We would still have more ships out there—so many more ships, as many ships as there were stars visible in Earth’s sky—and they would come to avenge us, because my species had learned, the hard way, that violence should be answered with violence, each and every time, forever. Maybe it wasn’t fair and maybe it wasn’t right, but it was a lesson they’d been taught a dozen times over, and they were excellent students.

“Yeah,” I rasped, my throat dry and papery. I could smell the sweat on his skin and the blood moving through his veins. He was so close. I could just reach out and take it for my own, and no one would be able to stop me, not even him.

I could stop me. I could picture the look on his face, the shock and betrayal, as my teeth sank into his throat. I could see him staring at me as he bled out in the moss, feeding an ecosystem that wasn’t his. I swallowed again, saliva washing that delicious, monstrous thought away.

“What happened?”

“I…” I shook my head, trying to clear it. It wasn’t working as well as I wanted it to. Still, it was better than nothing. “First—she seems to be in charge here, I don’t know what she actually looks like, because she mostly communicates through the pollen.”

“The telepathy pollen,” said Toni, looking over at us. “That’s what you mean. You’re talking to the queen of the aliens through the magic telepathy pollen.”

“Yes,” I said uncomfortably.

She nodded, looking satisfied. “Just making sure we’re all on the same terrible page. There’s a plant that looks like a giant sundew over here, digesting what looks like a squirrel with scales. In case you were wondering whether we were actually walking through the botanical garden of the damned.”

Second hooted softly. // we need to hurry // she said, where only I could hear. // time is short. //

I winced. “The invasion is ongoing.”

Graham responded to this apparent non sequitur with a faint widening of his eyes. Then he took my hand, lacing his fingers into mine, and nodded.

“I know,” he said.

We started walking again, faster now, Second hurrying us along. I considered pointing out that our delay had been triggered by First deciding to give me a psychic history lesson, but decided it wouldn’t do any good. We were on a schedule here. Things were going to happen when they happened.