“I’m sorry,” Shey says. She speaks quietly, but sounds as composed as ever despite the tears. “I have my people to look after, and they certainly need looking after right now. And you have your family.” She takes a deep, shaky breath. “I am truly grateful for the time we spent together, Scorpia. I will always remember it, and I will always be grateful that fate brought our paths together. But… we always knew they would separate again, didn’t we? Our walks of life are too different.”

I know she’s right. This was inevitable. Still, the hurt wells up inside me, prickling the backs of my eyes. I push it down and force a half-hearted laugh.

“That’s the most Gaian breakup line I’ve ever heard.” I sigh and pull her toward me. She leans against me while I wrap my arms around her. “I care about you. You care about me. Why can’t that be enough?”

“I wish it was.” She rests her forehead against my shoulder. “Truly, I do. But it’s never that simple.”

“Well, it’s bullshit.” I lay my cheek on the top of her head.

A few minutes pass like that, while Shey’s tears dry and I try to commit the feeling of her in my arms to memory. Then, with a quiet sigh, she pulls away. As much as it hurts, I let her go.

“They’ll be expecting me back at the reception,” she says. “I’m doing my best to smooth over relations between the council and the other officials, now that my mother’s been taken into custody.”

“You and your politics,” I say, half smiling even as my heart twists. “Well, I’ve got a lot to do myself, anyway. Plenty of drinking to be done, maybe some petty theft. You know how it is.”

“You and your debauchery,” she teases back, her eyes crinkling at the corners. She takes my hand and gives it one final squeeze before releasing it. “You’re a good person, Scorpia Kaiser,” she says. “Safe travels.”

For once, I can’t bring myself to speak. She gives me one last, warm smile before leaving me alone.

The closer I get to the harbor, the more apparent it becomes that the reception is turning into a full-fledged celebration. The Gaian refugees are leaving the ship now, and the crowd of Nibirans has swelled. Though the Gaians seem timid, the Nibirans are eager to make them feel as welcome as possible—which, in their planet’s terms, means lots of drinking and music and gifts. I half smile, thinking of how appalled the Gaians must be by it all, though I hope they can see that it’s well-meaning.