He spoke with such reverence, she couldn’t help letting out an embarrassing whimper. Somehow, he always managed to say exactly what she needed to hear. Because of them, Lowry would never hurt anyone again. Because of them, Danu and Vesria would finally have peace. And Hal … He’d be the kind of leader his country needed, kind and fair.

Assuming, of course, her people let him go.

Wren swallowed thickly. “What will happen to you now?”

“I expect a tribunal will decide my fate tomorrow.”

“They can’t!” She shot upright, only to wince at the sharp pain in her stomach. She flopped back down. “Ow.”

“Don’t think about it now,” he said softly.

“How can you possibly be so calm about this?”

“I have hope.” Hal frowned. “I don’t expect a pardon, but if your government truly wants peace, they’ll have to send me home.”

“True.” Wren closed her eyes, sighing. “I bet you’ll be happy to see home again. What’ll you do first?”

“My answer is conditional.”

“On what?”

“You.”

“Me?” She picked at the fraying wool of the blanket. For so long, she’d thought of nothing but what came after all this. Now, she could think of nothing but this moment, nothing but her cheek against Hal’s chest and the uneven stutter of his heartbeat. She dared to look up, and his eyes brimmed with hope. “What are you getting at?”

“If you would consider it … If you’d like … If I’m allowed to leave … I wondered if you would come to Vesria with me.”

Hal Cavendish had stammered. At first, it was so absurd, so endearing, she didn’t register exactly what he’d said. When it sank in, she blinked. “Wait. What?”

“I want you with me,” he said with more conviction. “If that’s what you want, too.”

Of course she did.

There was so much good to be done in Vesria. She could picture it so clearly: teaching medicine to their healers, maybe even beginning to make amends by helping to rehabilitate the veterans wounded in the war.

But she was home. After all this time, she was home.

She couldn’t just leave, even if the thought of returning to the Guard made her feel distorted and cramped, like she was trying to fit herself back where she didn’t belong anymore. That thought was too terrifying to linger on. Nothing in her life had ever been certain but her yearning. Now that she had exactly what she wanted, she was too afraid to let it go.

As if sensing her indecision, Hal said, “Please don’t decide now. And know the only thing I want is for you to be happy, even if that means leaving without you.”

“What about you, though?”