Page 2 of The Viking in the Vault
I turn on my heel, swallowing my irritation as I head toward the main lab. The frustration gnaws at me as I make my way toward the lab, my thoughts circling back to my call with Marcythis morning. . I know Renata is just doing her job–that advisors have different styles all over the galaxy–but this feels like a massive roadblock.
I’m supposed to be done with this research by the end of the month, and if I’m not, I could lose my funding…then I would have to go home to Santa Rosa without a solution.
Every second I’m stuck spinning my wheels is a second closer to losing everything. This isn’t just research for me; it’s life or death for my family, my home.
I force the thoughts aside as I round the corner into the lab, the familiar hum of equipment and faint chatter bringing me back to the present–a present where I have control over this situation. My fellow grad students are huddled near the main workstation, a holographic display glowing between them and lighting up their distinctive alien features. Rishik is completely distracted, his scales reflecting the light while his reptilian eyes flash; Cosmia, a Ka’reth with Luna moth wings, is equally distracted. My closest friend of the three of them–Ves, a glamorously androgynous Skoll with small antlers decked out in silver, turns to look at me as I come in.
“Elena!” Ves says. “How’s our resident overachiever this morning?”
I huff out a breath. “Harrassed,” I mutter. “Renata banned me from the sub-levels.”
“The earthquake, right?” Cosmia says without looking up. “I felt it last night, figured there might be some danger down there. Wouldn’t want to damage the cores.”
“Classic Kallipso,” Rishik mutters, glancing over at me. “Last week she banned me from the observation deck because I brought snacks. She even confiscated my spicy crisps.”
“You’re lucky she didn’t call security,” Ves teases. “And let’s be honest…she was probably just hungry.”
Cosmia finally looks at the three of us, faceted moth-like eyes meeting mine. It used to unnerve me, but now I’m used to it–and I can tell she’s about to deliver a hard truth. “Dr. Kallipso is strict for a reason,” she says. “You know she’s just trying to keep us safe.”
I groan, slumping into the chair beside Ves. They reach out and pat my shoulder. “I know, I know,” I say. “But she also keeps reminding me about deadlines, and I can’t exactly meet them if I’m not allowed to access the Llaekis Prime cores. This is too important to wait.”
“You’ll figure it out,” Ves says. “I believe in you.”
“Yeah,” Rishik adds. “Just don’t do anything stupid. Ren’s scary when she’s mad.”
“She’s scary all the time,” I mutter.
“Be careful, though,” Cosmia says. “Deadlines aren’t worth risking your life.”
“I know,” I lie, managing a small smile. “Thanks, Cosmia.”
They turn back to their work, the hum of the lab resuming its usual rhythm, but I linger in my chair, staring at the faint glow of the holographic display. My mind drifts back to Marcy’s voice this morning, trembling as she talked about the latest evacuation warnings for Santa Rosa. Another hurricane could wipe us off the map, she’d said.
And she wasn’t wrong.
The weight of it all presses down on me—my family, my home, my town teetering on the brink. I ball my hands into fists, trying to keep the rising panic at bay.
Ren’s right. The sub-basement is unstable. And yet, the thought of sitting here, wasting precious time on cores that won’t make a difference in my dissertation—or the future of Santa Rosa—feels unbearable.
For now, I push the thoughts aside and force myself to focus on the present. My friends are right. I’ll figure something out. I always do.
But deep down, I already know.
I can’t afford to wait.
2
ELENA
By the time I make it home, night has already fallen on Snowveil–the town surrounding the Eiskammer. This time of year, we only get around two hours of daylight anyway, but the northern lights are enough to illuminate the landscape. The shimmer of green and purple streaks across the sky, reflected in the snow like a painting. For a second, I pause to take it in, but the biting cold on my cheeks forces me forward. I shiver as I tap in the code at my door, then let myself in and shut it behind me.
I keep the cottage warm–too warm, according to Ves, but Ves isn’t human. Plus, they’re not from Florida, which runs at a consistent ninety degrees. I shrug off my coat and scarf and hang them on a hook by the door, then I light the fire in the fireplace before collapsing into the loveseat in front of it. I pull a thick woven blanket around my shoulders and reach for my holopad, scrolling to the call app almost by instinct.
My sisters and my mom are waiting for our nightly call, and I can’t wait to unload after the day I just had.
The screen flickers for a moment before Marcy’s face appears, the house in chaos behind her. I see a flash of her twinssprinting around and shrieking in the background as Marcy laughs, then looks back at me.
“Elena!” she says, and the sound of my name coming out of my sister’s mouth makes the tension melt away. I smile back.
