06-27 04:19:33 +0000 UTC View PostAmber Deen Leska
Did Blanchette just lick my boobs? Amber Deen Leska froze, not knowing how to react.
Punch Blanchette? No, Deen couldn’t do that. It’d make her a sore loser. She was the one who dared Blanchette to lick her—it turned out to b...
2023-06-22 11:37:08 +0000 UTC View Post“Your daughter?” I asked.
My eyes skimmed the shiny door—I had an oval face and homely cheeks, exuding a very caring aura, wreathed with curly brown locks. I did look like I could be related to Shades Lady. Our only differences were her wrinkles and strands of silver hair accenting he...
2023-06-21 01:07:06 +0000 UTC View PostSeveral hero wannabe groups? If true, and I couldn’t think of why Big Marcy would concoct this story specifically, it was more evidence that a sizeable clandestine organization was behind the artificial Cores. Not this mysterious, lone Professor we were yet to meet.
I recalled Da...
2023-06-18 22:59:13 +0000 UTC View PostA voice rumbled through the chamber.
“Who dares disturb my slumber?”
Hiero coughed after forcing his voice to be deeper than a high roller’s pockets, ruining the moment he had waited for so long.
Those were the exact words the father of Tiskas uttered when Hiero snuck into...
2023-06-01 12:57:16 +0000 UTC View PostInstead of a slight saltiness covering the bland nothing of skin, I tasted several flavors from one lick. Yes, the saltiness was there, but there were layers of meatiness, more akin to light tones of pork than strong beef—no trace of being gamey at all.
The fuck am I thinking of the g...
2023-05-27 01:12:12 +0000 UTC View PostBig Marcy’s eyes widened. My response caught him off-guard—a small victory. He laughed with some uncertainty, on the fence if I was joking or if the Adumbrae inside me was a literalist. I needed to break his flow.
“Well, that is true,” he said. “How are you enjoying the trip so fa...
2023-05-25 12:24:53 +0000 UTC View PostREND started on May 20, 2020, and Arc 5 ended on May 21, 2023 (RR/SH). I swear, that wasn’t planned at all—I realized it only now. There might be some synchronicity going on with the universe, if you believe that. It has also been around a year, counting from mid-May 2022, since I started wri...
2023-05-23 23:34:05 +0000 UTC View PostI dropped to the floor. I raised my arms and flung my head back, imagining myself a gymnast sticking a landing. Sparks and metal bits showered my long black hair.
The guard threw his other hand back for a punch. “Intru—umph!”
I jabbed his mid-section, which was level with my fac...
2023-05-21 11:40:08 +0000 UTC View PostHiero was certain anyone left aboveground was either dead or turned Blighted.
It had been three days since the Blighted Multitude breached the inner ward of Aderenthyn Citadel. The field of tents and banners was submerged in molten shadows. The survivors of the flood—a pitiful few thousan...
2023-05-13 12:41:53 +0000 UTC View Post“Once you put that on,” Deen said, pointing at the red mask floating above my right palm, “you’ll turn into Blanchette, right?”
We were sitting on the living room floor, next to the coffee table, the tiles cold under my legs. Deen had suggested we do our test somewhere with no oth...
2023-05-05 11:17:29 +0000 UTC View PostThe number of the side of the elevator ticked down to our floor. My reflection on the stainless steel doors stared back at me. I combed away strands of hair, the same color as the glass of julep, straying in front of my blue eyes. I blinked. My reflection did the same. I tensed my cheeks, highlig...
2023-05-04 00:14:37 +0000 UTC View Post“Two strangers meeting on a cruise, getting to know each other,” Jeffrey said. “This isn’t too prying, I don’t think.” He winked over the rim of his glass. “Unless you’re not some secret agent?”
“Se-secret agent of what?” I asked, my voice quivering. It was apparent he...
2023-05-01 11:27:03 +0000 UTC View PostAileen walked through yawning ash doors worked to elegance by human hands, unlike most of the Fahllyr House of Gaolyan make. Gone was the confidence in her steps. She grudgingly shuffled her feet over the stone so hard she wouldn’t be surprised if she’d ground through the soles of her sabaton...
2023-04-23 12:07:16 +0000 UTC View Post