“Oh, I forgot,” he said. He pulled a pair of heavy black gloves from his pack, and then chuckled as he handed them to me. “‘Make sure you give these to the Captain,’ he said to me.” His imitation of Malachi’s accent was hilariously bad. “‘She will not remember them herself.’” He nodded at my bare, red-fingered hands clutching the flashlight. “Guess he was right.”

I sat down heavily, set the flashlight between us, and took the gloves from him. They were leather, lined with soft, thick fleece. I slid them over my hands and sighed. They fit perfectly. I wasn’t sure what made me feel warmer—the gloves themselves or the fact that Malachi had thought about me being out here in the cold. I just wished he’d given them to me in person.

“Captain, have you talked to him about what happened? At the nest, I mean.”

I peered at Henry, trying to read his expression in the mostly dark. “Not since the day it happened.” Right before he tore my heart out.

Henry scratched at a spot on his neck. “Well … I think he took it kinda hard. I don’t think he’s sleeping well. He’s up all hours after we get home from patrols, training in the basement. And when he does sleep …” He shook his head. “Maybe I shouldn’t be telling you this.”

I kept my expression neutral, even though my chest was aching fiercely. “It’s my job to help him, Henry.”

He nodded and gave me a cautious look. “I think he’s been having nightmares, is all.”

I wrapped my arms around my knees, curling into a ball around the hurt caused by Malachi’s pain. “I’ll try to talk to him.” Try being the operative word.

Henry shrugged and pulled a musty blanket from his pack. “It’s my turn to patrol.”

“Where will you be?”

“Concealed spot with a clear shot at the path leading to this tent. How we used to do in the Wasteland.” His brow creased like a memory had hit him sideways. “It wasn’t ever safe, but we could protect each other.”

“We?” I met his gaze. “You had a partner.”

“I did,” he said in a strained voice. “And we were good together. I didn’t want to leave him.”

The way he said it, the pain in his eyes … I could tell the partnership was more than professional. “Did you have a choice? To come here, I mean.”

Henry bowed his head. “There’s always a choice, I suppose, but it seemed like a chance I shouldn’t turn down. When I’m done here, though, I’m going back for him.”

“You want to go back to the Wasteland?”