Novels by Max Sheen

"Awesome,” I replied.She raised one eyebrow. “But…”I stood still. “But what?”Threi leaned back in her chair and folded her arms while the virtual screens hovered behind her shoulder like quiet witnesses. “But I am not doing it for free.”Her words slowed my heartbeat. “Not doing it for free? You want me to pay you in some way?”She scoffed and waved her hand. “I don’t need money, chill man. I just need you to fix things with Sira later. I know you are upset about what she said, but she was drunk out of her mind.”I sighed. My chest felt tight. I did not know how to respond.Threi didn't stop. She pointed at me with a lazy but sharp gesture. “You saw it. We all saw it. If you walk out now, she'll be heartbroken. So you have to stay until she apologizes and you two talk things out.”I froze where I stood. Her demand pressed against me even though her tone stayed soft. I could not tell if she was being kind or not.“That's my price. If you want my help, you keep the peace.” Threi said

The dancers nearby slowed and stared. The lights shimmered across their faces as the scene unfolded. Threi wobbled toward them, her steps uneven. One eye was squeezed shut as if the light annoyed her. She tried to focus on Sira but kept blinking through the haze.Calviox came back from the restroom at that moment. He froze in place when he saw Aēllion holding Sira in his arms. “I was gone for seven minutes,” he said. “What happened?”Aēllion looked down at Sira’s unconscious face. Her breath brushed against his shirt in soft, uneven waves. Her hair stuck to her cheek. Her body felt heavier than he expected. He lifted his eyes to Calviox and told him what he had seen happen on the dance floor.Calviox listened without interrupting. He glanced at the bottle of supplements on the booth table and let out a long sigh. “The mix hit her too hard,” he said. “She never knows her limit.”Threi was still swaying. She pointed at Sira with her datapad. “She challenged the vodka,” she said in a rou

Sira landed the mini ship in the open parking platform beside the Pulse District. The pad glowed with faint blue light under the wheels, and the larger transport lanes pulsed above in long, shining rows. The ship settled with a quiet thrum. Once the engines cooled, the side door slid open and the group stepped into the warm night air.The glow from the district washed over them at once. Shifting colors ran along the tall buildings in waves that rose and fell like the city had a heartbeat of its own. The music from the club carried through the streets in a steady vibration that drew people forward. The walkway ahead was crowded with visitors lined in bright clothes. The smell of mixed drinks, heated spices, rain from earlier, and some kind of sweet vapor drifted through the air.Sira walked in front, already confident among the noise and lights. Aēllion stayed close, unsure of where to look. Calviox walked with his hands stuffed in his jacket pockets and his usual heavy gait. Luma wal

“Yes,” Sira answered. “We all need to loosen up and have some fun. After all, that's why we came to Virelia.”Calviox hesitated, then muttered, “Fine.”The room settled into quieter energy. Luma sat back down with her sketch board. Calviox paced near the window with a scowl, though his shoulders slowly loosened. Threi sat down in one of the chairs without looking up from her datapad. Luma leaned over her drawing board again, dragging her pencil in quiet strokes while trying not to look at Aēllion too openly.Aēllion settled on the couch again. He watched the television as if it were a new kind of puzzle, one he could not solve but enjoyed staring at anyway. His shoulders finally rested. His breath no longer carried the tension from the chase, from the confusion in the halls, or from the strange encounter with Myla. For the first time since they arrived, it felt like he belonged in the room.Sira stood near the table, thinking. Aēllion noticed and walked toward her.“Sira,” he said sof

Aēllion blinked. “Is that a bad question?”Luma tried not to laugh. “Not bad. Very Aelly-Hal.”Sira sighed, but her smile softened the sound. “Come on. Let's get you cleaned up before you find more trouble.”“You still haven't answered my question,” Aēllion said.“We will finish that conversation once you stop bleeding,” Sira replied. “And I need to inform Calviox and Threi that we found you. So move.”He nodded and walked with them toward the elevator. As they moved, he told them everything. He told them how he got lost in all the twisting hallways. He told them how he met Myla and how the two men had chased her. He told them how he tried to walk away but somehow found himself standing between her and danger.Sira listened with one eyebrow raised. Luma listened with wide eyes that seemed to grow rounder every few steps.By the time they reached the lift, the tension had faded, replaced by tired relief. The world still felt strange to Aēllion, but he no longer felt alone inside it. No

Aēllion wandered deeper into the hotel’s lower levels as if the place kept folding in on itself. His steps were slower now. His breath was light and uneven. The hall ahead of him stretched forever, lined with tall glass pillars that glowed faint blue from the cores inside them. The light cast long shapes across the floor. He leaned against one of the pillars and tried to steady himself. He kept wondering what Sira was doing at that moment. He wondered if she had noticed he was gone or if she thought he ran away. I only needed a moment to breathe. I didn't think I would get this lost. He let his head rest against the glass. It was cool and helped him think a little more clearly. Far above, Sira and Luma were already combing through the floors, stopping every few steps to ask strangers if they had seen him. Far below, Calviox and Threi walked together in a storm of arguments that echoed through the halls. The building was wide awake with movement, voices, and footstep