I paced around the inner sanctum, thoughts roiling. What a mighty declaration I’d made: Take on the Tech Guild! Expose them as murderers.

  No problem, Sam.

  “This is, oh god, it’s so fucking dangerous,” I whispered, massaging my temples. "This is so much worse than ‘Mafia Moms.’ I mean, we’re talking about someone murdering an entire starliner of people because they knew something about the augments. It can’t possibly be safe to reveal the truth now . . .”

  “Okay, now she gets to have her meltdown, everybody,” Cora said, pulling me into a hug.

  “While you’re melting into a puddle of human goo, Sam, remember you aren’t alone. I don’t mean us here, I mean the millions of unusual people who’ve been hiding for generations. It’s worse for you and Marjorie because it’s your family who died on the Resistor, but the Talented and cybernetics have been hiding who they are all along,” Rhoda consoled.

  Rhoda’s words cut through my troubled thoughts. She was right.

  It felt like a bombshell to me, but to the people in these books, it was just life. Fear of discovery was something they lived with every day. And the Known Cosmos Earth Press was already planning on telling the public the truth about Talented and augments next January. They’d been planning this for a long, long time.

  I nodded to Rhoda, blinking.

  “And Sam?” she continued softly. “I think there’s a lot more we can glean from these stories, but maybe we can take a break for a few minutes? Get some fresh air and something to eat?”

  I nodded, following her out to the gardens where we found lunch and sanity waiting for us. Filly and HC’s grandkids were playing with the mirkas, and the heartwarming sight pulled me out of my funk.

  “This is too pretty to eat!” Nanna said about lunch.

  While I wanted to agree with her, my growling stomach said it would have no trouble pounding the pretty veggie roses. Eggplant, red peppers, zucchini, and more were thin sliced and arrayed like flowers floating in a pureed sauce. Wow.

  I scooped a helping over noddles, added a sourdough roll, and took a seat beside Cora, digging in.

  “This is amazing, babe,” Cora told me, and I nodded, swallowing a bite of garlicky pasta. What was the deal with all of the food in Andromeda looking like art?

  “Bitsy,” Nanna cut in, “I’ve finished the books, so I know Borden Sloan grew this building out of the ground with his Talent, but where did the name ‘Ayela Arcana Sanctuary’ come from? That part wasn't explained.”

  “Tell me you Time Sleuths know how to research names, please!” Bitsy chided.

  I had to admit, getting some calories seemed to have an instant effect on my mood, so I was happy to play the look-it-up-for-yourself-why-don’t-you game.

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  “Well, ‘Ayela’ means ‘moonlight,’ and we’re next to a sanctum bursting with moonflowers and art depicting them, so obviously, there’s a connection to Nayth’s signature flower. The books said he considered it the flower of dreams.”

  I opened a stream search on my pad.

  Search: arcana meaning

  Results: secret, mystery, hidden place

  Well, that was a perfect name, wasn’t it? I took in the sanctuary, honing in on the white structure. The building itself looked like the moon. Was that a type of rock?

  Search: stones that look like the moon

  Results: moonstone

  Oh! Nayth gave Ryst an engagement necklace with a moonstone charm, so that must’ve been what inspired the white building. “It looks like Borden shaped this building from something like moonstone. Then Peydran and Ren gave it a name that means: ‘Moonlight illuminating hidden mysteries,’” I said in awe.

  “Wow,” Rhoda said, jaw dropping.

  “And listen to this,” I continued, animated. “I didn’t realize this when I picked the name. I only knew that I wanted a pseudonym that had to do with the moon, and I thought ‘Ayela’ was really pretty. I didn’t know there was a mythology too. In Hinduism, Ayela was a girl who studied the Bhagavad Gita, seeking the truth of the nature of reality and the self.”

  “Woah,” Nanna intoned. “Sam, that is—I don’t even know what to say, but it seems like that’s exactly what we’re doing here! You picked a name you liked because it was significant for your book Moons Dancing, but it seems like this building was made for you.”

  “In a way, it was,” Bitsy said, pulling something from a satchel. “I have something to show you, Sam, and I think you’re going to be happy with it.”

  She handed me a sheaf of faux leather that was so dark purple it was almost black. Pearly lettering ran through the middle spelling the title: Known Cosmos Book 5.

  The right side had a raised image of Sol, Earth, and Earth’s moon, and above it, a single word: Discordant.

  My eyes bugged. “My book?” I chortled.

  “I think it’s the next in the Known Cosmos series,” Bitsy said. “So I had this cover mocked up, but it’s not final, and, of course, I need your approval before I go any further.”

  “You want my book to join your family stories?”

  She nodded, “The 9 Galaxies need your story, Sam.”

  “Well, since the Guilds have basically pushed us out of the chain of information, this book could light a fire in the public,” HC said, rubbing his hands together. Then he paused, “Sam? What’re you thinking?”

  I stood there with my mouth hanging open, eyes flicking between all of them. “My—my book is about Earth! Not even in the same wheelhouse as your Talented romances from another galaxy!” I squeaked.

  Cora wrapped her arms around mine. “I’m for it, and I think a sequel with our story will fit into the collection nicely.”

  I chuffed out a laugh, “Oh, I’ve been trying to back outta the freak-out zone, and you’ve just put me right back in! Dammit,” I rocked, massaging my temples again.

  "Okay, gang, we told Sam we’d help her, and all we keep doing is passing the torch right back to her. But this can’t be all on her shoulders,” Cora began.

  “Babe, I’ve been thinking about it since you joked about me finishing Moons Dancing. What if I finish writing it? Will that help?” she asked hesitantly.

  That idea cut through my haze.

  My eyebrows rose, “Would you? Please, yes! I don’t have time to finish it, and I know you can, Cora! Thank you, love!”

  I kissed her cheek and stole a berry off her plate.

  Bitsy chimed in, “I think if you’re willing to join the Sibsil Creed team, then we can publish ‘Mafia Moms’ as a Sibsil short. Maybe pulp fiction-esque? Make it seem like satire, and people won’t take it seriously. Then once you get started on Discordant’s sequel we’ll figure out how to weave it in with the rest of the series.”

  Right. My second book. I'd made a grand declaration about avenging my parents, so it was time I stopped moaning about it. Pony up, Sam. Get ready to dive right in.

  I nodded to Bitsy, “Okay. I’m on board. Now let’s get out of the sun and figure out my next book. I don’t think I can do this part alone. Are you Time Sleuths still game for helping me work out the details?"

  Everyone nodded, cleaned up the empty lunch dishes, and headed for the arched doorway that led us back into the Ayela Arcana Sanctuary where answers and another revelation awaited.