“Believe it or not,” he said. He paused in his work, turning to face her. “I’m sorry about Afa.”

“So am I.”

“What I mean to say,” said Samm, “is that I’m sorry I was so . . . pretentious. In the beginning.”

“You were never pretentious.”

“Arrogant, then,” said Samm. “Partial society is so regimented, we always know who we report to and who reports to us—who we’re above and who we’re below. I didn’t treat him like an equal because . . . I guess I’m just not accustomed to the concept.”

Kira laughed hollowly, collapsing in a nearby chair. “Okay, that actually does sound kind of pretentious.”

“You’re making it very hard for me to apologize.”

“I know,” said Kira, looking down at the floor. “I know, and I’m sorry, and I didn’t mean to. You’ve been more than helpful, and Afa wasn’t exactly the easiest person to take seriously.”

“What’s done is done,” said Samm, and continued to work on the food supplies. Kira watched him, not because it was interesting but because it cost too much effort to look away.

“You think we’ll find what we’re looking for?” she asked.

Samm continued to search for usable cans of food. “Don’t tell me you’re starting to pay attention to Heron.”

“I used to think there must have been a plan,” said Kira. “That even though I didn’t know how RM and expiration and whatever I am all fit together, they still did, somehow. But if there was any plan, I can’t help but think it went wrong a long time before now..”

“Don’t say that,” said Samm, setting down the cans and walking over to where she was still sitting. “We won’t know until we get to ParaGen. No point in doubting yourself now. For the record, I never have.”

Kira smiled, in spite of everything. She had begun to wonder if Heron was right, if this was more about her own frustration about her entire existence being an accident or an evil plot or an outright lie than it was about saving the races. And yet, Samm didn’t. She found herself again at a loss for words. He reached a hand toward her cheek.

They heard noise in the lobby, and Samm had his gun in his hand before Kira even realized he’d brought it over with him. He lowered it quickly, though, when Heron appeared. She paused for a moment in the doorway as she saw them together, but only for a moment.

“Pack up,” she said. “We move out now.”

Samm looked at her, silent, then quickly rose to finish packing the food. Kira followed Heron from the kitchen to the main room of the restaurant, where she began saddling Oddjob. “You saw something?” asked Kira.

Heron pulled the buckles tight on Oddjob’s saddle and moved on to Bobo. “Green.”

“What do you mean ‘green’?”