The Sleeper and the Silverblood

Kitara Vakrenade’s rigorous training kept her from broadcasting her unease as she waited in an elegant reception room. She laced her fingers together in her lap and stilled the urge to bounce her knee, though adrenaline coursed through her in anticipation. The shifting pastel skies here were a welcome change from the dreary, overcast weather she’d encountered that morning in Seattle. Spokane did not have a portal system interlinked, so she’d needed to go first to the larger Seattle facility to travel to Valëtyria.

Cool sunlight filtered through tall arched windows, casting a bluish tint over the backs of her hands. Sunlight here radiated cooler hues than Earth’s yellow sun. The realm skimmed the orbit of two nearby stars, one of which almost always dimly shone overhead, and the other which Valëtyria circled with a trajectory that emulated something closer to Earth days.

Kitara almost hated to return to Earth and its lackluster sky in comparison. She could watch the sky here for hours.

But circumstances dictated she remain here for only a few minutes.

Not just anyone could portal in and out of headquarters, Saoirse had said. Well, that was certainly true. No one could come into the facility without first having their aura scanned and registered as an immortal authorized to enter the facility. But in Kitara’s case—and she suspected in the case of any other Sleeper—this particular rule was circumvented and discarded.

For all intents and purposes, she would be a ghost in the AIDO for several hours before she traveled to a permanent assignment location, and that kind of stealth necessitated portal travel via Valëtyria.

The room where Kitara waited was mostly quiet, save for the hum of tech, the tapping of keys, the occasional phone call in the Valëtyrian language, the rustle of feathers. Out of habit, she furtively studied the others present. Most wore asymmetrical uniforms of white trimmed in black. A few sported gilded insignia and badges, indicating a higher rank. But all possessed large, feathered wings, ranging in hue from smokey gray to pure white: draped behind chairs, sweeping the floor when they stood, carefully tucked away to avoid knocking anything off desks or countertops.

She didn’t miss the occasional cold glances aimed her way. Her public AIDO profile spoke for itself, and none of them knew about her profession. They knew half of her heritage, which gave them more than enough information to form an opinion and disdain her for it.

You cannot exist.

Kitara tried not to let it bother her, reminding herself their disdain for her obvious Fallen mother’s blood would pale in comparison to their reaction if they uncovered her father’s. If they knew, they would stand aghast at the blasphemy of her very presence in Valëtyria, and at the AIDO for forging her into a weapon meant to protect it.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Kitara had sworn under threat of death to never reveal the truth about either of her parents.

Kitara still had no idea where on Earth headquarters lay. No one did until they arrived. But based on the piles of additional paperwork she’d signed, the exception made for her suggested a significant amount of red tape.

In the note she received from Saoirse, the High Sleeper indicated she would present all the details of Kitara’s new assignment to her and Storm simultaneously.

They’d never met, though Kitara knew of him, of course. Everyone did. As one of only two silverbloods to exist in all the realms, he was renowned for both the color of his blood and his father’s position in equal measure. Still, Kitara reviewed his profile in due diligence. She lifted her phone and scrolled through his dossier once more, his silver eyes bright in his profile image.

Technically all the Myragnar were “silverbloods,” with blood like mercury running through their veins. On a surface level, many of them had other silver traits, like their eyes and hair. Both Myragnar children possessed silver eyes and silver blood: a dead giveaway of their identities. Still, “silverblood” became the preferred, simplified moniker over “the exalted natural-born children of the Myragnar.”

Kitara snorted at her own silent sarcasm.

“Vakrenade?”

Kitara lifted her head and met the chilly gaze of a lieutenant dressed in a black and white uniform with two gold bars on her lapel denoting her rank.

“We’re ready for you.”

Kitara rose without hesitation and followed the lieutenant, whose ivory wings rustled gently behind her. The white and gold interior gave way to steel and iron, while the already fluorescent lighting shifted to cooler, technology-based hues as the angel led her through the reception area past the security gates. Further inside, they entered a circular interior room inlaid with smooth white panels accentuating a raised center dais. A lacy violet pattern glowed softly on the surface of the platform.

“You’ll step up there.” The lieutenant said shortly, gesturing to the white dais. “Once you’re settled, the doors will close, and you will be transferred to AIDO headquarters from here.”

Kitara nodded. She had traveled by portal only twice before in her life and didn’t enjoy the experience, but it remained the fastest and most efficient method of travel from place to place, especially between multiple realms.

“Someone will meet you on the other side to escort you,” the lieutenant said, reviewing information on the crystalline tablet in her hand. “Any questions?”

Kitara had plenty, but this angel wouldn’t know the answers. “No. Thanks.”

Given her station in Valëtyria and not Earth, the lieutenant probably didn’t possess any more details of Kitara’s destination than Kitara did.

All of the details of passage were encrypted, input by cipher into computers by a high-ranking Sleeper or High Council official, sealed at the highest classified level, then erased as if they never existed in the first place.

The lieutenant exited the room again, and a smooth white door slid closed behind her with a soft hiss.

“Safe travels, Kitara Vakrenade,” a disembodied AI voice said.

Kitara could only hope.

The purple pattern beneath her feet glowed blue, and Kitara braced herself as her vision darkened. The sudden pressure threatened to steal her breath as she was compressed, spun, and scrambled across time and space, across realms, across several worlds’ differences of physics, and finally reconstructed somewhere else. The sensation lasted only a fraction of a second.

She could breathe again. Cool, sterile air collided with her skin, raising goosebumps on her arms. As her vision cleared, Kitara didn’t appear to have moved, but the dais shone silver now, not white, while the bright violet pattern on the dais had faded to a soft turquoise glow, indicating her successful transfer to a new location.

She blinked spots from her eyes and observed her new surroundings. Unlike the spacious chamber in Valëtyria, this room could only accommodate the dais and a handful of steps leading to an imposing metal door. Drawing on decades of practice, Kitara throttled down her claustrophobia but wasted no time stepping off the platform. The door opened with a lack of sound that belied its size.

Only a single soul existed outside that door—no doubt due to the extremely classified nature of this entire endeavor.

Kitara didn’t quite forget herself enough to literally jump into his arms, but she did have to remind herself not to rush to hug him.

“Kenric,” she said as her face lit up with a smile. “I’m so glad to see you. I’ve missed you.”

Commander Kenric Kasama’s crisp white and gold uniform identified his rank, everything pressed and polished to perfection, except for the uncharacteristic stubble dusting his normally clean-shaven jaw. He offered her a half-smile as she approached. It didn’t quite reach his eyes, which reflected un-immortal-like weariness—their redness accentuating his heterochromatic blue and green irises.

As if sensing her hesitation, he extended an arm for a side hug. “Kitara. I’m so glad you’re safe.”

Years of words unspoken hung between them. But this was enough for now.

“I didn’t realize you’d be meeting me,” Kitara said, her voice lighting with amusement. “What with all your important duties and such.”

Kenric grinned a little and replied, “Nothing more important than this. Not now. I’ll admit, when I learned what you’d been doing in those years since I left Spokane, it surprised me.”

“Should it have?” Kitara asked as he escorted her through the suspiciously empty portal building.

Kenric shrugged. “Probably not, no. You’re well suited to the profession.”

“And now I have a chance to prove it. I assumed Storm would meet me, considering he’s my new handler.”

He inclined his head. “Yes, you’ll meet him. He’s waiting in my office to be briefed. I thought it best we not draw undue attention to your arrival by having you escorted by the resident silverblood.”

“Smart,” Kitara said. “Still, Kenric, you’re somewhat of a celebrity yourself as Commander here. I think you might still draw attention.”

Kenric playfully nudged her shoulder. “I accompany immortals various places in this facility every day, all day. No one is going to give us a second thought.”

Kitara knew better than to air the secrets of the Sleeper profession in the public areas of the AIDO, so instead, she observed her surroundings as Kenric gestured for her to exit the building containing the portals. Kitara hadn’t known what to expect of headquarters’ location, but a massive subterranean cavern was not it. Immediately struck by chilly air, she drew her jacket closer around her.

“Where are we?” she asked.

“Underground,” Kenric replied.

With an amused smile, Kitara elbowed him. “Obviously, jackass. No, where in the world are we?”

“Bucharest,” he answered.

She blinked in surprise. “That’s an interesting choice, given the humans’ legends in Romania.”

Kenric chuckled. “With a location so rich in Ostragonian history, no one would think to look for headquarters here.”

Kitara squinted up at the cavern ceiling, which loomed what seemed like miles overhead. Illuminated with stadium lights and surrounded by parking lots brimming with cars, the AIDO’s crown jewel of Valëtyrian outposts—a mid-sized city of subterranean structures—represented an ironic homage to the realm of flying, celestial immortals where it originated.

“How is this possible?” she asked as she took in buildings, some of which stood a dozen stories tall.

“This is the largest fissure between Earth and Valëtyria,” Kenric explained as they walked onto a large silver platform, beyond which a set of suspended tracks curved through the air and disappeared from sight. “Because the breach is so large, a higher concentration of Valëtyrian metaphysical energy strengthens the structures here. Where we should be gradually approaching the Earth’s core, we instead sit on the precipice of the rift between the realms.”

Earth served as a thoroughfare between many realms, creating a kind of central hub where they all overlapped. The Valëtyrians built AIDO facilities where their realm intersected with the terrestrial one in order to protect their world and have access to their technology.

“So what are we doing now?” Kitara asked as she took in the underground city.

“Waiting for the high-speed rail,” Kenric replied. “AIDO headquarters spans something close to ten square kilometers, all underground, while our Guardians and our anti-portaling shield protect the surface. Portal technology is too rare for general use, so we needed an efficient and cost-effective way to travel through the cavern—despite its size, it’s still not big enough to build entire roads and highways. Thus: the train.”

As if summoned, a sleek, silver bullet train pulled up in almost complete silence: an astonishing feat for a thing so large. It was unmanned, automatically opening the doors to admit Kitara and Kenric into its interior before closing them again a moment later.

Kitara gripped one of the handholds on the ceiling as she and Kenric traveled. “How is Devika settling in?”

Kenric’s answering smile seemed a little sad. “You know Devika; she fits in anywhere, but especially a library. I wish I could take you, but we can only travel between the portal building and my office. I can’t give you the grand tour today but suffice to say she’s settled in here.”

“I had hoped I’d get to see her,” Kitara admitted.

Kenric glanced away. “Well, given the situation and the rather unusual circumstances of your arrival…” He trailed off and Kitara took her assumptions from that.

She scanned the train’s interior, empty of anyone but the two of them, and said, “How are you doing, really? It’s been years since…” She hesitated. “It’s partially my fault.”

Kenric shook his head, cutting her off. “It’s no one’s fault. We just grew busy, grew apart, and considering what you’ve been doing the last couple decades, it’s no wonder. I’m fine, really. This place keeps me plenty occupied. It’s a good challenge, and I enjoy the work.”

He seemed determined to keep the conversation topic strictly professional, so Kitara didn’t press him.

Less than five minutes later, the train stopped outside the grandest building within the underground cavern, atop which the words “THE AGENCY OF INTERREALM DEFENSIVE OPERATIONS” blazed over a golden griffin seal. Kenric led her through a pair of sliding glass doors, moving now at a brisk pace, and Kitara tried to take in as much as she could along their hasty walk to his office.

They weaved through a series of corridors featuring soaring ceilings, ornamental scrollwork, and arched entryways, all in varying shades of white, gray, and gold. Pausing outside a locked door, Kenric pressed his palm to a scanner on the wall. A light blinked green, and the lock disengaged. Two hallways later, he did the same at the entrance to another locked corridor.

When she crossed the threshold of the next hall, the tiny hairs on the back of Kitara’s neck rose as a whisper of something she couldn’t identify brushed over her skin.

Three doors down, Kenric stopped. “Here we are.”

The sensation of something powerful and warm beckoned. Kitara took a deep, steadying breath, flexing her fingers. Her pulse hammered in her ears as anxiety and anticipation put every nerve on high alert. Moment of truth.

Kenric opened the door to admit her, and her entire world contracted to a single point.

Despite his presence and familiarity, Kenric might have been one of the ornamental chairs in his office for all he compared to the stoic immortal waiting inside.

Kitara swallowed hard, struggling to maintain a neutral expression as the silver-white warmth of his aura swamped her senses, momentarily overwhelming her.

He cut a striking figure, exuding the air of a man who knew he commanded the attention of everyone occupying the room. His inky black hair appeared even darker compared to the pristine white of his uniform, which did nothing to disguise the hard muscles of his chest and arms. His clean-shaven jaw lent him an almost regal appearance and drew attention to his perfect bow-shaped mouth.

That all faded into insignificance when he lifted his eyes to hers. His silver irises boldly proclaimed his mother’s heritage, flaunted his prominence. Like frozen mercury, they were cold as ice and brilliant as the sun, mesmerizing, breathtaking…and dangerous. The cold steel of his gaze contradicted his alluring warmth, resulting in a jarring dissonance.

An invisible arc of awareness passed between them, and Kitara’s stomach dropped. She’d never experienced an aura like this before. Most immortal auras felt like background noise, a sort of sixth sense indicating someone supernatural. But he sucked all the air out of the space, until nothing and no one existed except him. She couldn’t look away.

Storm Avensäel.

Silverblooded son of High Councilor Avensäel.

Her new handler.

And if those eyes could kill, she’d be bleeding to death on the white marble floor.