“They’re not—” Ava couldn’t bring herself to say “dead,” not even to deny it. Her throat locked up around the word. “Jules stayed behind.”

“Oh!” Tricia said. “Oh, that’s fantastic! So much less paperwork if Jules just walked off the job.”

She smiled at Ava, like it was a joke they were sharing in.

“Jules never just walked away from anything,” Ava hissed. “They hated this job and LitenVärld and all the suburbanites bitching about their wedding registries, and they still dragged themself in here.” She leaned back in her chair, taking a deep, petty pleasure in the fact that she’d managed to cut through all of Tricia’s prepared remarks and expressions. “They deserve better than this place, and I hope they …”

Her thoughts suddenly derailed. Whatever she hoped for Jules didn’t matter. She didn’t actually know if they’d survived.

Tricia was silent for several seconds before letting out a slow, calming breath. “I understand this was a stressful shift for you,” she said. “Why don’t you take the rest of the day off? You’ve got some PTO saved up, I think.”

Ava repressed the urge to scream. “Can I just get a couple minutes alone?” she asked.

“Of course,” Tricia said. She seemed smug now. “You’re overdue for a ten-minute break. Enjoy your hot chocolate while it’s still warm.”

She got up, came around the desk, and seemed to hesitate by Ava’s side. Ava, the aftertaste of rage thick in her mouth, decided that if Tricia touched her—gave her a supporting pat on the shoulder or, god forbid, tried to hug her—that she would not feel even a bit guilty for punching her manager right in the face. Maybe Tricia sensed that, maybe she just remembered it was time for her own lunch break. Regardless, she moved past and toward the door, where she paused.

“Oh,” she said, turning back. “I will need the FINNA back from you.”

Ava clenched her jaw. “I lost it in the last wormhole,” she said. She gestured to her tunic, which didn’t have pockets. “I was a little preoccupied with getting through the maskhål before it collapsed and trapped me in the void.”

Tricia huffed a short, sharp sigh of annoyance. “Corporate is not going to like that. I have some calls to make.” She put on the Not Angry, Just Disappointed face. “I’ll let you know what they say.”

The office door clicked softly shut behind her.

Ava slumped forward. She clasped her hands around her elbows and hunched over, shuddering uncontrollably. “Shit, shit, shit.”

She had left Jules behind. She had no idea if they were alive or not. She thought of how she had rushed forward the first time, and had looked back to see Nouresh torn open. What would she have seen if she’d looked back the second time, when Jules had stayed?