Chapter 21

Arccoo

Sofia lifted her goggles and let them cling to her forehead. “You Thryals have this naming thing all wrong,” she said, squinting against the breeze. “If you’re going to call this place something, don’t call it the falls. It’s very confusing to Earth people.”

Elena double-checked that the packs Arccoo handed out when they arrived were strapped securely enough. “I don’t think they had humans in mind when they came up with the name,” she said, adjusting her own goggles comfortably on her nose.

Sofia ignored her. “Now Earth knows how to name things. We have a giant hole in the planet as well. We don’t call it the falls, though. The falls are a bunch of water going over a cliff. They fall . See what I mean?”

Arccoo tightened the straps over his broad shoulders, smirking at his first sister-in-law’s diatribe. “I do. My wife and I had a similar discussion when I mentioned this place to her.” Carmen smiled every time he referred to her as his wife. So did he.

“Yeah, well, my sister should have told you that these falls of yours are really more of a canyon,” Sofia went on. “I’d say it was a pretty grand canyon , if you catch my drift.”

“Sof, I don’t think we should be trying to rename Thryal landmarks,” Carmen said, stretching in such a way that gave Arccoo ideas. “We’ve already made quite a few changes just by being here.”

“You say change. I say improve,” Sofia replied. She returned her goggles to their original spot. “So, how do we do this thing?” she asked.

After the wedding, Carmen said she and her sisters were curious about the rest of the planet. Their outreach efforts were running smoothly, and if they were truly going to become fixtures in Thryal society, they felt it was important to know the geography and experience the landscape the same way a local would.

Arccoo agreed and decided the best place to get started would be his favorite area, the place that always made him feel at peace. Only, he had no intention of simply showing them the colossal ravine.

“It’s very simple,” Arccoo said. “Your pack has a homing beacon connected to the sensor on the other side of the falls. You tap the pendant on your chest like this.” Arccoo demonstrated, tapping the pendant that locked the overlapping pack straps in the center of his chest. A set of triangular wings shot out from the pack, creating a personal glider. “Then you dive. The wind and the beacon will do the rest.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Sofia said, holding her hands up at shoulder height. “We jump? You want me to jump into the biggest fucking ditch I’ve ever seen and just trust that your technology will bring me safely to the other side?”

“Your puny human mind comprehends completely,” Arccoo said. “I’m impressed.” After spending so much time with his new family, he’d learned how to talk to Sofia in fluent snark, which was the only language she seemed receptive to.

Elena tapped the pendant. When the wings shot out of the back, she turned back to everyone with a mischievous smile. “Oh, I like this,” she said before diving off of the edge of the cliff. She fell out of sight.

Sofia reached for her, a yelp echoing through the sky.

Carmen tensed next to Arccoo. He put an arm around her, whispering a small countdown. “Three… two… one…”

“Amazing!” Elena called from the sky. A sudden gust of wind had sent her rocketing up above their heads. With the instincts of a bird, she twirled before diving back down and charging forward to the other side like a blade through butter.

Carmen exhaled. “Jesus Christ,” she said. “Will it be like that for all of us?”

Arccoo winked. “If we’re lucky.”

“No,” Sofia said, shaking her head. “This isn’t going to happen. I’ll just go back to the transport and wait for you three idiots to come back.”

Carmen conjured her best commanding big sister voice. “Sofia Flores! You are not a child. You are a grown ass woman who is strong, brave, and capable of anything.”

Sofia scowled. “Are you serious?”

“Dead serious,” Carmen replied. “Woman, you flew through space. Literal space . Now you’re scared of a little jump?” She gave Sofia a contentious look.

“Fine,” Sofia sighed. “You two go first. I’ll follow.”

Carmen wasn’t buying it. “So you can back out once we’re airborne? No, thanks.”

Sofia rolled her eyes, caught. She peered over the edge and visibly trembled. It was obvious that she was going to need a nudge.

Arccoo had just the thing.

“Did I mention that the beacon also functions as a tractor beam?” he said. Before Sofia could respond, he removed the remote from his pocket. “A remote-controlled tractor beam?”

He triggered the remote. Sofia’s wings ejected and the beacon took hold of her, yanking her into the ravine faster than she had time to process. A split second later, she took off as if a jet were strapped to her back. The wind carried her joyous cheers behind her.

“That wasn’t very nice,” Carmen said with half a smile.

“I know,” Arccoo said. “She’s loving it, though. Trust me, she’ll be begging for a second go by the time we land on the other side.” He looked her up and down. The straps of the pack accentuated the parts of her that sent ripples through every inch of him.

“Maybe we should stay back here a bit,” he suggested. “Enjoy the view?” His eyes didn’t move from her figure.

Carmen rolled her eyes in a way that suggested she was just pretending to be inconvenienced by his stare. It had become a little game between them. He made his attraction to her as obvious as possible, and she played coy until they were alone and could fully engage in the passion compelling them together at all times. She liked feeling his gaze and told him so as often as possible.

“As much as I’d like to get my outfit all dirty here with you.” She stood with her back to the ravine. “Nature calls.”

With that, she tapped the emblem on her chest. The wings flipped out. She turned and dove into the emptiness below her. Just like her sisters before her, Carmen took flight as if she’d done this all her life.

Arccoo laughed. Wings already extended, he took a running leap.

The edges of the cliff face blurred past him. The passage of time was represented by the various shades of blue layering the rock all the way down. Turquoise gave way to berry, which became sapphire followed by cerulean until it was all one solid color, and he felt his body floating in freefall.

The wind picked up, barreling from the depths of the planet and out like a safe and wondrous volcanic eruption of oxygen. Leaning his body forward to catch the wind, he let it carry him out of the maw of the falls and into the sky high above. Unlike his new family, Arccoo had been doing this sort of thing his entire life and could move through the wind like a leaf across the water. It came naturally and without obstacles.

Pointing himself downward, he saw Carmen up ahead, weaving her way through the wind currents. Her movements were a tad slow, meaning he could catch up to her at the speed of thought.

Trusting the homing beacon, he controlled the wings with his entire body, keeping his arms and legs tightly closed to become as aerodynamic as a bullet. Tilting himself to the left, he sped up beside his wife until they were traveling at the same speed.

She managed to turn her head and grin at him with all of her teeth. Her eyes danced with unrivaled excitement. She was flying.

He held out his hand. She took it and he guided her further into the ravine.

They descended past mile-wide plateaus. Arccoo thought he might have heard his wife squeal at the sight of a lohiik with its reflective scales and stunning wingspan. Had that flying serpent decided to chase them, their little excursion would have taken a terrifying turn. Arccoo had outrun one before, but he was not keen to try and do so again. Luckily, the beast was far too sleepy to give chase.

With the end in sight, Arccoo tilted his body upward, catching the wind and allowing it to push them up. Seconds later, they were back on the ground with Elena and Sofia, who excitedly recounted her flight as if she weren’t forced into it by a tractor beam.

The next two weeks saw the family traveling the entire circumference of Thryal. They sailed across the planet’s immense ocean. They spent time in the holy pillars of formation, where Carmen partook in the pyha ceremony, naming her as a child of Pa-Brell.

That was the night when the sky was so clear that one felt as though they might hop off the ground and gently float out into space with little effort. Arccoo was able to show her the Pa-Brell star idol, and judging by the intensity of her gasp, it took her breath away.

Elena and Sofia became curious about different aspects of the planet. Elena, of course, wanted to spend as much time as possible with the engineers and scientists who were diligently working to evolve Thryal technology. She told them that the idea of witnessing the cutting edge of alien technology was “too stimulating to pass up.” So she departed from their adventures.

Sofia wanted to visit more of the supernatural landmarks to learn their backstories and try to find “a Thryal ghost or two.” Arccoo set her up with a guide and a small band of guards to keep her safe, and his first sister-in-law went off exploring.

This left Arccoo and Carmen to themselves, a state of bliss he was eternally grateful for. When they weren’t reminiscing about the origins of their unlikely romance, they lived the way newlyweds do—in private for several hours of the day.

The relationship between Carmen and Arccoo’s parents improved with every new encounter. The queen loved to chat with Carmen about adjusting to life on a new planet and what things were like back on Earth. The king, always a man of few words, did his best to make it clear that he accepted her as part of the family and would be there to provide any assistance they needed. Their quiet dinners together were becoming one of the major highlights of Arccoo’s day.

During a walk along the veranda, the king spoke up one day. “You have taken a good wife. I am proud to call her daughter.”

Carmen also dedicated much of her time to the outreach programs she helped establish. She answered questions every afternoon and even shared some of her favorite Earth stories to a rapt audience. The tale of the farm girl who got carried away to a magical place was particularly popular. Arccoo enjoyed it because it reminded him of how she came to be on Thryal.

“There is a pretty large difference,” Carmen told him as they lay naked above the covers, their bodies cooling in the evening breeze.

“We have no wizards here,” Arccoo said, as if completing her thought.

She laughed against his chest. “Dorothy didn’t find any wizards, either,” she pointed out. “Did you even listen to the story?”

“We have no lions, tigers, or bears, then,” Arccoo suggested, smiling.

Carmen lightly jabbed his ribs.

“Sorry,” Arccoo said. “What’s the difference you were referring to?”

Carmen let out a long, contented sigh. “Dorothy just wanted to go home.” She lifted her head and kissed her husband on the lips. “But I found my home.”

Arccoo and Carmen were having lunch on the balcony of their personal chambers the afternoon that Sofia’s transport returned. To his surprise, Carmen was the one who noticed the vehicle coming in over the hills first. “I’m her older sister,” she said. “I memorized what the transport looked like so I would know it was here the second I saw it. That way, if it ever crashed and we needed to go looking for it, I could spot it anywhere.”

“Remarkable,” Arccoo said. “You’re remarkable.”

“I know. Thank you. Can we go meet them?”

“Of course,” Arccoo said, wiping crumbs from the corner of his mouth.

They reached the platform a few minutes later, just as the transport was docking. Steam hissed, and the door yawned open. Sofia came skipping out with her arms raised. She and Carmen squealed as they hugged and hopped in a little circle. An outsider witnessing the spectacle might have thought they had been away from each other for years as opposed to weeks.

“I have so much to tell you,” Sofia said. She went from squeezing Carmen to standing on her toes to give Arccoo a quick peck on the cheek. “We saw the most incredible things. Did you know the Thryals have their own pyramids? Well, they’re not triangles, they’re these mound things covered in moss, but they are hundreds of thousands of years old and haunted as shit.”

A Thryal man Arccoo did not recognize stepped out of the transport. He appeared stockier than the prince, with wide, young eyes that seemed to be taking in his surroundings with something approaching awe. Visiting the capital for the first time sometimes had that effect on people.

The man nodded in the prince’s direction and began walking over.

“Oh,” Carmen said. “You have a friend?”

“That’s right,” Sofia declared. She motioned for the man to walk faster.

Once he reached them, he bowed to Arccoo and Carmen. “My lords.”

“You don’t have to bow to these goons,” Sofia said. “Well, sis, I’d like you to meet my new friend. We met outside of the marsh catacombs. Turns out he’s as into the spooky stuff as I am. He’s been a fountain of information for a curious tourist like me. Say hi to Zaraq.”

Keep reading for a little more about Sofia and Zaraq…

She went looking for adventure…and found the biggest one yet—love.

While exploring ancient catacombs on the alien planet Thryal, Sofia crosses paths with Zaraq, an alien fugitive hiding in the depths. While their meeting might have been odd… it also seemed like fate, especially when sparks instantly flew between them.

When Zaraq is accused of a murder he didn’t commit, Sofia puts her own life at risk to prove his innocence. She’s willing to do anything to prove Zaraq is innocent—no matter the cost.

To clear his name, they must stop a killer who enjoys framing others and targeting those Zaraq loves most.

To save each other, Sofia and Zaraq must risk everything.

But can their newfound love survive this trial by fire? Or will the murderer extinguish their future before it’s begun?

Want to be notified when Sofia and Zaraq's story releases? Signup for my newsletter at https://celiakyle.com/news/ OR pre-order now at http://bklink.to/depths-buy !