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yourself. As Ulises, you had no say in my life, as Kiot you have even less.”
    His lips thinned as he pressed them together. “I wish to have a say in your life.”
    “That is too bad. You will need to be very convincing to get me to continue on with this charade.”
    “What about the minds I need to survive? Have you forgotten about them?”
    She wrinkled her nose. “I did for a moment. Bravo. You have reminded me of why I am here.”
    He looked like he wanted to speak, but he pressed his lips together and began the descent into the first crater.
    She could see the dispersal pattern in the soil and rock around the impact point. As they settled near the crater, she unlatched her harness and jumped free the moment that forward momentum had ceased.
    Enher heard him hiss behind her, but she ignored him. If irritating him was what it would take to have a conversation with Ulises, she was going to be downright obnoxious. It was not her best thought-out plan, but she was going to have to improvise.
    She scrambled over the edge of the crater and headed to the central point where Kiot had first struck the soil.
    The energy pattern was strong here, but she could feel that it was just the residue of dispersal. Something with immense power had landed, and it had been scattered across the surface in search of other parts of itself.
    “This site was struck in the bright light of day. The largest part of me hit here.”
    Enher looked at him, and the overlapping glow that had marked him the first time she had seen him now made complete sense. She had not seen this particular kind of mixing before. Avatars blended with their planets. Kiot was simply riding along in Ulises’s body with the Guardian pushed aside.
    “I can see it. I can see the pattern of power as the solid bit of stone shattered and atomized, setting you free. I am guessing you went flailing around in search of your other parts and ran into the locals, using them as a bridge.”
    “How do you know that?” Kiot looked uncomfortable.
    “You didn’t fall all at once, so you had to draw psychic energy from somewhere to survive until the rest of you came down.”
    The eyes flickered again. Kiot didn’t like being called on his desperation. Ulises surfaced. “You are a perceptive woman.”
    She inclined her head. “Pleased to meet you.”
    “He is waiting to see what we speak of.” Ulises took her hand and kissed the back of her knuckles. It was one of the Enjel greetings that she had been watching for.
    “Well, I am glad you are here and alive. Are you under duress?”
    “No, I volunteered to let him take me provided that when there was enough power, others could go free. I had no idea that you were the power I was referring to.”
    Enher chuckled. “It is not a bad thing to be wanted for your mind.”
    His eyes grew intense, “But you have so much else to offer.” He reached out and stroked her cheek, but the moment he made contact, Kiot took over and pulled his hand back.
    She sighed. “Well, that was fun while it lasted.”
    He blinked. “You are attracted to him?”
    She looked down at the pink hue to her skin. “Apparently. It is a handsome body, and he is a charming man.”
    The eyes flicked again. “Kiot is jealous of your appreciation.”
    The lavender was back. “I am not. I was just...I did not think that your species was into physicality.”
    “Normally, no, but when we are in season, of course we would prefer an attractive mate.”
    His eyes grew wide. “You are in season?”
    “Oh, no. It was just a hypothetical. This is definitely not a stable situation.” Enher picked up a small piece of glowing rock. She held it up next to Kiot. “You can see how he might be more attractive a choice than a piece of lifeless stone.”
    She had hurt him with those words. She wanted to take them back, but she needed to keep a distance between his mind and hers.
    A moment later, that thought was gone. A small creature hopped into the crater and continued