“I’m trying,” Nor whispered back. She knew she had to, if she wanted to move forward with her mother’s mission. But she remained in her spot on the floor, avoiding the view of her crumbling planet for just a bit longer.

A thunk sounded out from the doorway and the spiraling steps beyond.

Nor sighed. It was probably her uncle Darai, with yet more coronation plans for her to approve. “I said I wanted to be alone.”

But the door creaked open, and Zahn Volknapp stepped into the circular tower. Nor blinked at him in surprise.

“Nobody really wants to be alone,” Zahn said. “At least...I don’t think so.”

“And that makes you right?” Nor asked. Still, she felt a smile spreading across her face.

Zahn shrugged and settled down beside her, his shoulder warm against hers. He’d grown strong, this boy who’d pulled her from the rubble three years ago. No longer a boy, but a young man.

And lately, when Nor looked at him...she felt things she hadn’t before.

A flutter in her chest. Heat that spread across her cheeks.

His arms had turned from lanky to muscular. His jaw had broadened, stubble forming along it. His hands, once soft and boyish, had become hardened with calluses. They’d grazed hers more than a few times in recent days. Small, accidental touches that didn’t seem quite so.

“You’re going to make a great queen, you know,” Zahn told her. “But I think, if what we used to read in those insufferable fairy tales is true, you’ll need a handsome guard at your side.”

Nor stared down at her golden prosthetic. She’d never felt the need to hide any part of herself from Zahn. He accepted her as she was, just as she accepted him.

“My uncle would probably agree,” Nor said, rolling her eyes at the thought of Darai.

He was a good mentor, and had trained her well in her gift. But he was always tired. He was always too...ancient. Nor couldn’t settle on any other word to describe the man. And he wasn’t her blood, not fully. Nor always felt something lacking when he was around.

She wanted a real family to call her own.

“Do you think I’ll ever find him?” Nor asked suddenly.

She glanced sideways at Zahn as the wind slammed against the glass, dousing it with acid rain.

“Who?” Zahn asked.

His face had turned sharper, these days. Harder lines and angles, and his lips were much fuller than before. Nor found herself staring at them until Zahn met her gaze.

She felt suddenly too warm.

“My family,” Nor said, and that very thought stole the warmth away, turned her as cold as the world outside the tower. “My brother.”

He was out there, alive, and he was hers.