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“Where’s Cal?” Neri asked in a trembling voice.

“Training grounds, I suppose. Or maybe already on a freighter.” Roy swallowed, craning his neck. “They said they could give him next-gen implants. But apparently there’s never enough pilots in the army.”

“I’m so sorry,” the mermaids said, their soothing voices merging in sync.

Roy pulled his knee to his chest, letting the other leg dangle above the waves. A flare lit the darkened sky, bright enough to blind. He squinted and shielded his eyes.

Even in the darkest days of the Pyrite War, he hadn’t seen anything similar. The waves swept through them, invisible particles stabbing each cell in his body. The debris shield above the atmosphere glowed faintly, each shard that pinched it burning like dying embers. Hopefully, the radiation filters were working well—Roy wouldn’t want to repeat the pituitary tumour removal he’d had a few years back.

The night air ionised, an eerie turquoise glow falling above the ocean like glowing rain. Roy’s fingers curled on the hems of his jacket.

“I made a promise,” he whispered.

“What promise?” Neri asked, rubbing his back.

“If—when he comes home, I’ll marry him. Properly. In the shrine, with soulbinding and all that nonsense.” Roy flicked a flat stone into the waters, watching it plop a few times before disappearing into the depths.

The glow in the sky reflected in the rippled water, waves growing stronger as the tide approached. He made a mental note to include this strange, colourful dance of light in the first letter he would send later that week. Cal would have loved the sight.

Chapter

Fifteen

~ SEVEN PYRAXIS YEARS LATER ~

The metal box Roy had bought to store Cal’s holo-recordings was overflowing. He’d saved each one on a memory plate and wrapped the plates in envelopes lined with an ESD layer. Each one contained a mantra repeated at the end of every call, every voice message, and every recording Cal sent.

Don’t worry, love. I’ll come home soon.

He leafed through the stack. The envelopes on the bottom had yellowed. He set the latest one on top and tried to close the lid, without much success. With a sigh, he took it out.

Aether willing, this would be the last one from the front lines.

Roy pressed a palm to his lower back and cursed silently. In the past few months, his body had decided to remind him of his debt. His old injuries had translated into a herniated disk that made his hands numb. The doctors had given him a leaflet about gentle exercises and a limited supply of mild painkillers; medication was heavily rationed now. Buttercup helped, pressing her warm body against Roy’s back every night and purring—which proved more effective than the diluted medication.

To forget the stabbing pain in his spine, Roy popped the recording into his player and switched it on. Light flickered, reconstructing Cal’s body while erasing all background. From his posture, Roy assumed Cal was recording in his pod, cheek planted against a pillow—probably an attempt to hide the puffy, reddened scar on his face.

“My dearest,

The patrols have been uneventful. At least that should give me time to record a proper message. Sorry for being so short—I barely had time before we had to fly out.

Every night, when I close my eyes, I think of my last leave. Sleep eludes me when you’re not beside me. I keep imagining the weight of your body against mine, but it’s not the same.”

The recording flickered. Cal shifted, and the scar on his cheek flattened, pink and barely noticeable.

“We had a briefing today. All sectors are now secured. Can you imagine that, love? It feels like an eternity we’ve been fighting. But His Majesty’s light prevailed, just as we all believed.”

Roy smirked. The censorship had imitated Cal’s voice convincingly. He wondered if Cal would remember the original version.

“I’ve been scheduled to have my left implant removed. It’s been giving me so much pain lately. I was hoping I could keep it a little longer, just to hear you on both sides again, but alas, the tides swept that away.

Roy, I can’t even tell you how much I miss you. Please message me back as soon as you can. Your words keep me anchored, and I couldn’t do this without you.”

Holographic Cal paused, his focus shifting. When the recording resumed, his face beamed. He held out Roy’s old T-shirt, a souvenir he’d snatched on his first leave, and pulled it tight.

“Our commander just knocked on my pod and handed me my notice. I have one last patrol mission, and then I’ll be released.

Roy… I’m coming home. Thank you for waiting so long.