But well-meaning or not, I’m no longer in the mood for celebrations. So I move past the party, sipping from the bottle I picked up after I left the beach, and head for the quiet docks on the other side.

To my surprise, I’m not alone there. I find Corvus sitting by himself at the end of a dock, far enough from the Gaian ship that the Nibirans have all abandoned it in favor of better spectator spots. He takes a long drink from a bottle and tilts his head back, staring up at the stars. The moment he notices me, he starts to move the bottle out of sight, but stops as he sees the one I’m already carrying. I settle down beside him with a sigh, and take another sip of my whiskey.

“Scorpia…” he starts, his voice more weary than angry.

“Don’t. Please.” He gives me a look, and I groan. “Look, I know, all right? I do. You can be mad at me tomorrow. For now, let’s just… let’s just not.”

He’s silent for a long moment.

“Tomorrow,” he says, but caps his own bottle nonetheless. I glance at it and make a face.

“Vodka? Ugh.”

“One of those nights.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

I don’t ask, and neither does he. I don’t bother inquiring about our younger siblings, either. They have each other, and they’ll be fine for a night without us. Corvus and I sit shoulder-to-shoulder and enjoy the quiet, listening to the distant sounds of the continued celebration over at the harbor. My boots dangle off the edge of the dock and skim the water’s surface.

It’s been a long time since I had a moment like this. I thought it would be peaceful. Instead, the silence makes me more aware of the dull ache deep in my bones and the weight of all my losses on my shoulders. Now, I guess I have to add Shey to the list. I expected as much given the last few weeks, but that doesn’t lessen the hurt.

“Wonder what Momma would think if she could see us now,” I say, and smile wryly. I hold out my bottle and pour a bit of it into the ocean as I think of her. After a moment, Corvus uncaps his vodka to do the same. “Her kids being heroes. With medals and shit. Who would’ve thought?”

Corvus laughs, and I grin. The sound isn’t as rare as it used to be, but still infrequent enough that every time reminds me how much I missed hearing it.

“She’d hate it,” he says. “Stopping a war wasn’t a very profitable decision.”

“Who knows? With all of those Gaians to be transported and settled, maybe business will be booming.” I pause, sigh, and lay back on the dock. “Would be booming, I mean. If we had a ship.”