Bree has recovered from surgery, but we’re still scheduling these ahead as we work on a secret project! Mwahahahaha! This serial was originally posted (mostly!) on Patreon, and has been edited and finished to be posted live on our blog over the next few weeks. But for those who just want it NOW, or who hate reading on a blog and would like an epub… Well here is the epub!
Return to the world after the Beyond Series and meet the residents of Sector Three…
When Ashwin asks Six & Bren to take in an emotionally fractured Makhai soldier, there are a thousand things that could go wrong. But they are hard at work building their school and rebuilding their sector, and Sebastian is a genius who can fix anything. Anything. In return for his help, all they have to do is give him a safe place to find out if his emotional wounds can be healed.
Just one traumatized supersoldier in the middle of a school filled with former feral street kids, war refugees from exclusive brothels, and a few dozen kids who barely know what a school is.
What could go wrong?
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DISCLAIMERS: this is a serial meant for existing readers of the series. it contains full series spoilers for the Beyond Series and may not make sense if you haven’t read it.
It is also NOT erotic. This is the first part of a very very very slow burn romance between a broken Makhai soldier and an artist who escaped Sector Two after the bombings. There may also be a few other romances a brewing… consider this more like a TV show with multiple members of the cast up to hijinks, even if there are two main characters.
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The party was perfect.
Well, no. As Six watched Hawk corral a trio of giggling teenagers who had broken into the case of hard cider and gotten well and truly tipsy, she had to admit that the party was, even by the most generous terms, absolute mayhem. The youngest kids were bouncing off the walls, the teenagers had decided tonight was the night to test every rule and boundary they’d ever been given, and an outraged River had been forced to break up a literal food fight between the eight year olds and the ten year olds.
A food fight. In Sector Three. Children wasting food.
Six was horrified, too. And so fucking happy she thought the feeling in her chest might actually break her.
Mayhem and anarchy. Perhaps not the plan they’d made for tonight’s party, but perfect all the same. Because, for the first time in a long time, the children under her care were acting like children. Irresponsible, light-hearted, fearless, ridiculous children.
She could live another decade and never be this proud again.
Warm arms slipped around her waist. Six started to stiffen, but a sharp chin dug into her shoulder, and the familiar scent of peppermint and whiskey let her relax her guard. Still, she couldn’t help the warning. “That’s a good way to get stabbed in Sector Three, Nessa.”
“Pffft.” Nessa’s warm laughter tickled Six’s cheek. “I’m not that reckless. I don’t go around hugging all the cranky streetfighters. Only my favorite.”
“Uh-huh.”
“So, is that him?”
Nessa’s finger jabbed over Six’s other shoulder, her sparkly purple nail polish pointing directly at Sebastian, who was sitting with Ashwin in a strategic corner that offered them an easy view of the entire party–and a solid wall at their backs. Ashwin looked as stone-cold as always, his entire body coiled as if ready to spring into movement. Six imagined the only reason he was still seated at all was because Kora was dancing with Lex and Leah, and no one in Sector Three was likely to get past two former Orchids to lay a finger on her.
Next to Ashwin’s protective intensity, Bast looked almost calm. Still dangerous in a way that pinged Six’s instincts…but some of the hardest edges of hopeless darkness seemed smoothed away tonight.
Maybe being here was doing him some good.
“Well?” Nessa prompted.
Six grabbed her wrist and tugged it down before Bast caught her pointing. “Yes. That’s Sebastian.”
“Damn. Do they genetically engineer them for hotness?”
Her tone said it was a joke. Six didn’t bother to point out that they likely did. Beauty was its own weapon, after all, and Sector Two wasn’t the only place that had figured that out. “Ryder will be devastated.”
Nessa scoffed. “Please. When you’re as hot as Ryder, you’re not easily threatened. Besides…” Nessa waved an arm toward the other side of the wide lot, where Ryder stood with Mia, Noah, and Blue, the four of them huddled over a tablet. “He and Mia are about to revolutionize our food supply chain or something. Genetically engineered hotness is fine and all, but Ryder’s about to save the world for the third time.”
Nessa’s usually tart voice had gone soft and mushy with some mixture of pride and love, like it usually did when she talked about Ryder. Six couldn’t blame her. Ryder had been an invaluable asset to her in her earliest days leading the sector, too. Never pushing, never stepping on her pride or offering her quick fixes that would damage Sector Three’s attempts to become self-sufficient. But his business advice was usually brilliant. And effective. “Ryder is a good man. And so is Sebastian. He’s just had a rough time of it.”
“That sucks,” Nessa said softly. “But he’s got you now, so he’s going to be okay.”
There was nothing joking about that proclamation, just more of Nessa’s love and pride, directed straight at Six this time. That glorious, wicked ache in her chest got sweeter and tighter. “Thanks, Nessa.”
“Of course.” Nessa smacked a kiss to Six’s cheek, then spun past her in a swirl of purple and teal hair. “I’m going to dance!”
Nessa joined Lex, her exuberance somehow adorable and exhausting at the same time. Even though they were close to the same age, Nessa had always made Six feel like an ancient crone confronted with a hapless bouncing puppy. But Nessa had proven herself during the war, and her joy could be infectious.
Maybe all joy was infectious.
“One hell of a party you’re throwing here, girl.”
Dallas’s familiar rumble was edged with laughter, and Six glanced over as the big man stepped up next to her. Silver had started to thread Dallas’s hair at the temples sometime during the war, but the lines around his eyes seemed to come mostly from smiling lately. Probably smiling while counting the money the Broken Circle was pulling down now that all of the terrified rabbits of Eden could venture forth for a true rough and tumble sector experience.
“The party’s a little tame by your standards,” Six replied, watching as the youngest children ran screaming after Ace and Callie as they played some game whose rules seemed to keep changing.
“Nah. It’s perfect.” Dallas threw a heavy arm around Six’s shoulders, which earned a few sideways looks from people in Sector Three who had learned the hard way to respect her personal space. But Dallas was family. “There can only be one O’Kanes, and we’re the best at what we do. But that over there, Six?” He pointed at the kids. “That’s what you do, and you’re fucking killing it.”
Six’s eyes burned. That tight terrible pressure in her chest broke open into something she could barely comprehend. She’d felt it before, in bits and pieces. She’d felt it when Bren held her close, or when she landed a perfect punch, or when she flicked the switch on their latest acquisition and another asset rumbled to life, promising hope for the future. She felt it every time Dee climbed up into her lap and curled trusting arms around her neck, or when a new kid showed up for their free lunches, wary and disbelieving.
She’d felt it the first time Callie smiled, the first time River laughed. She’d feel it if Sebastian ever healed enough to do either.
Happiness. There was so much of it surrounding them. The teachers, the students, the neighbors, so many people who had struggled and fought and bled and crawled when they were too broken to walk. Six and Bren had found a way to build a safe space for them, just like Lex and Dallas had given her in the beginning.
“Yeah,” Six said, her voice hoarse with emotion. “Yeah, I am fucking killing this.”
“Damn straight.” Dallas squeezed her shoulder, and there was pride in his voice. Probably the same pride she felt every day when the teachers lured in a new student or figured out another hack or made this sector just a little bit better. For the first time, Six understood how Dallas and Lex felt.
This was her sector. Her people. She’d die for them, fight for them, kill for them. But violence was easy for people who grew up in the sectors. This? This was the ultimate flex. The most ruthless display of power.
A messy, glorious party. Happiness, without fear.
The burning in her eyes didn’t fade, so Six distracted herself by bumping Dallas’s hip with hers. “I didn’t expect you to be here, you know. I can’t believe you three let Noelle out of Four.”
Dallas muttered something low and grouchy, his gaze swinging to where Noelle was enthroned on a soft, cushioned chair Jas had hauled out of the teachers’ lounge with his own hands. Her hands were folded placidly over her very, very, very pregnant belly, and Six would count it a minor miracle if they made it through dessert without her going into labor.
“Let is relative,” Dallas grumbled. “She was so excited that no one wanted to break her heart by putting their foot down.” Another beat, and Dallas’s voice lowered. “Plus we’re closer to the hospital here.”
That tracked. Jasper was hovering over Noelle like he was waiting to sweep her up and rush her to the nearest doctor at the first sign of distress. Between him, Dallas, and Lex, poor Noelle was seriously outnumbered. But Dallas seemed legitimately aggrieved–a good reminder that most of the people in Sectors Three and Four weren’t used to babies.
“She’s going to be fine,” Six promised, looping her arm around Dallas’s waist. “Kora’s here, Doc’s on call, and you can get her to the hospital in under fifteen minutes. No one in all eight sectors has ever been in such good hands.”
“She better be,” Dallas muttered again, and Six couldn’t help it.
She laughed.
Dallas shot her an outraged glare, and that only made it worse. Six planted a hand on his back and gave him a shove. “Go talk to Bren and Cruz before you make a fool of yourself. The King of Sector Four can’t swoon in a nervous panic.”
Dallas pinned her with a glare. “The Queen of Sector Three is turning out to be a bossy bitch.”
“She had the best teachers,” Six replied, giving him her best unrepentant grin. “Get a move on, soldier.”
“Fine, fine.” Dallas’s glower didn’t fade, but he dropped a kiss to the top of her head as he passed, a quiet reminder that she might be a sector leader in her own right, but she’d still always be his. An O’Kane.
Family.
Six surveyed the open lot again. The sun was dipping low behind the city, but the twinkling lights they’d hung gave the space a magical feel. Long tables still groaned under the weight of far too much food, but more and more curious folks from the edges of Three were drifting in to grab something to eat, even if they didn’t linger.
Lex broke off to follow Dallas, and Six tensed as Leah grabbed a startled River and pulled her into the dancing to replace her. River’s fingers twitched at her side in the telltale gesture that meant she was briefly considering going for a knife, but her hand fell away empty. Not that she joined in the dancing–what she did could, at best, be called a slight bounce–but her gaze seemed riveted to Leah as the blonde twisted with the music, her grace turning every movement into something so sensually charged she might as well have been on the stage at the Broken Circle.
And she didn’t even seem like she was trying.
Poor River. Six had tried to warn her, but it was hard to prepare someone for a former Orchid.
“Hey, Six!”
Noelle’s voice cut through the music easily, and Six strode over to her chair. Noelle grabbed her hand and tugged her down for a kiss on the cheek before beaming up at Jasper. “Baby, could you get me something to drink? I’m safe here for a few minutes with Six.”
Jasper ran a tender hand over Noelle’s, then nodded and turned toward the table holding the punch with obvious reluctance–and an extremely long stride. As soon as he was gone, Six raised an eyebrow at Noelle. “Okay, he’s gone. What do you–?”
Noelle dug her teeth into her lower lip, her fingers flexing on her belly.
Oh, shit.
“Noelle, goddammit. How long?”
“Not very,” Noelle said hastily. “I wasn’t sure it was real this time, and I didn’t want them to panic again. I still don’t want them to panic.” Her big brown eyes looked remarkably calm, all things considered. And guilty. “And I don’t want to ruin your party. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come.”
She looked so sad that Six understood how Dallas had buckled. Noelle’s sweetness felt like something rare and precious, something you’d do anything to avoid crushing. Six reached for Noelle’s hand and squeezed it hard. “You didn’t ruin anything. A new baby for everyone to love couldn’t ruin a damn thing.” Six pinned her with a stern look. “Unless you decide to pop it out here in the courtyard, which I highly recommend you do not. So I’m going to flag Lex and Kora over, and you’re going to the hospital. Okay?”
“Okay.” Noelle took a deep breath. “They’re going to lose their shit.”
“Yeah they are. Because they love you.” Six gave her hand another encouraging squeeze. “Here we go.”
“Oh God.” Noelle closed her eyes.
Poor thing. Six didn’t envy her the chaos to come. But there was no turning back now. She pitched her voice to carry above the music. “Lex. Kora. I need you.”
Lex’s head whipped around. Dallas swore loudly and creatively enough to teach all the children a few new words. At the table holding the drinks, Jasper somehow managed to upend the punchbowl in his haste to abandon the ladle and get back to Noelle’s side. Punch splashed over several instructors and a couple of kids, who squealed.
Ace, with all his usual grace and tact, shouted, “Holy shit, is she about to have that baby?”
The music scratched to a halt. Anarchy erupted as O’Kanes converged from every direction. River’s voice drifted over the crowd in an affronted, “Don’t you dare!” as the punch-splattered kids restarted the food fight.
Noelle clutched Six’s hand and whispered, “Oh my God, I’m sorry.”
It was chaos. Absolute joyous mayhem.
And it was perfect.