“That’s Wyn,” Caleb said. “He was on the Admiral Ven. Seth recommended him for this position.”
“Interesting,” I muttered. Normally, I didn’t speak to spirits when other people besides my family were present, as strangers tended to react badly, but I didn’t want Caleb to think I was ignoring him.
“He followed me around the ship.”
“How?”
Caleb leaned closer to me, almost touching. “He was chasing a phase variance, which was me. Or rather, I was causing it. Sometimes I affect technology with my ghostly self.”
“Interesting,” I repeated, and he grinned. My tail shifted in his direction, but I stopped the motion. A swooping sensation, as if I was free-falling, went through me, and I ripped my gaze away from Caleb, then started. The whole lab was staring at me.
I looked at the ground, hair falling around me like a shield; darkness swelled in my chest and spread like a miasma, coating my cells until I felt as if I was wading through mud. Each breath was slight and rough, like something pressed against my chest, grinding my lungs into my spine.
They all thought I was insane. I straightened, bracing for the inevitable whispers. One of the scientists muttered something to their colleague. My gut tightened and my tail coiled about my ankle, but I forced it away. I would show no weakness.
Kalvoxrencol might have been the royal troublemaker, absorbing the eyes outside of the palace, but everyone within the palace stared at me and whispers followed in my wake.
Seth stepped forward, fisted hands shaking. “Prince Zoltilvoxfyn has a guest with him today. A ghost from my world named Caleb Smith.” One of the scientists scoffed, and Seth’s expression turned harsh. “If anyone has a problem, they can leave and be reassigned.”
My soul clenched. My family always protected me, but I hadn’t expected Seth to do so.
Wyn moved to Seth’s side and offered me his throat. “Prince, where is Caleb Smith?”
“Right next to me.”
He looked at the space next to me, but on the wrong side, and said, “Hello, Caleb Smith. I’m Wyn.”
“Hey,” Caleb said. “We’ve met. Sort of. I mean, I met you, not that you know me. I was on the Admiral Ven. Both trips. Tell him it’s a long story. I don’t want to get into it again.” I relayed his words, trying to ignore the blatant staring from the rest of the group.
Wyn’s forehead creased for a moment before his mouth fell open, tail thrashing. “You’re the phase variance.”
“Yep,” Caleb replied.
“I was chasing you.” Wyn shook his head, tail writhing in agitation. “I can’t believe it. My superiors thought I was incompetent with all the reports I sent. They are doing a system purge on the Admiral Ven as we converse because we figured it might be a coding error. Though I did track the phase variance here as well.”
“I came down on the shuttle with you,” Caleb explained.
Wyn scrubbed his hair, making it stand up straight. “Well, that explains everything.” He turned to NAID. “Are you sensing the phase variance?”
“Yes,” she replied, and Caleb tensed beside me.
Wyn said, “I wonder if we can somehow project Caleb or find a way to be able to hear him. Our technology can perceive him, so perhaps it’s possible.”
“It would be fascinating to try,” NAID said, her disembodied head bouncing on the screen in a way that made me distinctly uncomfortable. “I would be happy to assist you.”
“Then I could talk directly to Caleb,” Seth said, smiling. “I would like that.”
“Me too,” Caleb said, but his eyes never left NAID.
When Seth and Wyn refocused on NAID, I leaned toward him, my hair disappearing into his shoulder. “Are you well?”
“No,” he said. “That’s my grandma.”
“That’s NAID,” I said. “She doesn’t have children, let alone grandchildren.”
“I’m not an idiot, Sunshine. I’m talking about the face she’s wearing. That’s my grandmother.”
My soul stilled, and I looked at NAID again. I’d seen her once or twice, but I’d never given much thought to where her human aspect came from. This face, though, belonged to one of Caleb’s family.
