adults too. Parents, I’d guess.
“See,” Flicka says. “I told you.”
“Told me what?” I turn to her, pissed off now.
“This is your alternate life. And I can show you a lot more.”
“Look, you time-travel people can try to trick me into doing your bidding, but I’m not gonna fall for it, OK? And seeing this… family isn’t going to change my mind about anything. That guy is not me. That woman is not Corla. And those are not my kids. My kids are both back on Harem, all grown up. My Corla, if she ever was mine, is frozen in a cryopod on a security beacon floating in space. So these little side trips aren’t going to work. I get it, OK? I lost. This could’ve been me, but it isn’t. I’m a practical guy, Flicka. More rational than even Tray when it comes to decision-making. I’m not going to forget about Draden just because you dangle this fake shit in front of my face. Draden is my priority now. And this is how it should’ve been since the day ALCOR knocked him off that lift bot twenty years ago. You and SB19 can both fuck off. I’m over it. I want my little brother back. He’s all I care about now.”
I stop talking, waiting for her rebuttal. Surely she has one. She’s just a pushy beebot like that. But even though she’s flitting around in my face with a frantic pace, no words reach my ears.
She’s been muted. Like all the other people in this room.
Then… then the whole place shimmers.
I glance at the people, trying to understand which reality this shimmer belongs to. But they don’t seem to notice. Then Other Corla turns to me. Like she sees me.
I hold my breath for a moment. We are soulmates, after all. And her gaze upon my face—her recognition—it’s something I’ve craved for twenty-one years. Ever since we were forced to create children together in that creepy breeding ceremony.
And then, as if this whole thing wasn’t weird already, something even stranger happens.
Corla diverges, creating a copy of herself. The copy takes a step towards me, smiling, reaching for me with one ethereal hand. “Crux,” she says.
I can hear her. And she sees me.
“Corla?” I ask, hesitantly, reaching for her the way she’s reaching for me.
But then the room shimmers again and I’m back in my office. I whirl around, looking for Corla. “What the fuck?”
Baby comes towards me. “What just happened? You froze for a moment. Like Veila cast her time-freeze spell on you.”
“It wasn’t Veila,” I growl. “I was there. Again. Only this time… this time Corla was… I dunno. Real, Baby. She was real. Where the fuck is Flicka?” I spin around, looking for her. Spy her on my desk. “Take me back! She was gonna tell me something!”
Yeah. I get it. I’m coming off a little desperate. Not a good look when two minutes ago I was rambling on about how done I was. But she is my fucking soulmate. I can’t help it. I can’t turn away from her when she’s right in front of me.
“I’ll take you back after you free Delphi.”
“You little…” I cross the office in three long strides, reaching for Flicka with an open fist, ready to squish her into submission.
But she flits off and flies up to a light fixture. “Delphi first. Then Corla.”
“What if Corla’s in danger? What if she needs me right now? What if this whole fucking game you’re playing hinges on what she was just about to tell me?”
“It doesn’t. I see through time. Don’t worry. She’ll keep. Delphi. First.”
I can feel my blood pressure rising from the heat of anger that rushes through me. But this stupid beebot is loyal, I’ll give her that.
“It’s embarrassing,” Flicka says. “How much convincing you need to come to your daughter’s rescue. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
“Should I? Should I really? She’s the one who told me to butt out of her life.”
“She’s your daughter, Crux.” I turn to face Baby and his stunning reversal as he continues. “I mean… isn’t that what daughters say?”
“How the fuck should I know? I never had a daughter.”
“Well, you do now,” Flicka says. “And if you don’t want to step up, then I’ll just have to force you.” And I swear to the sun, even though that beebot is only like ten centimeters long, I can see her eyes narrow down into two gold, glowing slits.
She is fucking serious.
I want nothing more than