One of the changes I felt most over these sixteen years was my perception of time. When I am with my wives or my children, the universe seems willing to wait for me, no matter how long the moment lasts. I still have not deciphered how this mechanism works; it is as if everything previously scheduled already takes into account the moments when I — without even knowing it — would be occupied with those I love.

  The only answer I ever received when questioning this detail came from Sacha:

  — Love is timeless.

  I hope that one day I will understand, in depth, what those words truly mean in practice. Even so, there is something I may never fully grasp. As a human, I depend on references. To know that something is good, something bad must also exist.

  Most Sekvens do not know sadness and probably never will — yet they understand what it is. They know how beautiful they are and appreciate it, even when surrounded only by beauty. Beauty is a matter of taste, reference, and culture; something one quickly grows accustomed to, much like joy and safety.

  Still, for someone surrounded by so many certainties, encountering fear and uncertainty reflected in such beautiful eyes cuts like a sharpened blade.

  Now Karen’s gentle touch and quiet charm rest beside me, while the twins play and read with their siblings in the newly inaugurated park of Donna’s first library. It is about Karen’s rebirth that I write.

  That long night, I had barely finished eating a roasted fruit — the yellow gurni Lina once described in her story — when Aerin took my hand.

  “Try it,” she said, placing a piece into my mouth. “It’s delicious.”

  “What is this? It’s very good!”

  The way she held my hand said she wanted far more than a delicious fruit. Instead of wiping away the juice that ran down her lips, I leaned closer and cleaned it away with my tongue.

  “Come…” she said, pulling me along in a hurry.

  She led me to the house she had chosen to share with Enid and Yara. There was a room for each of them, and hers was already decorated with improvised vases filled with wildflowers. Days later, I would delight her by bringing a pot of miniature roses, common in my village and also used in the gardens of Shoros.

  “When I approached you earlier, I meant to ask you to stay with me, but…” — she slipped off her dress, revealing she wore nothing beneath it — “that fairy set me on fire.”

  “Me too,” I whispered, losing myself in the glow of her pale blue eyes, which by themselves seemed like another universe.

  Aerin and I spoke afterward. I held her in my arms, kissing her face, when tears slid down her cheeks, dampening a strand of her blond hair.

  “What is it?” I asked, though I felt no sadness coming from her.

  “It’s only happiness overflowing.” She smiled, caressing my face. “I wanted to stay longer, but I said I would try to play something.”

  “That would be nice.”

  AX startled us as he appeared.

  “Elvinia and Karen are in the final stage of regeneration.”

  “Thank you, AX,” I said, standing and pulling Aerin with me.

  We walked hand in hand, trying to ignore the cold wind coming from the lake. I left her beside the fire and went on to Jazzia, where I found Tariel, Anastácia, the Sekvens trio, Julis, and Aninha.

  Julis opened Elvinia’s capsule first.

  She was beautiful.

  My heart lifted. The weight of worrying about having so many to love was no longer there. Perhaps because one or two more no longer changed anything.

  She still seemed unsettled when I took her hand, knelt, and kissed her lips.

  Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

  “I’m poisonous to you!” she cried, startled.

  “Love is not poison, my love.” I almost laughed. “I am immune to Donna’s venom. You may touch — and be touched — by any human who lives in this village.”

  “My love?”

  “The fault lies with those three.” I gestured toward them with my eyes.

  She smiled. Enchanted, so focused on the people around her that she failed to notice herself — until I lifted her almost red hair and showed her her own reflection.

  She reacted as all the others before her had. She ended up wrapped in my arms, crying like a child.

  “He cries with them…” Aninha could not remain quiet. “Enough tears, Willian! Look at this beauty! You are beautiful!”

  The fairy pulled her away from me and immediately claimed possession of her new toy. She introduced her to everyone present with restless excitement, as enchanted as Elvinia herself.

  “Aninha, you’ll make her dizzy,” I complained, pulling the Selium gently back toward me.

  “You have so many and still don’t like sharing,” the fairy shot back, drawing laughter.

  “Willian is right, my love.” Melissa kissed Aninha when she settled on her shoulder, sticking her tongue out at me. “You already feel loved, don’t you, Elvinia?”

  “Thank you… I don’t know what to do. It feels like I don’t fit inside myself.”

  “We will help!” Tariel and Anastácia said together, perfectly in sync.

  They stole her from me and embraced her tightly.

  Once everyone had calmed down, Julis opened Karen’s capsule. Elvinia and I stood beside her to welcome her.

  The difference was so great it reminded me of Tariel. She was no longer the thin, pale girl with a sickly appearance, without even the softness of flesh upon her chest. Karen was reborn with a light of her own. Her innocent, warm face contrasted with a body now fuller, revealing she was not as young as I had first imagined.

  When she opened her eyes, Aninha, who hovered just above her, immediately moved away. I soon understood why: her gaze carried fear and sorrow straight from her heart — something far too difficult for Aninha to process.

  Karen woke crying, and I embraced her while she was still lying down.

  “You are safe, my love.”

  It was all I managed to say, because I was crying with her.

  My chest ached. As a historian, I had read many books — many I would rather never have read. I could imagine what those men had done to her, what had driven Elvinia to choose death. Karen was not poisonous like Elvinia.

  When her sobbing softened, I felt her left arm tighten around my hand while the other pulled my neck closer. She did not want to let go. She clung not to me, but to the kindness she was receiving.

  Taking advantage of the position, I slipped an arm beneath her legs and lifted her into my arms. That was when she looked at me and then noticed Elvinia beside us.

  “What is wrong with these humans?” Aninha flashed forward like lightning, hovering before Karen’s face. “She is beautiful! What is happening?”

  Aninha already knew the answer — and I knew she knew — but I replied anyway, breaking the silence.

  “The Seliums selected the humans brought to Donna.”

  “Seliums?” Karen looked at her friend. “Elvinia?”

  “Am I beautiful?” Elvinia smiled.

  “And you’re naked…”

  Seeing her friend’s nudity made Karen realize she was the same. She tried to hide herself, crossing her legs and pressing closer against me.

  “There is nothing wrong with being naked.” Aninha undressed as well, revealing her small yet perfect body. “And Willian is your husband. There is no reason to be ashamed.”

  “My husband? No!” She frowned, staring at me. “I won’t marry someone I don’t even know.”

  “And why not?” the fairy crossed her arms. “Tariel and Anastácia are already his wives, and the—”

  “He already has wives?” Karen interrupted. “You’re joking, aren’t you?”

  “You will be very happy with him.” Melissa stepped closer, silencing her immediately. “Just like Elvinia.”

  Karen looked toward her friend, who answered only with a shy smile.

  Instinctively, Karen reached out toward Melissa, drawing laughter.

  “I cannot touch you, my love.” Melissa smiled, stepping back slightly. “Do you remember me?”

  “A feeling… I know I can trust you. You always comforted me.”

  “I walked through your thoughts and found great strength — but also great pain.” Melissa paused briefly. “I did not go deeper. It would have been dangerous for me. Still, I left memories so you would know you are not alone.”

  “This will help you recover,” Sacha explained. “Now you belong to us, and you will never suffer again.”

  “Take her to the mirror!” Aninha hovered in front of me.

  “What are you?” the young woman asked. “Wait… I can see!”

  I set her gently before the mirror.

  “Is that… me?”

  Her expression shifted between tears and laughter, unable to decide which feeling should come first.

  Karen questioned everything. Perhaps that was her strength. It took days for her to accept that she belonged to me and to the Sekvens. She denied it, yet could not stay away. I was — and still am — her safe harbor, the place where she likes, and needs, to rest. Perhaps because I had been there when she awakened from her nightmare.

  “Wear this.” Anastácia brought a blue dress that matched the blue of her eyes.

  “Let’s go to the party!” Tariel said, helping her dress.

  “I’ll go ahead!” the fairy rushed off, only to hear Melissa call after her:

  “Put your clothes on, my dear!”

  “Before you go, sit here, Karen,” Julis said, drawing her attention. “Your hair is very long. I will trim it a little.”

  Karen looked at her.

  “I am a Xeranto, and I am good at cutting hair — even though my people do not have any.” She smiled.

  It was already late. Elvinia and Karen were welcomed with celebration and learned about the Known Universe while speaking with the others.

  Aluram returned to the same bench, amused as he watched everyone’s joy. I sat beside him to do the same.

  “Willian,” Aluram began quietly, “all of this is… too perfect. Yet sometimes I see uncertainty in the way you look at them. If they are pure love, why do you still hold reservations?”