With the old man sleeping restlessly, Jess treasured Cesca’s quiet companionship. He had always longed to spend time with her… but not like this. Sensing his thoughts, she reached over to take his hand. Her fingers were soft in his, and warm. He clasped back, but did not look at her, denying his hopes and thoughts. This was the one opportunity that they had never dared pray for—which made it all the more heart-wrenching.

“You know I love you, Cesca,” he said quietly. “You know I want you more than any other woman in the Spiral Arm, but… it can’t be now. I won’t be an opportunist and say that we can be together now because my brother was murdered. How can I live with that? How can our love grow the way it should with this cloud over us, and my father dying in front of me?”

His lips trembled, but he drew a deep breath before she could respond. “Where is Tasia? We’ve got to bring her here.”

Tears welled in Cesca’s eyes, making them look larger and darker. “Our time will come, Jess. We’ve got our own Guiding Star. You know it. We’ll get through this. I’ll help you with my support and my love, but we can’t bring a shadow on your clan, or on the memory of Ross. We can’t let any of the Roamers think ill of us or bring scandal upon the Tamblyn family.”

Jess looked quickly at her. “Or upon you, Cesca. You’ll be the next Speaker for all the clans. Neither you nor Jhy Okiah can suffer any political harm. It would weaken your ability to lead us. We don’t dare think of ourselves right now. We can’t be selfish.”

Cesca closed her eyes, as if she didn’t want to admit it. “You and I can wait. We know that we are destined to be with each other, Jess—if not now, then sometime soon.”

Cesca Peroni was her father’s only child, though he had two brothers and one sister, all of whom had several children each, so the Peroni clan line was strong. Cesca herself was simply a solitary twig on the uppermost branch of the family tree.

Cesca had studied history and knew about the different clans and how they interrelated, which feuds had simmered for decades, which bloodlines were strongest. Jhy Okiah had made her learn all of these details. More than any other kind of politics or bureaucracy, understanding Roamer family connections was a Speaker’s greatest political necessity.

Now Jess fell silent, and a long pause hung on their bittersweet conversation as they gazed at the frail form on the bed. Both he and Cesca would endure their separation for however long they felt was necessary. Jess would have enough grief to occupy him for a long time.