Something is happening that she knows about, something big—but whatever it is, she keeps it behind the walls around her heart.

Everything in me rages to break past those walls to get back to the Talin I know. And when I look at her, I can tell that she sees my desperation. She gives me a small, sad smile.

I’m going to be okay, she tells me through our bond.

Jeran clears his throat beside us. “I’ll leave you two for a moment,” he whispers. And in the span of a breath, he’s gone, vanished into the darkness as if he belongs there, off to watch for soldiers from a higher vantage point.

We don’t have much time. I reach out for Talin’s hand and squeeze it. She feels different in person now, and even her hand seems hard and harsh, metal where there used to be muscle. She squeezes back.

I make a show of wincing. “Ouch,” I whisper out loud.

She lets out the hush of a laugh. You’re the worst.

I shrug. Not used to someone as strong as I am.

At that, she looks down at our hands and runs her fingers against mine, lacing them together before untangling them again. Her touch sends a shiver through me, and I close my eyes for a second, relishing the feeling. Through our bond, her heart is beating rapidly, and when I open my eyes again, I realize she’s smiling a little.

What? I ask her through our link.

There’s moonlight in your eyes, she answers.

I lean close enough to her for our noses to touch. I must look amazing.

You remind me of the day I first visited you in Newage’s prisons.

At that, I pull back from her. Ah yes, back when I was a disgusting heap of old clothes.

You were sitting under a pool of light. Your eyes had the same reflection.

I hesitate, silent for a moment. Did I look good then?

No.

But you thought I did.

Is that what you think?

I laugh a little. That’s what I think, I answer. It’s been so long since I’ve been able to tease her, to feel even a spark of amusement, that I breathe deep, as if I can savor it in the air.

She studies me with a bemused look, the weight in her eyes a little lighter. And what else are you thinking? she asks.

I smile, then turn quiet. I’m thinking about the future, I finally reply.

She doesn’t answer.

I’m thinking about if we win, I go on. If the Federation can be stopped. I’m wondering where we’d be, what we’d be doing.

Talin turns her gaze briefly away to peer down the thoroughfare, her eyes hitching on each monument along the way, each piece of some lost society.

I’d be on a farm with my mother, she says at last. She’s growing something green and lush. I’m walking down a street lined with broad-leafed trees. Her eyes return to me. With you.