Kaelen spun. A man leaned against the vault door. He was beautiful in the way a forest fire is beautiful. His irises shifted colors like oil on water. He wore the uniform of the Ministry of Abstinence, but it was unbuttoned three buttons too low.
Electricity.
“Who are you?” Kaelen asked.
“This is legacy ,” Lux corrected. He leaned over her shoulder, his breath a hot, forbidden caress against her ear. “The founders of Hedonia didn’t just have orgies and eat chocolate. They weaponized joy. They built a bomb that exploded inside the nervous system. The Collective didn’t ban pleasure because it’s evil. They banned it because it’s addictive . One taste, and you’d burn the whole world down just to feel it again.” the legacy of hedonia: forbidden paradise
“You shouldn’t be here, Archivist,” a voice whispered from the shadows. It was a voice that dripped like honey—unregulated, dangerous. Kaelen spun