I wasn’t sure what the glow was about. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, it scared me. There hadn’t exactly been any Aunare I could ask about what it meant. I didn’t trust what SpaceTech said completely, but apparently, Aunare were dangerous when glowing.

“I know I need to find out what’s happening here, but I need a second to calm down. Clearly.” I headed down the hall to my room.

“You don’t have to hide what you are from Declan. I promise,” Mom said, but she didn’t come after me.

I closed my door to shut out the sound of their whispers. Air. I needed air. Even if it was lung-coating, polluted, smoggy air.

I tucked my hands in my sleeves, pulled the hood low over my face, and went out the window. I sat on the fire escape and gave myself a second to breathe. Tonight had gone from messed up to completely bizarre. The Aunare had sent a SpaceTech guy to get us. I’d never seen that coming, not in a million years. As far as I could tell, the Aunare hated SpaceTech as much as SpaceTech hated them. Although the Aunare had a much better reason for their animosity.

I threaded my legs through the rungs in the railing and leaned my forehead against the cool metal. From fifteen stories up, the people on the street looked like tiny toys. Cars and pods rushed this way and that. People wove through each other on their way home or to a party or a late shift at work. I was sure some of the Crew were down there patrolling. I was restless enough to join them, but I had to deal with this guy—Declan—and whatever it was that he wanted.

Everything came at a price. Even the Crew had strings. I just had to figure out what strings Declan came with.

Slowly, the glow faded from my skin, and I started to feel a little less anxious. I sat there, watching the movement and lights from the city below me, and for a few minutes, I could just be. But then my bedroom door opened and softly shut, signaling the end of my solitude. Someone walked through my room, climbed out my window, and settled down beside me with his back against the railing

I glanced over. Declan. “My mom sent you to calm me down? Probably smart. Of her. Not you.” I rested my head on the railing again. “She knows better than to come after me. You should’ve definitely bowed out.”

“Nah. I’m not one to back down from a challenge, and I figured this was a chance to start the catching-up portion of our conversation.”

“Catching-up?” I studied his face again, and I definitely didn’t recognize him. “To catch-up implies we have a history, and I’ve never seen you before.”