“We made a deal,” Andi said, inclining her head toward the girls, and wishing she could see Dex’s face one last time.

“No,” Lira breathed. “You can’t go, Andi.”

“No!” Breck echoed. She had her arm around Gilly’s shoulders, squeezing the child to her side. “We’re not letting you walk into Nor’s hands. She won’t ever let you go.”

“She was willing to kill us all just to get to you,” Gilly cried.

“It’s okay,” Andi said, her voice breaking. But she held back her remaining tears, refusing to let them fall. She would not let her crew see her cry in this moment, would never be able to stomach that being their final memory of her.

She looked to Klaren, who took her by the arm and began moving forward.

Gilly reached out, trying to grab her sleeve, but Andi looked to Breck.

“Trust me,” she said.

Breck held Gilly back, though there were new tears in her eyes now, too. Lira grabbed Breck’s other hand, and together, the three of them stood, watching their captain walk away.

So little time, they’d had to reunite.

They could have seen the entire galaxy together. All of it, not just the darkest parts, but the places that shone the brightest, too. Good memories, without drawing blood or running. They could have chased after something good. Something right.

It nearly broke her to turn away from her crew, but Andi allowed Klaren to guide her away from them. They’d made it only a few paces when that invisible hand gripped her elbow again, pulling them to a stop.

“What are you doing?” Dex’s voice hissed.

Klaren froze, glancing down from within her crimson helmet.

“You have to take the girls, Dex,” Andi said, angling her head toward Klaren so that, to anyone on Nor’s side, it would look like it was the two of them who were speaking. “You have to take them and fly away from here, as fast and as far as you can.”

“What?”

His voice was pure shock. She could imagine his face, those eyes narrowing as he tried to make sense of what she’d just said. But she only saw the outline of her girls in the background, the waiting ship, the edge of the floating mountain that led off into the Arcardian sky.

Another disembodied voice came from a few steps behind where Andi imagined Dex was standing. Eryn’s voice, this time. “Dex, I can’t keep you invisible much longer. You’re moving too far out of reach. You have to come back this way.”

But he wasn’t listening.

Andi could still feel his grip on her elbow, holding tight. “Andi, this isn’t what we discussed. You’re not going over there. We’re supposed to distract the soldiers. Then you’re taking the girls and shutting down the system.”

She’d told him that, yes.