He stood up. He was breathing heavily. Already, sweat stood out on his forehead.

“No,” he said. “Oh no. No no no.”

“Solomon,” I said. “What do you remember?”

He turned, from staring across the river at a single flickering green light, and looked at me.

I’ll never forget that look, as long as I live.

It was utter pain.

He turned and ran off into the night. Along the river, where I couldn’t follow in my car.

“Solomon!” I called, even after I knew it was no use.

My belly gurgled at the peppery smell of grilled fish. A girl laughed. A buoy clanged.

Twenty-Six

Solomon

The street vendor had used too much pepper on my grilled-fish kebab, but it had been a long time since I ate and I scarfed it down in a couple of massive bites.

“Hey, girl,” I said, arriving at Maraud’s stall in the Underbridge paddock.

When I stepped into the enclosure, she pushed her head against mine. Too hard, but that’s pretty standard for my big mauve allosaurus. It’s not her fault she’s too affectionate, and humans are so much smaller and more fragile than she is.

“I know, girl.”

I had gotten all the fear out of my system, and most of the desperation, but a low-level sadness was still throbbing inside me. She nuzzled me, hard enough to push me back a step.

“Come here,” I said, and put my arms around her snout. Rubbed her cheek. She shut her eyes and let her breath out in a long slow snort-sigh. Her head was as big as my whole torso.

I shut my eyes too. Tried to think about anything other than what was happening to my city. To monsters everywhere. Tried to tame my fear, so it wouldn’t touch Maraud.

“You okay?” asked a voice from the darkness.

“Niv,” I said, when he stepped into the light. “How long have you been in here?”

“Couple of hours. Waiting for you.”

“And she didn’t eat you,” I said, impressed.

“We’ve been having a great time, actually.”

“You left Ash alone? Unguarded?”

He laughed. “Unguarded? She’s with Radha, and I’d wager a lot of money that woman’s a way scarier fighter than I’ll ever be.”

I nodded in agreement.

“So,” I said, dreading it. “Why were you waiting for me?”

He smiled. Hopefully.

I wanted to step back, but I didn’t. I kept one hand on Maraud’s forearm, feeling the tiny feathers across her skin.

“Can we try this again?” he asked.

I didn’t speak.

“I know how hard it’s been for you—out here. I know I can’t imagine what you’ve been through. But I’ve been through stuff too. And I care about you. I think we could be good for each other.”

I shrugged, feeling a lump in my throat grow bigger and bigger.