When the contact snapped, so did the flow of visions, but I could tell he wasn’t broken yet. I half fell to the ground, landing on Darren and grabbing his throat before he could get up. Grim determination gave me the strength to keep holding on.

He wasn’t weaseling out this time. I wouldn’t let him.

His eyes widened and he opened his mouth, probably to dangle some carrot, some reason to keep him alive, but there was nothing he could say that could make up for all his wrongs.

Too late. Way, way too late.

The timeghosts roared through me and into him.

Darren arched, then twitched, and started seizing, but I dug both hands into his skin, scrunching my eyes shut and letting the timeghosts do the work. As they flowed through me, I poured everything out—my anger and frustration and helplessness. All the bad things that sprang from Darren and this shitty lab.

No more. I wouldn’t be his pet ever again.

It lasted ages.

Finally Darren went still.

Blood trickled from Darren’s nostrils and the florescent ceiling lights reflected from his glassy green eyes. I shuddered as shock and adrenaline and a whole bunch of other things fought through my veins.

“It’s over.” Tair pulled me up and away. He hugged me to him and smoothed his hands over my back in a comforting rhythm. “It’s done.”

I clung to him, breath ragged. You came back.

I always will.

Just those three words and a thousand, thousand futures of us flashed in front of me.

The possibilities were endless. Not all were rainbows—there’d be blood and struggle whichever road we took—but we had choices.

Warm fuzzies cut through the shock and strain. I gripped Tair’s shirt, tugging him even closer. Burying my face in his warmth, I tried to keep down the tears that wanted to leak from the corners of my eyes.

When we were together, there was hope.

We just had to get out of here.

As I breathed him in, I concentrated on the moment. His fingers patting my hair, all calm reassurance. The safety I felt in his arms. A bit of Tair’s consciousness seeped into mine—he was already measuring up the room and the resources we had, prepping to get us out.

He was with me, even in my head.

Realizing that made reality shift. For a breathless moment there were two of me and two of him and two of everything as my vision doubled and shivers wiggled down to my toes.

“Was that…?” He asked, shivering in response.

“New save point.” I memorized the feeling this time, so I could do it again later. Now this moment glowed in my head, bookmarked so we could come back to it as many times as I could handle.