“I won’t need a third,” he said. “Won’t let ancient history carry over into my life anymore . . . make you accountable for a bad divorce . . .”

“Pete, enough.” Annie moved closer to him, reached out a hand, lightly touched his wrist. “We both have important things to do.”

“This is important,” he said. “Explaining why I wasted so much time—”

“It is, yes,” she said, still touching him with her hand. All at once smiling gently. “And we’ll pick up on it when we’re back home. Over a quiet dinner. Maybe in front of a warm fireplace.”

He stood there. Very conscious of her hand on his wrist.

“That’d be perfect,” he said. “Soon as I get back, I promise—”

“Shhhh,” Annie said. And then leaned forward and kissed his lips, her own lips slightly parted, their mouths lingering together a moment before she pulled back, the taste of her remaining with him a good deal longer.

Nimec looked at her. She looked at him.

Both of them were silent now.

“Annie?” Nimec said after a while.

She nodded.

“I kind of know you and Megan have gotten tight. . . .”

She nodded again.

He took another deep breath.

“That part about me being afraid . . . ?”

“Will be our secret,” she said.

Over Victoria Land, Antarctica

The Bell made a jarring launch from the USARP expedition camp where it had dropped its load of survival bags, having been forced to touch down at an angle in the steep-walled trench where the dome tents were clustered.

Nimec felt its sudden acceleration in his stomach as Granger throttled up. He held onto the sides of his tagalong seat though he was buckled and strapped in tight.

He glanced out his window. The scientific team that had called out for extra supplies—they had introduced themselves as micropaleontologists, mentioning something to Nimec about collecting flake-sized remnants of fossilized mollusks—stood waving at the bird in appreciation, arms high against a white background.

It struck him that Scarborough and his team must have looked much the same when Granger had become the last known person in the world to set eyes on them.

Then tents and expeditioners alike dwindled to vibrant orange specks under the chopper’s skids, and blanked out of sight as Granger flared off above two spiring crystal-cathedral seracs.

“I’ll have to see if we get any more urgent hails, but so far we’re in good shape,” he said. “One more scheduled inspection, a fill-up at the Marble Point fuel dump, and I think we’ll be all right to head into the valleys.”

Nimec turned his head from the window to look at him.

“I’ll be here,” he said.

Over Victoria Land, Antarctica