Chapter 1

Chapter

One

" W hen First Mother laid her celestial head down to slumber, she did not go alone."

I run my finger over the words in the Viathan edition of a familiar book, uniform and boxy. I know it well, but I do not remember this passage from the version I have read.

Being in the Viathan library, around the smell of old books, has brought such comfort since arriving. Parts of it look like the Estate's in the way it is organized with larger wooden bookcases, but the beautiful woodwork dovetails into metal fixtures. Stone walls are connected to doors that look like August's ship, the surfaces unnaturally smooth, corners too sharp.

Where oak tables and chairs for study would be arranged in Cosima's library, here they are replaced by humming machines, inscribing copies of ancient books, delicately flipping the pages and scanning the words that appear on the accompanying data pad. Knowledge is copied to perfection and cataloged within a single day, something that would have taken me weeks with Mary.

I fight against the urge to compare this world to mine, but every tiny detail reminds me of how different it truly is.

The small lamp on my table flickers in a strange imitation of a flame, gifted to me when I requested candles to read with. The Viathan archivists almost jumped out of their strange robes when I asked for one, stating they were primitive and the soot would damage the books.

Primitive was the word 99 latched onto as he held one by the collar in warning for daring to insult me.

The haze that formed in my head was still thick then, a comforting buffer of my subconscious mind, protecting me after what happened when we left Cosima. It dug its heels in until the shock of seeing all the new things on Viathan wore off. Everything was overwhelming. I am almost grateful for that fogged state that lasted weeks and cushioned the strange acclimation to my new life here.

After the candle incident with 99, the library has been mostly empty and quiet during the day when the archivists know I am in here. I have spoken with them and tried to smooth over the rough introduction. In truth, I prefer it this way; the content, lonely feeling of a library is soothing.

Well, it's empty enough.

I pause and watch one of the two Viathan guards 99 has appointed to me make another patrolling lap around the spacious room. Machine-like arms that dust the shelves retract and make themselves scarce when the guards' movement is detected. My second guard stands just behind me, staying close and whispering nonsense into his wrist comm periodically.

Both wear traditional Viathan armor and helmets, even in the tranquil library. The hundreds of Viathan soldiers were the first thing I noticed in the docking bay when we arrived. Their only discernible differences are the ranks and names presented at the top of their breastplates.

When the soldiers are promoted to commanders, they wear their helmets nonstop to show their devotion to Viathan. Only 99, the highest-ranking commander, and the lord general have the privilege to remove it in the presence of others.

Just days ago, 99 received word that the Lord General of Viathan, his direct superior and the only rank above him, would be in the capital to discuss a possible attack by First Son's followers on the other side of Viathan. With both the 99th Commander and the Lord General in the same building, naturally the security has been upped.

99 all but begged me to let him assign guards to me while he attends to his official duties and the even more time-consuming council meetings. The news did not trouble me as much as it did him. I am not nearly as afraid of First Son's followers as I still am of the temple coming for me, and I am used to the guards on the Estate stationed every few feet. At least the guards here talk to me.

"Commander Wesley?" I call out.

"Yes, Priestess Ferren?" Commander Wesley is easy company, his voice coming out gentle and calm through his helmet. He shifts on his feet, waiting for my reply like he was accidentally standing too casually and is correcting himself.

"Could you turn this on for me? I want to access Cosima's version of this edition."

I gently wave the open book in the air to him and scoot in my hard metal chair as he presses a sequence of buttons on the flat table, bringing up a digital archive of the Estate library.

His helmet glances back and forth as he types in the title. "Here it is."

"Thank you," I say and reluctantly scroll through the oversized data pad, which still makes me feel like I am doing something forbidden whenever I touch it.

The archivists have limited physical copies of books from Cosima, most having been scanned in by the humming library machines. When I asked 99 how they possessed such books, that not even I had access to in the Estate, he could not answer. He genuinely did not know, and when I tried to speak with the archivists, they all but danced around the questions nervously.

I've asked Commander Wesley for help on many occasions with the strange, shiny screens in this room, ones in place of the arduous card catalogs I am familiar with. The convenience and brevity of many things here tend to smooth over the damning whispers I hear using them. Guilt is ever present in my mind, telling me I am wicked for using such technologies and how easily sins become commonplace.

But they are just whispers, and they are not mine, only leftover voices from days of rehearsed prayer and shame.

I make a note of each word that has been changed in Cosima's book and the tightly bound Viathan edition, likely not by hand but by machine, the paper too crisp, cut sharp and uniform. I wish I had my own collection to compare the texture to, but the real differences are inside. What I believed to be a number of typos within a familiar book on Cosima are not typos at all.

It was a hunch at first, and now I've made it my mission to find the reason for their alterations. I've figured out the different words chosen are consistent and intentional. Minor changes here and there or some passages with the meaning changed, even by a single word choice.

The thought of reading the Viathan one first and believing it to be true and then reading the same version in a Cosima translation is enough to make someone spin off their axis. It's fascinating, teetering on forbidden even, but I can't stop finding the little things in these books that make our two worlds the same yet so incredibly different.

"What is black selenite?" I ask, noticing another difference.

Commander Wesley lifts his head, as if pondering the word.

"It's a mineral," Commander Yeva says as she pauses in the aisle of the nearest bookshelf.

She is as pensive as she is tall, coming to the same height as Commander Wesley, but where he is lean, she is broad. Their armor is of the same make, but hers has a distinct and admittedly striking curve up to her nameplate.

From what I have observed here and the few books I previously read on Cosima, there is only one numbered commander at a time, currently the 99th. He forsakes his name and holds domain over the other Commanders of Viathan.

The commanders assigned to me as my personal guards can still use their given names, as can the others below them, with more complicated ranks that I have forgotten. All of the titles here make the priestess order hierarchy look simple in comparison.

"Like a long, spindly looking rock," Commander Wesley adds.

"That's so odd. In the same version of this book from Cosima, it's completely omitted."

"Huh . . . it's only found on there." Commander Yeva trails off as she slowly passes to do another unnecessary perimeter check of the library, like she is worried one of the books will become sentient and attack us.

Commander Wesley bends slightly to view the difference. "From what I remember, it was used on the coasts of Cosima to control the tides."

It's another occurrence of words or phrases being changed, censored, or, in this case, removed completely. Such an odd and seemingly nonconsequential thing to alter.

"Control the tides?" I whisper almost to myself and scan the next few lines for any indication of it being used farther down. "I wonder why they took it out."

"Couldn't say." Commander Wesley straightens, adjusting his armor. "Cosima is known for—" He cuts himself off suddenly. "Apologies, Priestess Ferren."

I can guess what he was going to say; I know what Viathans think of Cosima. Truthfully, the more I notice the differences in the translations from each world, the more I understand the perception of Cosima, not just the Estate.

"It's fine, Commander Wesley. I am well aware of my world. Cosima has a thing for stones. I suppose minerals are not that far off," I muse.

He takes a sharp breath, relieved I am not offended. Perhaps worried I would have told the 99th Commander he was rude and maybe he would be reassigned.

As if my thoughts summon him, 99 reaches out from somewhere in the capital building. A trickle of amber light seeking me out, gently crawling up my spine and filtering its way into my thoughts. He sends me feelings of anticipation and longing which get stronger as he gets closer.

Commander Yeva crosses in front of us, her helmet tilted like she is listening to something. "The 99th Commander is en route to the library," she says to me but has no idea I have received the same message in another way.

"That's wonderful news." I smile over my words.

Another mental caress passes over me and I know 99 is so close. Our tether is effortless, always open and permanently connected, neither of us wanting to close off from the other.

Before what was a small effort to reach out a hook, to link my mind with his, now feels more like turning my head in his direction to wake up the connection we share. I will never tire of his amber light surrounding me, his emotions, and hearing his thoughts when words fail him. I'm addicted to viewing this world through his eyes, as strange and scary as it can be at times.

A slow coil tickles low in my belly as I hear his footsteps outside the library door. The metal entrance whooshes open and 99 steps inside.

No matter how many times I see him, it still takes my breath away. He is dressed in a formal version of his armor, more polished and authoritative than the one he wore on Frith, which was suited for combat. The Viathan symbol of the three worlds in conjunction is pronounced on his shoulder, and while still armed with weapons, they are smaller and expertly concealed.

The instant I smile at him, amber light explodes outward into the space with such force.

"Hello, 99th Commander," I greet. The anxious twist in my stomach transforms into a breathless flutter as I witness how quickly his steps increase when his helmet locks on me.

"Dismissed," he says over my head. The tone is impatient to the two guards who stand at attention close behind me. He wants them gone by the time he reaches me fully.

They acknowledge him in unison and then trail off to the side, exiting.

I round my little podium desk as 99 reaches out, one arm going around my back, pulling me in a tight embrace, the other lifting my face up to his.

"Are you well, Priestess?"

"Yes, my Viathan shadows were very protective today. You should be proud," I tease. "How was the council meeting?"

"Very long." He breathes deeply, his expanding chest squeezing me tighter.

"Can I show you something I just found?" I pull his hand over to the podium with the Viathan book.

He looks down at it, moving his head back and forth as if reading each line. I watch him concentrate on the book that previously held my attention. His forearms rest on the top of the metal reading platform as he leans down, one of his muscular legs popping out in a casual bend.

I hear him say something but can't concentrate on anything else. I've never seen anyone look so . . . attractive while reading.

We haven't touched each other more than an affectionate hug and kiss in what seems like weeks, and it's slowly driving me to madness.

99's days have been taken up entirely since the news came about the potential attack. Recently, he is gone when I wake, and when he finally returns to our chamber in the capital building at night, his tether is affectionate but weak, like all of his mental energy has been sucked away. He often flops down in our bed and almost immediately falls asleep. Being able to hold him and hear him sleeping next to me is enough though.

"Ferren?"

My eyes shoot to his visor, tilted and waiting for me to answer an unheard question. When I stare at him, a little lost, he straightens and shakes his head in amusement.

"What does it mean?" he says.

"Oh, the passage?" I say too loud, having been caught staring. "I think the part about black selenite is describing a place, some kind of city. But look at this . . ." I run my finger over the next page. " If Mother can give her children gifts, then so shall I . Mine will be infernal, their ascension equal to the gods who slumber with her, but I will not slumber. I will walk among them and they will love me."

99 draws back. "That is . . ."

"I know. The first time I read it . . ." I shake my head, unnerved.

"I've never heard of this passage."

"Neither have I. The book has been altered so much in Cosima's edition. But I think the person speaking in that passage is . . . Well, I think it's First Son, so it would obviously be forbidden."

"If Mother can give gifts so shall I?" he repeats it from memory.

"I noticed that too and ascension." I point to it.

He looks down again, as if trying to decipher the meaning. "How did you come across this?"

I sigh. "I wanted to see if there was a record here, one that perhaps would not have been kept on Cosima, of priestesses in history who have been given more gifts, ones like me, who have not ascended in the traditional sense."

He turns toward me, his interest heightened from viewing an odd little prayer to following the trail I have found myself on.

"And your research led to that passage?"

"Yes." I nod, feeling the bumps prickle across my skin, his serious tone solidifying my own intrigue.

"If you find anything else on this topic, I would like to see it."

I smile and shut the book, leaving my written notes as a bookmark. "Of course."

The familiar, low beep of 99's wrist comm cuts over the brief silence. He pauses and tilts his head, listening to the message in his helmet.

"Forgive me," he says while still distracted.

I shake my head silently, letting him know there is no need. I don't want him to miss a message, especially because the ones that come directly to his armor are normally time sensitive.

"Could it be another mishandled translation?" He comes back to the previous conversation, as if worried he has cut me off.

I shrug. "Maybe."

I can't help but be a little panicked as he listens to the rest of the message. It's never good news when 99 gets a call, and sometimes it's even terrible.

"It's an update," he says, sensing my mood change.

"Oh."

"Everything is fine. The commanders I sent have the persons of interest in custody. They will interrogate them there."

I eye him suspiciously at his choice of words. " Interrogate them?"

I don't even want to think of what that means for a Viathan. I've read books on prisoners of war, how interrogations often lean on the side of torture.

"If they cooperate, that is all it will be." 99 presses a few buttons on the top of his wrist then pauses, realizing what he said.

He only recently started telling details about his duties here. It has been a delicate balance between being honest and not overwhelming me with how different things are. He worries I will think poorly of him now that I see him on his own world and not in the contained bubble of our situation before.

Maybe he forgets how it was on Frith, how the parts he believes will scare me now are what intrigued me originally. Even when we argued on that world and his calls seemed questionable, I could still make sense of them. Violence was only used when it was necessary, no act done without consideration even when his temper flared.

99 reaches over and pulls me against him again, like he caught a glimpse into my memory of us on Frith when he had me in custody, cuffed and annoyed as he interrogated me.

"I was perhaps too easy on you, Priestess." He nuzzles into my neck. "My commanders won't be as easily distracted as I was."

"Oh, thank First Mother they are there and not you," I tease.

He barks a laugh and gives my backside a firm squeeze. His happy thoughts gently invade my mind, images of spending the evening together rolling in like an amber fog.

I pull back and stare into his visor, anticipating him explaining what he has casually let trickle into my mind. His gloved hand runs up my back and under my loosely tied hair.

My body jumps a little on reflex, knowing he is about to say his duties are over for the day, the words shooting to the front of his mind.

"Really?" I ask before he can say anything aloud.

I can hear his smile behind his visor. "I have no other meetings this evening. There is a place in the capital I would like to show you."

"Yes, I would love to go!" I'm practically bouncing with excitement at the thought. I've barely left the capital building with all of the security protocols and my own mental state before those were in place.

"We are bringing Commander Wesley and Commander Yeva as a precaution though." His voice turns serious, like I will protest.

"I don't mind!" I quickly put place markers in my notebooks and let the thoughts of peculiar books fade to the back of my mind.

"Alright then, Priestess, let's explore your new home."