“I don’t necessarily mean for the plan,” I told her. “If or when we get everyone, or get mostly everyone… where do you want to be? Is there anyone you want to be with?”

“I want to find a nice rocky spot down by the water,” she said.

“Do you want company?”

“No,” she said.

“Is this because of the bite? Because I was on edge, my power was weird, it—”

“No,” Sveta said.

I felt so tense, and the refusal and rejection didn’t help.

“No,” Sveta said, again, “If there was more time, or if I knew I’d wake up and have a chance to move somewhere else, to have another place, I’d have a sit on my own, and I’d spend some time with you. But I have to choose one, and I think, unless you really want my company, I’d like to have a moment of quiet.”

“I can understand that,” Rain said.

I wasn’t sure I could.

Sveta seemed to read my mind. She met my eyes. “I spent so long fighting me. Then I got a body, the prosthetic one, it felt like a crutch. The one Bough gave me felt like a cheat, or an illusion. The Simurgh scared me, but… I feel like I can make peace with this. I’d like to sit with that peace for a bit.”

“And you like the water,” I told her.

“I do. Thanks to my time with Breakthrough, I know why, now.”

“You are my best friend, you know. You’re family. I don’t want to end this distant.”

“And you’re my best friend,” Sveta said. “Really. As infuriating as you can be.”

I wanted to say something more, but the words escaped me.

“What about you, Rain?” Sveta asked. “Erin?”

“Erin’s with Lachlan,” Rain said. “I haven’t really been in touch with her.”

“Chastity?” I asked.

“That… feels weird,” he admitted.

“You like her, don’t you?”

“I think. She’s funny, she’s nice. A little intense, even if that’s the pot calling the kettle black. But hanging out together and holding each other before everything goes dark seems… like a lot for a first date.”

Sveta snorted.

“I’m not being weird, right?” he asked, sounding worried. “It’s…”

He trailed off. Two normal arms and one mechanical arm raised up a bit, then flopped to his side.

“I don’t know if it matters,” I said.

“I’ll think about it,” he told us.

“Come on. There’s people to check on,” I said.

⊙

The room was filled with monitors, and the monitors glowed red, mapping out the spreading cracks, the glow of the land beneath the cracks. Different clocks showed different countdowns.

“Heyyyy,” Kenzie said, sounding very lighthearted. She swiveled in her chair, and her face was hidden by her mask.

“Hey,” I told her, quiet.

“You got dosed?” she asked.

I nodded.

“Dose me?”