All was well in Lunai’s little corner of the hotel room. She felt the heavenly hum of Cromble on her chest. Entropi was still snoring away in her own bed. What happened with Bliss was still sharp in her memory, but sleep filed down the edges and helped her see things clearly. She’d have to go back and speak with him again. A month ago, he would’ve told her it wasn’t her job to comfort him. His crumpled form on the penthouse floor yesterday said to do it anyway.

  She just needed to make sure he was okay, to leave things on a more stable note before requesting a transfer. The idea of transferring already put a knot in her stomach. She had to alleviate the guilt somehow, though it was entirely possible things would end on an even worse note if she went back.

  Oh, whatever! At least I’ll know I did all I could.

  She gently placed Cromble on the bed next to Entropi, her thoughts drifting to all the questions she had for the hero. She could finally ask if she was from Earth, and if so, how she made it through the Sol Exclusion Zone. Then there was the more difficult question of transferring to work under her instead of Bliss. It would be a hellish four years of training, but those four years would turn her into what her planet needed.

  Bliss would turn her into something that revolved around him. She didn’t even think he did it on purpose. It was just how his void siren lineage worked. To a lesser extent, his human lineage worked that way as well. There was nothing he or Lunai could do about it. That was how she would explain it. No fault. No hard feelings.

  She walked into the elevator and took a look at the button for the penthouse. Pressing it caused the scanner to come out and promptly reject her request for entry. It was only registered to recognize Bliss. He certainly wouldn’t have added her as an allowed visitor after what happened. She had to look inside herself and ask how badly she wanted to patch things up.

  He’s still my coworker even if I don’t want him to be my mentor anymore… Bad blood between us would cause a lot of issues on potential future collaborations.

  Collaborations. Bliss was lying in a puddle of self-loathing and she was worried about future collaborations. Maybe she was just as selfish as him. She could go through a long list of lies to tell herself about how future collaborations meant future civilians in need of rescue. Interpersonal issues turned into field issues. Field issues meant casualties. It was a nice justification for what she did next.

  She stood on the sidewalk just outside of the hotel. Looking up, the building started to disappear into the sky, something she was used to seeing at that point. It seemed that the wealthiest in the galaxy really enjoyed being ridiculously high in the air. It just made Lunai feel dizzy from sub-optimal oxygen levels.

  In this case, it would work in her favor. No one could see the penthouse window from the ground. No one would notice if she happened to fly up to the window and try to get the hero inside to let her in. She activated her suit and started hovering above the ground, earning a few startled stares from the wealthy patrons going in and out of the hotel.

  This is so weird. I hope there’s no automatic security measures meant for crazed flying fans.

  Even at the highest speed her body would tolerate, it took Lunai three whole minutes to reach the window. The first thing she saw was Sorebel’s bulbous body hopping over to greet her. She hoped Bliss would still share cat pictures with her after everything.

  “Hi Sorebel! Go get your daddy for me!”

  Sorebel stared back through the window and licked his lips. It was worth a shot. She pressed on the window and found that Bliss had left it unlocked. It seemed quite reckless for the most desirable hero in the galaxy to leave an opening like that, especially when a living reality glue farm was in the hands of siren poachers.

  I just crawled in through the window. What the fuck is wrong with me?

  Bliss’s pathetic form last night was what was wrong with her. The sisterly instincts she felt on Kathous were back in full swing. He was like her snarky younger brother. She wanted him to be alright. She wanted to be his friend. It was exactly why she couldn’t be his student anymore. She didn’t listen to him when he told her he wasn’t her project. The break in their relationship was partially her fault for that reason.

  She did the least awkward thing she could think of and sat on the couch with Sorebel. Whenever Bliss woke up, she’d be ready with the bullshit explanation that she almost believed herself. Sorebel crawled into her lap and got comfortable as she waited for Bliss to wake up.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  She hoped she was just waiting for him to wake up. That hope was slowly replaced by fear every ten minutes the hero remained out of sight. Bliss didn’t seem like the type to sleep in. It was already 1100, and Sorebel started to protest his starvation by screaming and clawing at Bliss’s door. He eventually gave up and returned to Lunai, jumping back onto the couch. She looked down to pick him up and every thought in her mind stopped.

  Bloody paw prints marked the luxury white couch where Sorebel just stood. Lunai wasn’t watching the hallway he had run down in an attempt to wake his owner. She stood up, and sure enough, a bloody trail of paw prints coming from Bliss’s door lined the entire hall. She could now see a puddle of blood emerging from the crack under his door.

  No. No no no. Bliss you didn’t. How would you even? No. This is just…this is just the bathroom again! You could fill an entire pool with blood and still be fine. But if he had reality glue…

  Lunai rushed to the door and knocked with all of her might. A small, sleepy groan responded followed by the sound of sheets ruffling. Her pulse calmed a bit at the sign of life.

  “Who’s the-“ That was definitely Bliss’s voice. His words were slow and almost slurred. “What the fuck?!”

  “Bliss? What’s going on in there?”

  “Lunai?! What are you-oh, it doesn’t matter!”

  He opened the door and Lunai’s eyes immediately went to his arms. They were coated in blood, with several splotches scattered elsewhere across his body. She almost missed the lower torso on the floor behind him. Severed at the waist, a pair of legs in khakis sat at the end of a massive trail of blood. It led to the foot of the bed, where the upper torso lay. Lunai wasn’t sure, but she vaguely remembered seeing those khakis at Bliss’s beach photoshoot.

  “Bliss?”

  “I swear to you, to the Old God, to Sorebel, I have no idea what the fuck happened.”

  Lunai scanned the body from head to separated pelvis and toes. The gaping wound where the body was severed was lined with a subtle black singe. She didn’t want to say it, but it looked like the type of burn Bliss’s voids could cause.

  “Okay. Okay.” Lunai grasped at the moss covering her head. “Okay. What do you remember happening last night?”

  “Well…you. I remember you. I remember you leaving.”

  “After, Bliss! What happened af-“

  “I DON’T KNOW!” Bliss’s voice, typically a beacon of calm and competence among chaos, was broken. His eyes were trembling. “You left. I closed my eyes. I didn’t even go to my bed!”

  Lunai took another look at the torso on the bed. Its arm was extended towards the crumpled spot where Bliss must’ve slept for the night. Maybe something else happened. Maybe something else happened and Bliss just wasn’t willing to-

  Stop it. Bliss’s eyes aren’t lying. He’s fucking scared. He’s scared and confused. He very familiar with people who “try something.” As depressing as it sounds, that wouldn’t rattle him like this.

  “We should talk to Dr. Crux…”

  That was her best idea. Whatever happened was far above her pay grade. Dr. Crux would surely be able to figure out what happened. Even Bliss seemed to like the idea, nodding at her suggestion and turning his CellPulse on. Before he had the chance to make the call, a horrible banging sound hit the elevator doors.

  “NOVRUN ENFORCEMENT, WE’RE COMING IN!”

  The pounding continued for three seconds before they went ahead and pulled the elevator doors apart. An armed squad of enforcers piled into the living room and eyed Lunai down the hall. Sorebel’s eyes went wide and he scurried into the bathroom just across from the bedroom crime scene.

  “HANDS UP!”

  She immediately complied, but Bliss pushed her to the side and stepped in front of her, putting his own hands up. “She just got here. Leave her out of this.”

  That’s nice Bliss but they’re not just gonna leave me alone!

  The head of the squad eyed her and looked to his friends before nodding. They went forward and forced Bliss’s hands behind his back, locking them in with a pair of handcuffs that he could easily break in a second. The leader watched Lunai carefully as his crew led Bliss out.

  “Lunai, please take Sorebel!”

  That was the last thing she heard as the squad took Bliss to the window and forced him to board an enforcer ship waiting outside. A few men stayed behind and pushed past her to get to the bedroom. Lunai’s ears were ringing. Everyone was moving so fast and talking so harshly that she could barely keep up. Sorebel peeked out from the bathroom and she rushed to scoop him into her arms.

  “Lady, we’ll need to speak to you about what happened here, but for now, you have to leave the crime scene.”

  “Why aren’t you arresting me?”

  The enforcer sighed. “We got a call about a heated argument between two men coming from the penthouse above. Ended with one screaming. They didn’t hear anyone else with them.”

  “That doesn’t make any-“

  “Do you want us to arrest you?”

  She shut her mouth and let him scan the ID chip in her CellPulse. Something was clearly off, but she wouldn’t be very helpful to anyone stuck behind bars. Sorebel and Cromble needed a caretaker and Entropi was probably not up for the challenge.

  Oh spirits, what’s Entropi gonna say?

  Lunai moved to the broken elevator and hesitantly pressed the button for the eighth floor. It managed to start up and take her down without its doors, giving her a good view of every single floor that sat above the eighth.

  Sorebel in hand, she ran back to Entropi’s room and swung the door open. The slamming sound caused Entropi to jump out of bed. Her hair was a mess, and Lunai quickly closed the door to prevent anyone else from discovering her human identity.

  Lunai dropped Sorebel and fell to the floor. Both cats were now sitting by her knees and rubbing against them softly. Entropi walked over and helped her sit on the bed.

  “Lunai, why do you have Sorebel?”

  “Bliss is—they—he.” She put her head in her hands, trying to hold back tears. “They arrested him. There’s a…body.”

  “A body?”

  “Legs. Khakis.”

  Entropi put her hand on Lunai’s shoulder. “Shush. It’s gonna be okay. I’m gonna call Dr. Crux and he’ll get it sorted. If not,” her hand tightened, “I’ll get him out myself.”

  The Eye of the Unborn Serpent by Estantia. Look no further if you're a fan of Wuxia works, this one takes inspiration from Journey of the West and it shows beautifully. Follow Flowing Silk Ribbon on his journey and enjoy more of the found family trope that is much less dysfunctional than the one in my work.