Alex Costa, thirty-two years old, honorably discharged after eight years in the Marine Corps. He and his husband had just celebrated their fourth wedding anniversary, and before the dive, he had showed off the necklace he received as a gift – a clover charm in gold with a small breach emerald in the center. For luck.
Alex sprawled on the rocks, face up. The left side of his skull and face were sliced off, and the cut was so sharp, it was like half of his head simply disappeared. His one remaining eye stared up at me, dull and lifeless.
I squatted by the body. My leg whined in protest, so I sat on the ground and picked up Alex’s SIG Spear.
“This probably won’t work,” I told Bear.
Bear enthusiastically panted.
Originally the SIG Spear was developed as a civilian version of US Army XM7, a multi-caliber rifle that answered the military’s need for the small arms with greater firepower. It offered higher muzzle velocity and better long-range shot placement. This version of the SIG Spear was developed specifically for the gates. I knew all of this because I had been briefed on it and taught how to fire it.
There was just one problem.
I turned the rifle on its side and found a small black selector. It could be turned only two ways: toward a stylized bullet etched into the gun or toward the identical bullet with a line through it. Fire, no fire. As my retired Marine firing range instructor put it, private-proof. So easy even a soldier could do it.
The selector was in the safety position. Alex died too fast to fire off a shot.
I flipped the selector toward the bullet, raised the rifle to my shoulder, and pressed the trigger. Nothing. As expected.
A small red light flared on the rifle and faded.
The use of guns inside the gate was strictly controlled. Only smart guns were permitted, and only combat-rated Talents could carry one. Nobody wanted the civilians grabbing weapons dropped by their injured escorts and firing them in a blind panic. Nobody wanted to hand a working firearm to the enemy either. That technology needed to stay in human hands as long as possible.
Each smart weapon was keyed to the biometrics of its owner. In a pinch, it could be unlocked by entering a code given only to the assault and escort team members. A new code was issued for every gate dive.
They didn’t give me the code. I was a non-combatant Talent. I would never need this code, because I had a big strong blade warden with an invulnerable forcefield to protect me.
“When we get out of here, I’m going to punch that smarmy weasel in the face.”
I flipped the gun over to the code lock. The small screen had space for six digits.
123456
654321
000000
111111…
Nothing. I could sit here for hours and not get anywhere.
“If there are more of those four-armed creatures on the other side of the gates, guns won’t be much of an advantage for us, Bear. They still need a human to aim and fire. Parrying an attack at that speed requires a top tier combat Talent, and we don’t have too many of those.”
I went through Alex’s pockets and came up with two energy bars and a ka-bar knife.
Anja’s corpse was next. She wasn’t cut, but there were chunks of rock embedded in her chest. Killed by London’s grenade.
She wore the same shoe size as me, 8 in women’s. I took her boots. They were dry.
“I’ve turned into a ghoul, Bear. I’m now robbing the dead.”
Panic crested inside me, and I shoved it back down again. Don’t think, just do.
I took his canteen and the bars and moved on to the next corpse.
Fifteen minutes later I’d worked my way around the cavern back to where I’d passed out. Nine of the twelve miners had died. Of the escort team, only London had made it out.
George Payne was the oldest miner on the crew. He was fifty-four, and his years had been hard-won. He’d brought a backpack. Inside I found Motrin, a Chapstick, some tissues, a small towel, a packet of jerky, a Leatherman multitool, a pair of dry socks in a Ziploc bag, and way too many Tiger Balm patches. I dumped the patches and kept everything else. I swapped my socks out, put Anja’s boots on, and loaded the rest of what I gathered from the others into the backpack. My haul consisted of eight energy bars, seven 32 oz canteens, two Kit Kats, one portable first aid kit, and a pack of THC gummies. Only four canteens fit. That and the one on my waist made five.
“A Ka-bar.” I showed the knife to Bear. “That’s the weapon we have to work with. This is all our firepower. Right here in my hand.”
Bear didn’t seem impressed.
“We’re going to make it out of here if I have cut my way through every last monster in this fucking breach.”
Big talk. Whatever killed the assault team was probably still out there. Jace, the assault’s team tank, was protected by over a hundred pounds of adamant, which he wore like sweatpants because he was literally strong enough to bench press a car. Blue Savant shot lightning from his fingertips. Ximena, a pulsecarver, had a reaction time of fifty milliseconds and could dice a horde of monsters into pieces with her twin swords.
I had a Ka-bar and needed ibuprofen for my knees after a 100-meter dash.
What was the alternative? Sitting here and dying?
I had gone through all of the human dead. The grey attackers were next. I walked over to the first body. The grey shroud wrapping around the four-armed corpse shivered.
I stopped.
The shroud stretched toward me in long strands, like algae swaying with the currents. Behind me, Bear whined.
I flexed. The grey shroud burst into a blazing violent orange. It was plant based and also animal based, an odd hybrid somewhere in-between. A mixotroph like the single-celled Euglena, which used photosynthesis like a plant but moved and ingested food like an animal. And if it touched me, I would be dead. I had no idea how I knew it, but I was absolutely sure. It would kill me.
I backed away. The shroud shivered, as if vibrating in frustration, and settled back onto the corpse.
I swallowed and turned to the woman in blue.
I’d successfully avoided thinking about her and the gem up to this point. But there was no choice now.
What did she do to me? She did something. I didn’t feel that different. Did she really put a gem inside my head? Was that why my leg healed?
But if you had a magic gem that could fix broken bones in a matter of hours, it was highly likely said gem could also regrow limbs. Why give it to me? Why not keep it and regenerate the arm?
Treasure your inheritance, my kind daughter.
All the questions. Zero answers.
The dead woman lay on her back. Her face had lost its vibrant color. The pink and turquoise dulled, muted, as if she were a wilted flower. Her blood-soaked robe stuck to her body, and the puddle of blood by her arm had congealed to a dark viscous gel.
Logic said I had to search her, but something about it felt fundamentally wrong, like committing sacrilege.
I circled the body and flexed. The corpse turned a faint violet, so light it was almost white. A sliver of deepest black stretched by the woman’s side. The sword. My talent had no idea what to make of it, so it registered it as a slice of darkness.
I blinked my power off and knelt on the rocks by the sword. I remembered it being slender and blue, but now it seemed shorter and dull, washed-out grey in color. There was no wrapping on the hilt. The whole thing was one continuous chunk. It looked metal but I had no idea what kind. Nothing like I’d ever seen before.
A sword was much better than a knife.
“I’m sorry you died,” I told the corpse. “I need your sword to survive.”
And now I was talking to dead people.
I touched the sword. Sparks burst from the blade. The blade turned blue. The handle flowed in my fingers as if liquid and wrapped around my wrist.
Panic punched me. I jerked my hand away on pure instinct, flailing around like there was a poisonous bug on my arm. The band of metal around my wrist snapped open, and the blade clattered to the floor.
I froze, staring at it.
The sword lay on the stone, inert, once again dull, muted grey.
A moment passed. Another.
The sword didn’t move.
Okay. One more time.
I reached for the sword. The moment my fingers touched it, the metal flowed again, anchoring itself around my wrist and fitting perfectly into my fingers. The urge to fling it away gripped me.
I clenched my teeth and waited.
The sword waited with me.
Was I controlling it? Was this some alien artificial intelligence? Was it alive somehow?
Nothing was happening.
I took a deep breath.
The sword flowed through my fingers to my forearm and wrapped around it like a pale-blue metal bracer.
I quashed the scream before it left my mouth. My fingers were free. I moved my arm around. The bracer stayed as if glued.
I moved as if to stab. The sword streamed into my palm, lengthened into a half-formed blade, and stopped. Waiting for a target? I lowered my arm. The blade slithered back into a bracer.
“Magic sword,” I told Bear.
The shepherd eyed the bracer and kept her distance.
I had made a full circle around the cavern. The pool where Stella died was right in front of me. Her head was still on the bottom, dark hair swaying with the weak current.
I needed to fish Stella’s head out of the water and put it with her body. When the guild eventually came for the corpses, they might miss it, and Stella’s parents would need a whole daughter to bury.
The hair swayed.
I had to do this. It was very simple: wade into the water, pick up the head, put it with her body.
Oh my God. She was twenty years old. She was alive this morning. She was talking, walking, breathing and now she was dead and her head was in the water and Tia was only four years younger. Would somebody be taking my daughter’s head out of a pool like this one so I could look at her face one last time? When they got Stella out, they would put her in a box, and then they would bury her, and her mother would never see her again.
How do you survive this? How do you go on after this?
Her parents couldn’t be much older than me. They would have to live the rest of their lives without her. There was nothing anyone could do. This was done. She was dead.
Tears wet my eyes. I splashed through the water, picked up her head, and climbed out, slipping on the rocks. Her body lay on its back. What do I do? Do I put it on her neck? Do I leave it next to her?
I was holding a kid’s head in my hands and trying to figure out how best to leave it with her corpse.
Someone wailed like a hurt animal, and I realized it was me. Tears came, so many I couldn’t even see.
I put the head gently by her side, dropped to the ground next to her, and cried. I cried and screamed for Stella, for her parents, for Sanders and Anja, for their children and loved ones. I cried for Costa who was missing half of his face and for Aaron who lay in pieces.
I sobbed for all of them, all the bodies in this cave. And I cried for myself, trapped here, left to die, and for my children who might never see me again.
Bear padded over to me and lay by my side. I hugged her and cried harder. It was just the two of us, the cave, and the raw pain of my grief.
Gradually, the sobs subsided. I ran out of tears. For a while I sat there, silent, staring at Stella’s body. Slowly, very slowly, self-preservation woke up and took over. Nobody was coming for me. Nobody would help me. It was up to me.
Nothing new.
I could do this. I’ve been doing this since I turned eighteen and my mother informed me that I had two weeks to move out. I’d been doing this since Roger decided that he didn’t want to do this anymore.
I got up.
Bear stared at me.
“Time to get a move on.”
I swung the heavy backpack onto my back and picked up Bear’s leash.
I was halfway to the tunnels when the generator sputtered and died, plunging the cavern into darkness.
What a lovely gift for Monday morning
Did I somehow get first?? Wild
Certified 🙂
ooooo Mod R i love your new character!!
I’m going to say it — 35k isn’t going to be enough! Everything is so cinematic, all the characters are so real. Many thanks and enjoy your vacay HA!
Glad someone said it. I know HA is overtaxed but I’d do/pay anything for a full sized novel!!!
@Audra “35k isn’t going to be enough!”
That’s what the sequel is for…
🙂
+1
+2…. maybe martha wells style, novella novella novella ah bugger it whole novel you blood thirsty fans…. bhd take note.
First?
What an awesome Monday morning it is shaping up to be. Now off to reread.
yay!Happy Monday!!!
Wow, I was right there in the cave with her. My heart clenched and my eyes teared up while while Ada held Stella’s head. I felt her anguish. Each chapter just grabs you!
Thank you.
I couldn’t put it better! I agree!
Thank you!
Awesome, smart, loyal canine? ✅ Magic sword? ✅ Dry boots? ✅ Protein bars? ✅ Get outta there, kick the weasel and witch’s asses, and get back to your kids! 💪
+1
Not first but I’ll take 8th. I’ve been checking all morning! These have become the highlight of my week!
Wow, just wow. What a very, very good story. Thank you.
Loved the emotion in this one – the shock wearing off to grim horror, the reminders that even if Ada makes it out these losses will never be fixed. A magic sword sounds like the best thing she could get to help her, though I bet she’d trade it for a flashlight. Let’s see how things go!
Well the sword might be a magic multi tool capable of shining light on the situation.
London totally deserves that punch in the face .
If I’ve learned anything from HA, it is that the face has many bones.
Better to go for a throat punch so she doesn’t hurt her hand.
Maybe the magic sword can also be a gauntlet so she can break his facebones in comfort and style#
Oooh ! the magic sword vs London’s barrier.
Magic sword vs London’s gonads!
😄 Love this!
Really tough day at work today and this snippet helped. Going to have sugar for lunch. That’ll help too.
Thanks! 🤗
Throat it is!
I’ll settle for a hit that he won’t forget any time soon
Owee, the lights turn off and you leave us on a cliffhanger.
Top 20?
A nice surprise for a Monday morning. Thanks!
I look forward to these chapters SO much! Perfect with Monday morning coffee. Thank you for making my day. ❤️
It’s been a rough week… month… year…. depends on how you define it, I suppose.
I’ve been seeking out things that bring me a sense of anticipation, satisfaction, and respite.
Like – I can have a popsicle after two hard phone calls and folding the fitted sheets.
Anticipating the next installment of this story has become a HUGE part of my week and a great motivator.
Thank you so much, House Andrews!!! You always make me smile.
Loving this so much!
Hmm. Read story on blog post or actually get work done at work? I know what I’m choosing…
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful imaginative stories with us. These serials are always a joy.
There is only one choice 🤣
Thank you…
Thanks for the post
Thank you for the next installment. So nice for a Monday. 🙂
Mod R an update on my heart results: everything is normal. However, there is one valve that has minor calcification and thickness. I just have to keep doing what I’m doing to keep it that way.
That’s amazing news! Hugs to keep going!
👍
Excellent!
So glad to hear this!
Glad to hear it!
Again: Wow… I love it.
Thank you for making me cry ?
Her anguish – heartbreaking. The story- awesomeness.
Yay!
Thanks for the post. Hope you have a good vacation.
OK, ModR, they’re gone. You can spill all your secrets. We promise we won’t tell anyone.
I petition thee, O Mod R! Humbly request the Andrews Duo to make this story a looong saga. 😀
Maybe slice of life? The world seems interesting.
Thanks for the story w/e happens.
Preaching to the mod choir! I keep barsaing them on the subject 🙏
Barsa, barsa, BARSA!!!
I would like to sign that petition!! This story is amazing 😍
Whoa! At least she’s got a weapon. The info on the assault team was fascinating. And of course the lights go out as she leaves. Sheesh. Looking forward to Friday already! Thanks!
What a fascinating story this is proving to be. Adaline reminds me of Clare in “ Silver Shark” in her grief for her team mates, stoic acceptance of the circumstances and determination to survive. I love Clare’s story and am confident Adaline’s adventures will be equally absorbing.
Oh yeah! I get the resemblance between Care and Ada. Maybe she will find a Venturo to escape with her and Bear.
the magic sword is so creative. the details make the story core alive.
and the grief and mourning make it real.
thank you for sharing abs I how you have a wonderful vacation
A great reason to look forward to Monday mornings! I’m so sucked into this story already!
Love 💕 this. Thanks
thank you! so good
Oh man. Thank you.
Wonderful way to get through Monday. Thank you!
Can I cry now?
A reason to look forward to Mondays is most welcome! Loved the inventory of resources, heartbreaking though that process was.
Love it! As others have said, the emotion and grief is expressed so well. It’s very real but not terrible bc Bear is with her. And I think we all want het to get home to her kids and punch London in the face (or throat we’re an intense Hoarde)
I know you said monday and I promptly forgot. soooo, a lovely surprise on this monday Eve. Thank you for that. Weeee, magic sword!
and no, I’m not crying, you’re crying!
I’m enjoying this story so much! One more reason to look forward to Friday. Thank you!
Love this story & feeling spoiled for getting installments twice a week!
My heart is breaking for her. I hope she makes it out a blasts the cowards that left her.
Oh, it’s Monday!!!
Almost forgot about the second half of the chapter being posted today……
Whoopee!!!!
It’s a great day after all.
Thank you authors for pre-writing the chapters so they’re all ready to drop as scheduled.
It’s wonderful.
Thank you again.
Very exciting.
Just keeps getting better! ❤️
This was wonderful and sad.
Thank you
Wow… Not enough words this early in the morning to express my emotions. So, wow…
😪
I need more can’t wait. Each chapter gets better.
Thank you for the part! I hope House Andrews is having a good vacation.
I wonder if the magic sword will glow in the dark…
So in tune with getting a magic sword and screaming and shaking it off like it’s a bug! Real life.
This story is very vivid in my mind. Lovely to have it twice a week.
It was so worth it to keep all 3 chapters to read at once!!
Thank you very much for this story that is like the rest LitPGP but so different and unique at the same time!
If there is a petition to continue the story please sign me in! 🙂
Thank you
Thank you for this! I’m looking forward to seeing where the story goes.
so good
Thank you for the awesomeness that is anything written by House Andrews!
This hit me right in the feels with the rawness of everything…..
May your time away on vacation be everything you need it to be!
Sending peace, health and safety to all!
thank you
this is wonderful
It is nice to see an older hero. I know why in urban fantasy they are young and tough, because otherwise they would die quickly but it is good to see someone closer to my age.
Young people dash and sprint. Us olders know we have to put our heads down, grit our teeth and just slog until it is either done or we drop.
You are going to regret leaving those patches behind when your muscles stiffen up lady. 🙂
That was powerful! Thank you and hope vacation is going well.
Okay someone help me out. 9 of 12 miners are dead. And only London made it out from the assault team. That leaves Melissa and two others for the miners…would the two others tell on what Melissa and London did? Thoughts?
We have to do that dirty thing we don’t like to do: w*it, so we can see!
Next instalment Friday! 😁
I’m just going to say what the rest of the Horde is thinking in reading your answer Mod R.
Nooooooooooooo! 😀
that was really good, I just caught up with both parts today. thanks again, have a great holiday this week
Wonderful story. I’m thinking the rest of the story isn’t about her getting home but about her going to a whole new world and having adventures with new people and situations. IA are so great at creating new worlds and people. Thanks IA.
It seems to me that if you have a knife, you have the means to obtain the finger needed to activate the rifle. Maybe you only need the fingerprint, so just peel the skin off and leave the bone? Also, shouldn’t she have gone after the head in the water before putting on the dry socks and shoes?
These musings are what happens when my brain doesn’t have the next scene to move on to. Sorry.
It seems to me you’ve completely ignored the entire text explanation about the code needed for the gun, but that’s how nitpicking takes us sometime 🤣
I went and reread because I was kinda wondering the same thing. It just says it needs “biometrics” which probably is more than just fingerprint or DNA, so maybe unique heart beat too/body temp/other proof of life?
“Each smart weapon was keyed to the biometrics of its owner. In a pinch, it could be unlocked by entering a code given only to the assault and escort team members. A new code was issued for every gate dive.”
Also thank you IA, this is so awesome!!
Not just biometrics being a lot more than just a fingerprint. But how long do we expect that severed fingered to last in a humid, hot, monster cavern, with no preservation available? The gun doesn’t stay unlocked.
So glad the BDH is, as usual, focusing on the important bits 😀 . Given an emotional masterclasse, we naturally nitpick the rotting fingers and hosiery. Never change, guys!
I have taken note of your objections, and am now closing this thread 🙂
I’m in love with this story. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Smashing, I agree with others, love this to be a full length novel it’s so good, have a great holiday.
Oooooo, Witchblade sword vibes!
Thank you!
Thank you. I hope you rested well on your vacation. Your stories are an inspiration to us all. Resilience!
House Andrews’ holiday has just begun 🙂. They will be back next week
Wow, wow, wow! Thank you so much!
Darkness in this story, but also hope. What a great treat! Thank you! Enjoy your vacation!
Yowsa! Great installment. HA, hope you are having a wonderful holiday.
Wonderful. I’m hooked as usual.
Every time I get a piece of what you both write it is a gift, no matter the time or day. Thank you.
Thanks for brightening up my Monday!
This is getting better and better! Come on and get here, Friday!!! Okay, I feel better and will sit semi-quietly and w*it somewhat patiently now. 😂
In all seriousness, thank you…I love this so far! And thanks to Mod R for posting this while HA is (hopefully!) having a wonderful vacation!
Thank you for something to look forward to on Mondays. Can’t wait to buy the book. It does not disappoint! Love women with grit. Also looking forward to Thursday’s, yea!
Thank you so much for this!!
I have to say that this charactor really is one of the most relatable characters I have ever read. Between the reaction to the sword and the response to the kids head. I would say I have no idea how I would respond but then I read her response and I know thats exactly how I would have responded. There is just so much grit, compassion, and knee jerk human response that you can not help but relate with this charator. Her “super” abilities are a side product of who she is and her being a genuine person who responds to the true trauma of the situation is so well written, it is beyond impressive. Any parent reading this can not help but tear up when she mentions the horror of the swaying of that hair in that current and what a life altering concept that is. I have to say out of all the snippets for this book this one hit more profoundly then any other. I can not imagine what books by House Andrews in a decade will look like with how amazing they are writing today. Skills only sharpen with time and boy, their stories are sharper then the blade referred to in this story. Thank you for a wonderful end of a long Monday.
This so much.
I am aware of all the reasons why House Andrews wants this to be a 35 k novella, and they are good reasons, and make perfect story and publishing sense. I was 130% supporting their decisions.
But then they come up with THIS! And all logic has gone out the window, and I just want more because it’s so…everything you said! 😀
YES!!! You’ve both said it so well, thank you.
+1,000!!!!
Adventure and fantasy (portals!) but also grounded in bureaucracy (assessors!) sprinkled with an amazing alien swordfight! What’s not to love?
But this chapter — with Ada’s reaction and the genuineness of her feelings? I am blown away and totally INVESTED!!!
Thanks for an amazing & unexpected gift!
Thanks!
This is very good.
Wow wow. So good can hardly wait for Friday want gobble it up
Thank you!!!!
Thank you so much! I live for these. It’s been a crappy few days!
so.real.
Oooh. Ooh, yeah! Thank you!
Preorder for This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me is up!
Is it me or does this feel like a Mother’s Day gift?
These are my favorite days now. As always, thank you.
I am really enjoying this story. it feels very different from your other works; yet…. it feels very Ilona Andrews.
Really looking forward to the completed story arc.
I have questions…but will patiently(?) wait for the continuation…missing miners, biometrics, the magic sword, Bear and getting out of there. Amazing writing! Thank you!
You need to remember to relax. Thank you for this special treat to read. As a parent, I could see and feel her sorrow for each of the members of the team. I look forward to reading the whole thing.
Talk about having a super bad day!
Made my day better. Thank you!
So awesome. So, so awesome.
I can’t wait for her to punch those cowards in the face.
Loving this! Thank you for sharing. You are SO GOOD at what you do — your stories are more real than real life.
Thank you for writing and for blogging your stories.
Loving this story so so much! Can’t wait for the next installment! Thanks, Ilona Andrews! Always looking forward to whatever you write 😉😉😉
And we are getting this twice a week!!!!!!! Squeee! (Sp?)
Thank you so much, wonderful change and so interesting.
Hope you have a lovely and restful vacation.
TWICE a week 😇! Mondays and Fridays
The Horde is definitely beloved.
Now…how can we politely request to make this novella into a full-fledged novel?
We got Hugh from an April Fool’s joke. We got This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me from previous Maggie snippets and Tor’s looking past their noses to see what was right in front of them. We got Blood Heir from the pandemic. We, if very nice about it, can possibly get The Inheritance (or InBearitance) as a novel, too?????? Maybe, maybe??? Just asking for a lot of friends. 😀
🫶
thank you very very much..much love and appreciate this bounty🙏💖👍
So happy that I get to look forward to reading Ada and Bear’s story, every week!
We are so spoiled. 🙂
Thank you!
so Good!!
This is so good. Betrayal is hard to read about…
Oh crapitude!!!! NO LIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But she has the light on her hardhat (I thought it was safe to assume she had grabbed it with all the gear?).
“I pulled a slim flashlight out of my pocket. I always brought one as a backup to the light in my hard hat.”
Or maybe the picture in my head is not reality and we will find out in the next chapter!!!!!!!
Amazing, so good, loving it !
Reading something you write is such a pleasure, so so so good 😍
0o0
I need to read this book in full – You have me hooked.
hooked lined and sinkered🤓
awesome writing, awesome world building and the characters are soo realistic.. even the traitorous evil so called friends.
You weave a powerful story. I cannot wait to read the whole thing
Awesome as always. I wish she grabbed a big chunk of the ore to bring with her.
Ok so this had me in tears
Very well done
You made me cry with this one. You do that a lot. Such a terrific story!
I need this to be like a MILLION words! I love this!
OMG! Totally loving this!
I am loving this! With how crazy life is right now, I keep forgetting these are posting twice a week! Then when I remember, I wait a bit, as a special gift to myself.
The depth and nuance of Ada is so great and there is Bear! And the magic sword! Ahhhh
More please! Barsa, barsa, barsa!
Thank you HA!
Is it my birthday? ☺Thank you!
It’s my birthday and this is a great present!
This story has me on the edge of my seat. thanks for sharing.
I’m pretty sure Bear is hungry. I really need for her to eat.
I’ve read every chapter two or three times now. I may read over the first few to get ready for the next installment (I imagine I’ll stop this when there are a lot of chapters), then the new chapter is like a gulp. Then another read through, savouring it. Then I go back in the next day or two, because it seems like the next chapter will take forever to get here. Somehow this chapter hit harder reading it the next day. There may have been some tears involved.
It’s like really good food that you can eat, and then eat again and enjoy it more each time.
It’s so special to see a new world born. It always amazes me how a brand new world comes to life. H.A. are such extraordinary writers. You make things come to life like it’s real. It feels real. Thank you for writing. I will enjoy it always.
Yes 35k is short. It doesn’t mean that there’s anything wrong though. I view it as a hopefull new series on the horizon, and we, the BDH know it will be good
i love this character so much! i relate to her so well. thank you thank you thank you. i understand it will be a short story/novella, but i want so much more. i want a whole series with Adaline! Adaline and Bear.
thank you! 😸
Very much enjoying the gripping story so far. Posting it installments means that I’m re-reading each part… a lot 🙂
Appreciate the rich world building and being fed it in bits and pieces. Doesn’t break the flow of the narrative on the first read-through and offers up more on obsessive -_-;; re-reads.
A few things I’m mulling:
– The escort team was previously described to have a variety of sebrian blades and now only a Kabar knife is available to Ada, so were the other blades cut up in passing by the aliens or lost somehow?
– How many people are on the assault teams? Ada describes a few individuals and there are at least 5 classes (tank, energy/lightning shooter, pulsecarver, healer, scout), are there multiples of each class on an assault team?
– Why is the government / guilds hiding that there are other sentient humanoids in the breach? It’s been 10 years since gates appeared so doubt this is the first such encounter
– Will Ada become a superlative breach duo (with Bear), no need for smarmy unreliable teammates who will throw aetherium grenades in your face