He bent down so that his lips were at my ear and whispered, quieter than before, “Wanda, do you think… ?” He fell silent.

“Yes?”

“Well, it looks like I have a room all to myself now. That’s not right.”

“No. There’s not enough space for you to be alone.”

“I don’t want to be alone. But…”

Why wouldn’t he ask? “But what?”

“Have you had enough time to sort things out yet? I don’t want to rush you. I know it’s confusing… with Jared…”

It took me a moment to process what he was saying, but then I giggled quietly. Melanie wasn’t much given to giggling, but Pet had been, and her body betrayed me at this most inopportune moment.

“What?” he demanded.

“I was giving you time to sort things out,” I explained in a whisper. “I didn’t want to rush you—because I know it’s confusing. With Melanie.”

He jumped just a little in surprise. “You thought… ? But Melanie isn’t you. I was never confused.”

I was smiling in the dark now. “And Jared isn’t you.”

His voice was tighter when he answered. “But he’s still Jared. And you love him.”

Ian was jealous again? I shouldn’t have been pleased by negative emotions, but I had to admit this was encouraging.

“Jared is my past, another life. You are my present.”

He was quiet for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice was rough with emotion. “And your future, if you want that.”

“Yes, please.”

And then he kissed me in the most unplatonic way possible under the crowded circumstances, and I was thrilled to remember that I’d been smart enough to lie about my age.

The rains would end, and when they did, Ian and I would be together, partners in the truest sense. This was a promise and an obligation I had never had in all my lives. Thinking of it made me feel joyful and anxious and shy and desperately impatient all at the same time—made me feel human.

After all this had been settled, Ian and I were more inseparable than ever. So when it came time for me to test my new face on the other souls, of course he went with me.

This raid was a relief for me after long weeks of frustration. It was bad enough that my new body was weak and nearly useless in the caves; I couldn’t believe it when the others didn’t want to let me use my body for the one thing it was perfect for.