But Cass was still reeling from the loss. His body was screaming at him, every nerve ending demanding something it had been denied. The hollow ache had become a howl.
“It’s okay,” Cass managed, though he wasn’t sure if it was. He shifted off Riot’s lap—the separation felt like tearing—and pressed himself against the door, trying to create distance. Trying to think about anything except how wet he still was, how empty, how desperately his body wanted to crawl back into that lap and let Riot touch him more.
Through the windows, he caught his first glimpse of their destination.
Plants. Everywhere.
The sight was so unexpected that it momentarily overrode the misery of his body. Cass could see more green growing things than he’d witnessed in his entire life. Not the carefully manicured meditation gardens of Elysian territory, with their precise geometric patterns and spiritually significant plant placements. This was wild, uncontrolled growth—flowers in colors he’d only seen in illustrated texts, vines climbing buildings without permission, trees growing exactly where they wanted instead of where someone decided they should go.
“Brother Marina would have a heart attack,” Cass whispered, pressing his face closer to the glass.
The sacred gardener at Springfield Gardens had always been Cass’s second favorite Elder—patient and kind, explaining the spiritual significance of each plant while Cass helped with the weeding. He’d hoped to work alongside him someday, learning to cultivate harmony through careful botanical management. But that occupational assignment had been delayed indefinitely.Until your sacred bond is resolved,they’d said.Until you’re spiritually ready.
Now, looking at flowers growing wherever they pleased, Cass wondered if Brother Marina had ever seen anything like this, ifhe’d known that gardens could exist without someone deciding exactly where each seed should go.
Behind him, he could hear Riot adjusting his clothes, could hear the harsh sound of a zipper. The knowledge that Riot was putting himself back together—that he’d beenundonebecause of Cass—made his ears burn.
“Are you okay?” Cass asked, turning to look at Riot before he could stop himself.
“I’m fine,” Riot said, his voice still rough. His eyes dropped to Cass’s mouth, then lower, then jerked away like the sight caused physical pain. “How are you feeling, princess?”
Like I’m going to die.
“Good,” Cass lied, forcing brightness into his voice. “Look at all of this. There are so many different kinds of flowers. And that tree—is that an actual apple tree? With real apples growing on it?”
“Yeah,” Riot said, his voice strained. “They have orchards here.”
“Orchards,” Cass repeated, letting the wonder push down the discomfort. In Elysian territory, fruit came from controlled greenhouse environments where every variable was monitored for optimal spiritual energy. The idea of trees just... growing fruit because that’s what trees did... it was almost too much to process.
Through the windows, Cass could see buildings in the distance—strange, beautiful buildings with curved walls and green roofs and solar panels that looked like flower petals. As the vehicle rolled to a stop near what looked like a central gathering area, he could see more details—the way paths were made of recycled materials, how rainwater collection systems fed into the gardens, how a handful of people meandered about with weapons visible on their bodies, but they didn’t look mean.
“It’s beautiful,” Cass breathed.
“We need to check in with—” Lilac started.
The moment the vehicle stopped, he scrambled for the door and stumbled onto ground that felt wonderfully solid beneath his feet. The air smelled different here—green and alive and real in a way that Elysian’s carefully filtered atmosphere never managed. He tried to turn to take in more of the surroundings, but his legs wobbled and his vision spotted at the edges. The heat surged through him, followed by a wave of cold that made him shiver despite the warm air.
You’re fine. You’re fine. Just breathe.
“Princess, wait—” Riot’s voice came from behind him, alarmed.
But Cass was already drawn forward by flowers he’d only seen in botanical texts. Actual wildflowers growing in actual wild patterns. He dropped to his knees beside a patch of what might have been black-eyed Susans, running his fingers over petals that were somehow more vivid than anything in the meditation gardens.
“They’re real,” he whispered, feeling tears prick his eyes. “They’re real and no one told them where to grow.”
A rustle in nearby bushes made him look up, and his heart stopped.
A rabbit.
A real life rabbit, with brown fur and alert ears and bright dark eyes that watched him with curious wariness.
In Elysian territory, wild animals were considered spiritually disruptive influences and weren’t permitted within community boundaries. Cass had never seen one like this, and he never imagined they could be so perfectly, impossibly alive.
“Hello,” he said softly, extending one hand. “You’re beautiful.”
The rabbit tilted its head, apparently as curious about him as he was about it. For a moment, they simply existed together—the sweaty, desperate Omega and the wild thing—and Cass felt something in his head break a little.
This is what freedom looks like.
