Her fingers curled into his soft, unruly hair. Her mouth opened, and a heat spread through her, as thrilling as it was unexpected.

Val drew away, a strange look on his face. “Serina?”

She laughed a little. “I don’t know what’s come over me. I think I’m a little giddy. We’re going to escape, Val. This is really happening.”

He grinned, a larger, happier smile than she’d ever seen. It lit him up, erasing the weight that usually hung behind his eyes.

He kissed her again, and she lost in herself in the swirl of their tongues and hands and heat.

But they hadn’t escaped yet, and there were a lot of women waiting for their freedom.

Serina drew away reluctantly. As they left the wheelhouse, hand in hand, she asked, “What happens when we get to Azura? With you and me, I mean?”

It was a question she hadn’t had the courage to ask before, out of a superstitious fear that naming a future would put it out of reach. But they’d won. She could let herself imagine the possibilities.

Val squeezed her hand. “Whatever we want.” He shot her a quick, almost shy look and cleared his throat. “In Azura, you can work, own your own belongings and property.… You will be able to choose the life and, um, the companion you want. If you want one.”

“It sounds like a fairy tale, not a real place.” Serina had never really thought about what she wanted, beyond what she was expected to want: to become a Grace. And when she’d arrived here, all she’d wanted was to survive long enough to see Nomi again.

She smiled up at Val. She wanted him. She wanted to learn to read, like Nomi. And she wanted her family to be safe. Beyond that… beyond that she didn’t know. But she loved that she’d have the opportunity to figure it out. For herself. The bubble of joy grew inside her, full of light and air, until she felt as if she might float away.

By dawn, they were ready to leave Mount Ruin.

“All right, is that everyone?” Serina shouted. She helped the last couple of women onto the boat, then looked behind her at the empty path snaking up the hill toward the prison compound. Mount Ruin was really a ruin now, blackened and smoking, full of nothing but ghosts. She waited for a moment, but of course no one else hiked down the path. They’d counted and recounted… carried the injured down first, assigned buddies. Anika had even done a final sweep of the north side of the island—the parts still accessible, anyway—to make sure no one was left behind.