He stands watching us, the flames attacking several more rows of pews, and then a sneer slowly breaks across his face. From the corner of my eye, I can see Adelina reach into her dress and remove something, but I can’t tell what it is. She stands beside me, her eyes aimed at the back of the nave. And then, ever so gently, she reaches up and pushes me behind her.

“I can’t make up for lost time, or for the wrongs that I’ve done,” she says. “But I’m certainly going to try. Don’t let them catch you.”

Just then the Mogadorian comes charging towards us, right down the center aisle. He’s far larger than he looked from a distance, and he lifts a long sword that glows a fluorescent green color.

“Get as far from here as you can,” Adelina says without turning. “Be brave, Marina.”

Six places the Xitharis into the console’s cupholder and then slides out of the SUV. “I’m running late,” she says as she closes her door.

Sam and I both exit the vehicle after carefully studying the parking lot, the other cars, the people milling about.

I round the front of the hood and watch as Six hugs Sam.

“Kick some ass over there,” he says.

They separate and she says, “Sam, thank you for helping us even when you don’t have to. Thank you for being so amazing.”

“You’re amazing,” he whispers. “Thanks for letting me tag along.”

To my surprise and Sam’s, Six steps forward and kisses him on the cheek. They smile at each other, and once Sam sees me over Six’s shoulder, he blushes, opens the driver’s door, and climbs inside.

I don’t want her to go. As much as it pains me to admit it, I know I might never see her again. She looks at me with a certain tenderness that I’m not sure I’ve ever seen from her before.

“I like you, John. For the past few weeks, I’ve tried convincing myself that I don’t, especially because of Sarah and how much of an idiot you can be . . . but I do. I do like you.”

The words knock me over. I hesitate, then say “I like you, too.”

“Do you still love Sarah?” she asks.

I nod. She deserves the truth. “I do, but it’s all really confusing. She may have turned me in, and she may never want to see me again because I told her I thought you were pretty. But Henri once said that the Loric fall in love once in their life. And so that means I will always love Sarah.”