“Oh?” I ask through a half-full mouth before swallowing. “Too bad. Everything tastes better when it’s free. But, in that case…” I slowly move the pastry toward my mouth, maintaining eye contact with Shey the whole time. She watches me, eyes narrowed. Just before my lips can close over it, she snatches the pastry and shoves the entire thing into her mouth at once. I burst into surprised laughter while she chews.

“Well?” I prompt. “What do you think?”

Shey swallows and wipes her lips with one delicate hand.

“I think I never want Gaian food again,” she says, and I laugh again.

“Next time we end up on Deva, I’ll have to show you around. They have the best desserts, if you know where to look.”

“Already making plans to tour the system with me, hm?”

“You saying you’d be opposed?”

She searches my face for a moment, as if actually considering the question, and my heart skips a beat. For a moment it’s all too easy to imagine: me and Shey and my family, touring a peaceful system together once all of this is over.

“I’m saying…” She trails off as she looks ahead. I follow her gaze to find my family waiting outside of the Council Hall, a very tall and narrow cylindrical building that is covered almost entirely with stained-glass windows. Drom is leaning against the building and eyeing nearby food vendors with interest, but Corvus has his arms folded over his chest and looks none too amused by the delay.

I sigh, removing my arm from around Shey’s shoulders and letting it fall to my side as we approach. For a few blissful minutes, I almost managed to forget the reason we’re here. At least Shey is looking less wan and more herself. She pulls away from my side and brushes off the front of her robe.

“All right, all right,” I say loudly, deciding to take charge of the situation before Corvus gets a chance to scold me. “As Shey and I were just going over, the plan is for her to go in alone first. Her political connections and fancy words should be enough for her to grab an emergency hearing today. Then she’ll get us, and we’ll all come in, verify her story, et cetera, et cetera. Everyone understand?”

“It’s really not that complicated,” Drom says.

“Yeah, well, we tend to be bad at plans, so I’m just making sure.” I glance at Shey. She clasps her hands in front of her, staring up at the tall building with obvious trepidation. “You’ve got this,” I say, and she glances at me and gives a small nod. Without further prompting, she strides into the Council Hall alone.