I fall backward and drag Glacia under. My back bumps the bottom and the current pulls her hair into my face. I unhook my arms and surface next to her. She wipes water from her eyes and grips her arms, shivering.

“You’re so mean!”

“Aw, is somebody cold?”

Her hands surge upward and splash a third wave in my face.

“There. Ha-ha.”

I wipe the water from my eyes. “That wasn’t necessary.”

“I couldn’t resist.” She points at a flat boulder sticking out of the water. “Race ya.”

Glacia will always be the better athlete. She splashes away without warning, arms churning the water as she fights the river’s current. When I pull myself onto the boulder a few seconds behind her, she yawns and stretches, pretending to have beaten my by hours.

“Well you took long enough.”

“Whatever.”

My shirt squelches when I lay next to her, and water runs down the length of my arms. The sun hangs over us, pleasantly warm against our skin.

“I needed that,” Glacia says.

“Same.”

She turns her face at me, eyes wide. “How creepy would it be if a fish touched us?”

“Have fun getting back in the water.”

She laughs, then stretches for real and folds her arms under her head. “This is beautiful.”

“Mmhmm.”

My eyelids droop as my body relaxes deeper, and my mouth lifts into a smile. It’s so different here. I was always so stressed on Undil. I hated the heat, the harsh wind, the dust. I hated looking out and seeing mesas and hazy red and brown ridges. The blue sky was a small reprieve, but I never looked at it enough. When I did, I was dreaming of my escape. Here, I’m happy to be under the sky, rather than wishing I was above it.

Glacia giggles, and I smile at the soft sound. I’m sorry, Glace, for being such an idiot. All those years I spent obsessing over Ladia could have been spent getting to know—

She giggles again, but harder. I peek out one eye—then bolt upright. She’s taking holographic pictures of my face.

“Told you I’d get one someday.” She sets her chin on my shoulder. “Can we take a picture?”

“A normal picture.”

She pouts her lips. “Have it your way.”

She scoots over so our sides are touching. I hold the holotab at arm’s length, line up our faces on the screen, and tap the icon. Unfortunately, I forgot to change the settings. A hologram shoots out, scales our faces, and locks the image—all in a split second.

I groan. “Great.”

Glacia smiles and nudges her cheek against mine.

“Not my fault.”