“I love getting a good night’s sleep,” he said. “But I’m glad I made an exception tonight.”

I smile. “Why’s that?”

“So I could ask if you want to dance.”

“Right now?”

“Right now.” He motioned to the glass of water in my hand. “Unless that cup is your dance partner. In which case, I’ll back off.”

I can only imagine my confused look—I wasn’t used to Ox’s humor yet. “Somehow I think he’ll manage,” I replied, setting the cup down and following Ox to the dance floor.

I wish I remembered the next minutes better: Ox’s first gentle touch on the small of my back, the flushed expression on his face as the dance went on and we both were out of breath.

When the music died down, Ox returned to his friends and I to mine. When dawn broke across the horizon and cheers erupted from across the city, I flew back to my room without remembering to say good night to Vera. I was dizzy from the dancing and breathless because I couldn’t get Ox out of my mind. I couldn’t think of sleep, either. I was too busy trying to remember if any of the other girls ever talked about him when we gossiped together, or if I’d seen him ask anyone else to dance.

“No,” I whispered into the dark. He had sat the rest out.

From then on, we flirted secretly, as if the challenge was to not let anyone know what was going on. He’d steal kisses on the back of my neck under the guise of a hug. We made bets on who could fly faster than the other, and raced until we were even, pretending to lament that we’d have to try again the next day. A few times, I was late to my drills just as I had been as a first-year trainee. But it was fun—it is fun—to have someone like that.

So what about Callen, who’s been my anchor all these years? I feel horrible now, knowing how he felt all those months. Those times I was with Ox, and he was still swept up in his own feelings that he failed to notice what was happening. Just as I failed to notice that he was in love with me. I didn’t want to hurt either of them or lose one for the other. It is all maddening, girly silliness that Vera would have reveled in were I able to share all this with her.

But she’s at home, probably alongside the rest of our cohort, gathering resources from Vyrinterra and bolstering our defenses. Maybe she’s taking commands from my sister and the other sentinels, trying to keep ahead of the humans’ next attack.