Tears stung her eyes. She feared that she’d already lost her baby. She’d been spotting earlier, before they’d pulled her out to interrogate her again. But there was nothing she could do now, not unless she told them she was pregnant and that was too big a risk, too. “I can’t.”

“You mean you won’t.”

She wouldn’t argue that. No matter what, she would never hurt Darling. It didn’t matter what they did to her. She would not betray him.

“He’ll come for me soon. I know he will,” she said with as much conviction as she could muster.

“You’re such a fool, Zarya. How can you be so blind after everything you’ve seen? People just aren’t that decent or reliable. They’re not. We all want to believe in the magical hero who flies in at the last minute with his army and saves us from our enemies. But it doesn’t happen in real life. Ever. People hurt you and they disappoint you, and there’s nothing you can do about it. You have to take care of yourself first, and realize that when the rain comes, you’re standing in it all alone.”

She shook her head, then hissed at the pain it caused her. “You’re wrong, Ture. When someone really loves you, they don’t give up on you. Ever.” And she would never give up on Darling, nor had she stopped looking for Kere—not until she’d found him.

Ture leaned his cheek against her hair in a way that reminded her of how Darling held her. “I used to be like you. And when my life fell apart I saw the ugly truth of people. They don’t care about anyone but themselves. There’s no such thing as friendship. People only hang around when there’s something in it for them.”

She frowned at the bitterness in his tone. “What are you getting from my friendship? Other than beaten to a pulp and starved to illness?”

He brushed at her hair. “When we’re not imprisoned, you make me laugh. And I missed not having a friend. You keep me from being lonely.”

Still, she didn’t believe his argument. “And when I called you, you came to me to do something dangerous. Why?”

“Because I’m stupid and loyal, even when I know other people wouldn’t be that way for me. I learned a long time ago that I never get out of a relationship what I put into it.”

She winced as he struck a bruise on her scalp. “You’re not the only one who’s loyal and decent, Ture. It’s why I won’t betray Darling. He wouldn’t betray me and I know it. When someone really loves you, they find a way to get to you, even in the darkest night, against all odds. Through the worst nightmares, they are there, holding your hand. They’re there to stand with you to the end. I don’t just believe that. I know it.”

Ture scoffed. “When I was a child, I believed that, too. I did. But my hero spit on me and walked out. I hope for your sake that yours doesn’t.”