Helix regained his balance and hurried to them, leaning against Qalu for reassurance and comfort. When her chest touched his, he felt like he could breathe properly again. “Certainly not,” he said to the Pherzul. To Qalu, he added, “You’re well? Krag didn’t harm you?”

“Shaken, but not hurt. I can’t believe it’s really over,” she whispered.

Aevi bounced from Qalu to Helix and back again, caressing them with her tail. “Does this mean we can finally go home?”

“Soon,” Helix promised. “But if it’s all right, there’s someplace I’d like to visit and people I’d like you to meet first.”

The last night on Vaadla Station was much different than the first.

First, they took Aevi to the garden to run and stretch, and then they visited the star chamber, basking in brightness that approximated exposure to natural sunlight. Qalu swore that Aevi’s feathers looked brighter when they left, and afterward, she enjoyed exploring the orbital installation with Helix and Aevi, who pestered him endlessly about their surprise destination. “Where are we going when we leave Vaadla? Will you tell me now?”

“After the show, perhaps,” he teased.

She perked, her head tendrils quivering, poorly concealing her interest. Their last innocuous outing—free of fear or pursuit—had been the trip to the art museum on Tiralan. Since they’d fled, he’d had no chance to pursue his art or learn what else might make him happy. It seemed Helix had a surprise in store, and anticipation brimmed within her. Her entire body felt so much lighter, almost weightless.

Hard to believe I was held hostage earlier today.

Things were different now. She could look on this interlude as a vacation and not an endless exile, because they could choose to go home at any time. I want to see my mothers. Once, she couldn’t have imagined framing such a thought, not when they meddled so incessantly with her private life. She made an amused noise, recalling how she’d once thought that pressure to form a love group required a radical act.

When did this false love become true? Though she couldn’t pinpoint any certain moment, it seemed to Qalu that perhaps her heart had always belonged to Helix. She just hadn’t dared to believe that matters could end well between them. Not with so many obstacles in the way.

“Is this it?” Aevi asked.

The Pherzul was perched on Helix’s chest, her tail wound around him possessively. Once, that would’ve been unthinkable. Until he came, Aevi tolerated nobody except Qalu, quite the barrier to forming a permanent love group. Now Aevi seemed perfectly content to leap between them as if they were structures built entirely for her amusement.