She looked at Samm, his back against the wall, one leg hanging off the desk, his rifle resting calmly next to him. He was a protector, a guardian, watching over them while they were helpless; if anybody did come to attack them, not only would he see them first, but they would see him first. He had placed himself in harm’s way to protect a girl he barely knew and a man he didn’t like or trust. He was a Partial, yet he was a friend.

That’s the whole problem, she thought. We still think there are sides. There can’t be, not anymore.

She felt the sudden urge to crawl up next to him, to help keep watch, to share a bit of body heat in the bitter nighttime chill. She didn’t. She pulled her blanket to her chin and spoke.

“We’re going to solve it,” she said. “We’re going to find the Trust, we’re going to find their records, we’re going to find out not just why they did this but how—how we can reverse the expiration date, how can we synthesize the cure for RM. Whatever I’m supposed to be, and what part I’m supposed to play in it. They knew all this, variously, and once we know it, we can save everyone.”

“That’s why I came back,” said Samm.

“To save the world?”

“I wouldn’t even know where to start,” he said. His face was a mask of shadow. “I came to help you save it. You’re the only one who can.”

Kira pulled her blanket tighter around her neck and shoulders. Sometimes a vote of confidence can be the most nerve-racking thing in the world.

They packed and left at the first sign of dawn, making sure the horses were well-fed and watered for the day’s trip. By noon the city had all but disappeared, and they passed the afternoon in rural country, thick forests slowly but surely overrunning the small towns that nestled in the hills. Afa’s constant babbling petered out as well, as if the stretches of untamed wilderness made him uncomfortable. Kira occasionally heard him mutter to himself, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying.