Chapter 11: Uneventful events in the mines

When I woke up, Theo was finally asleep beside me, but it was already dawn. An Orbiscarnean dawn though: as I stepped onto the floor, my bare foot felt warmth—a thin ray of sunlight that pierced through the thick brown curtains of this once-luxurious room had already managed to heat the floor.

As I washed in the blissfully hot shower, I thought about my dream. Victoria's whisper had been so real, still lingering in my ears as if I had truly just been there, on Zios, in that soft grass, feeling her light breath on my neck once more. Find the sleeper… It was well known that Orbiscarne often gave people strange, vivid dreams—echoes of things that had happened or had yet to happen. Some said it was the planet's own memory, its essence melting time and recollection into Ruby Oil. But I had been to Orbiscarne before and had never had dreams this bright and lifelike—if anything, they had always been surreal and fantastical. And anyway, Theo was the one who saw things in dreams, not me. The only time I had experienced significant dreams was when my memories were returning to me—but that had long since passed. I was used to getting proper sleep, not chasing ghosts in my dreams. My methods were far more real and decisive.

Still, despite all my decisive methods, I hadn't made much progress. In any case, they say the morning is wiser than the evening, and now I had a few ideas about what to do next. I had to focus on two major tasks:a) Get my hands on Osmond's discovery in the Observatory—Amalia was my best bet in this ambition, back home on Noctemara.b) Convince Theo I am not weak of mind and was telling him the real story of our reincarnations—perhaps Osmond's discovery would help with that?

After all, we hadn't flown to Tenebris for no reason when Osmond died the first time… or so I had thought back then. We had been looking for something related to The Last Timekeeper. Osmond had spent ten years there—if anything was there to be found in that department, he would have found it.

Finally, a more immediate task was to get Theo to visit the mines again—this time, to go down into the shaft. It was damn dangerous, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we had missed something, had not gotten all we could from this expensive and risky trip. The miners had been far too quick to convince us that the mines were empty. All we had actually seen were deserted installations and dry sand. It was hard to believe in a conspiracy involving the entire colony, including its authorities—that much was true—but it was still worth going down into the shaft at least to calm our doubts.

Mines had dried up at least five times in my memory due to failures to uphold the Law—each time, it had been a disaster for the Empire. Twice, it was because the Council had disobeyed the Emperor's orders. The Law appointed the Emperor, and once crowned, the Law expected obedience. Once, the mines had dried up for a few days due to a technical mishap—when ten Council members had died at war, stripping the Council of its legitimacy before it could ratify the next Law. And of course, the mines had also dried up due to violations of the Law on the Prohibition of Chrono-Manipulations Exceeding 133 Seconds and the Law on the Protection of the Rights of Temporan Mixed-Race Descendants.

Now, the last Law had been passed three months ago, regulating Oil distribution for farmers on Zios. It had been ratified by the Council and was being enforced—hence the farmers' discontent. But the Law primarily concerned the behavior of the ruling apparatus, and they were well-trained not to defy the will of that strange Book.

We were in for some interesting discoveries. This iteration would certainly not be monotonous, as things had sometimes been when everything seemed fine, yet I had spent years making no progress on our time prison curse.

Theo was still asleep when I stepped out of the shower, got dressed, and went to the table in the living room. Octavian was already there—unlike us, he didn't look well-rested. Quite the opposite. He was drinking black coffee.

"Haven't been sleeping well lately," he said in response to my questioning look.

Somewhere deep in my mind, the same doubt flickered—the one that had plagued me so much before our marriage, the one I had brushed aside because ten lifetimes had taught me to serve, to ignore my desires, and often my intuition. But… no. Impossible. That would be fate's cruelest joke…

"What are you thinking about?" Octavian asked.

He was sitting with his chin resting on his fist, watching me.

I spread Ziosian jam over my toast and simply shrugged.

Octavian, not waiting for an answer, continued.

"I know, there's a lot to think about. I was just considering—before we leave, we should go back to the mines. If Theo doesn't sleep till noon, we can leave before the heat peaks."

I couldn't believe my luck—he had come to the exact same conclusion as I had. It was a relief that I wouldn't have to pitch this adventure to Theo myself or manipulate him into agreeing. I had a feeling that my confession had pushed him away somewhat—he hadn't mentioned our conversation again. Of course, he had other things on his mind, but surely he didn't think I had made such a ridiculous joke? He had known me since childhood. Oh for God's sake, he had known me for ten lives! Or did he really think I'd lost my mind? And surely, he didn't believe I was one of those fragile girls who mistook dreams for reality?

That last thought amused me—today, that's exactly what I was—but I answered Octavian with a calm and composed air:

"I think it's a great idea. Theo was up thinking late last night—maybe he's come up with a plan too. But a second, preferably unannounced, inspection of the mines seems like a reasonable precaution before we leave."

"Not just unannounced," Octavian smirked. "Secret. I already found a shuttle and paid some outcast driver who delivers meals to the miners. He was being paid per trip, so with mining shut down, he's lost his income. I don't think he'll blab—especially since I promised him the rest of the payment later."

I turned to a noise. Theo was standing in the doorway.

"Whispering behind my back?" he quipped, and it stung.

"Theo, I was going to suggest—"

"I heard," he cut in. "Fine. Makes sense. Yesterday, I was thinking about formally requesting a second inspection with engineers from all the mines, but that would take too long. And I'd rather get out of this dump as soon as possible. Besides, if the mines really are dry, we should be shaking down the people responsible for enforcing the Law, not sitting here. So, your plan works. Let's go."

He shoved half a toast with jam into his mouth and, chewing, started buttoning up his uniform. Octavian was already fully dressed, while I just threw on a cloak, grabbed my sand mask and hat, and we headed down the long corridors.

"Mira, are you sure you're coming with us?" Theo asked at last, and for the first time in a while, there was a note of concern—of warmth—in his voice.

"Of course, Theo. I go where you go. And besides, how could I pass up an adventure like this?"

He snorted.

The covered walkways that connected the stilted colony into a single living organism were nearly empty, save for a few elderly traders hauling trays somewhere. The rest of the colony, it seemed, was still asleep. I remembered that they sleep three times a day, or rather, twice a night and once a day here, in the periods of extreme temperatures, so nice it was just before they usually started the first half of their daily activities.

We took three guards with us—it was a risk to move as a crowd, so any more would have drawn attention and made it impossible to cram into the old shuttle. Octavian led us through back corridors, and we boarded the shuttle.

The driver took us to a garage near the mines and guided us through internal tunnels, all the way to the old lift the miners used.

It was eerie down here—claustrophobic. Two of the guards, equipped with chronobags, stepped into the lift with us, which was somewhat reassuring—I could see their hands resting on the second counters, ready to activate the mechanism at any moment. Though the consequences in this field would have been unpredictable.

We descended a quarter of the way miners usually did and stepped onto a platform. The streaks of red were dry, the borehole was dry—there was no point in going further. The miners hadn't lied.

Octavian pulled something from his coat and walked toward the rock, which was within arm's reach despite the abyss beneath it.

"Brother?.." Theo called after him.

"Relax, I just want to take a sample for Dem. She'll lose her mind with excitement—fresh rock from Orbiscarne itself…"

He suddenly fell silent, his posture tilting. Then he straightened but immediately swayed again, turning sharply, terror on his face. He gestured towards something, but there was nothing there.

Suddenly, he dropped to one knee. The vial slipped from his hand and hit the ground as he clutched his head.

"Octavian? What happened?"

I had already run up to him, while Theo, who had been examining the equipment, had missed the moment and only reacted to me crying out.

We lifted him up, and for a second, he stared at me with wide, stunned eyes, in which, I swear, I saw not my current appearance reflected, but my past one—long white hair, thin brows.

Then he blinked and came to his senses.

"Just dizzy. I haven't slept much the past few nights."

Theo picked up the vial, ran it along the rock, scooped up some of the reddish dust, sealed it, and handed it to Octavian.

"You both keep scaring me. Let's get out of here—this place is definitely dangerous."

The ride back up in the lift felt shorter. The driver, dressed in ragged linen, dropped us off and quickly disappeared into the corridors with his payment.

We hurried back to our quarters and lied to Ravenmar, saying we had wanted to see the view before the heat set in. After all, we had learned nothing new, so there was no need to share anything extra.

Octavian acted as usual, Theo was in his usual combative mood, and soon we were on our way back to Noctemar. Seeing the Emperor off, the miners expressed hope for a resolution to the crisis and for his swift return to inspect their "thriving" mines. My favorite kind of diplomatic lie.

Yet on the way, Theo and Octavian eagerly discussed possible developments, pulling both me and Ravenmar into the conversation, determined to arrive with a clear investigation plan regarding the Law that the Empire had violated. The only problem was that I had to carefully choose my words to avoid revealing how suspiciously well-informed I was—after all, I had lived in this Empire for ten lifetimes. My knowledge might have convinced Theo, but only if I had proof, not just words. And there was no way I was about to let Octavian or, heaven forbid, Ravenmar in on it, at least so far. I'd learnt hard way that the more information you keep to yourself, the safer you are.

I got so caught up in the discussion and debates that I even forgot about my doubts and my grief for Osmond. The darkness outside the spaceship window was still cold, but I no longer thought about it.