Rain exchanged a look with Cassie, then made a face. “Let’s go back. It’s been a long morning.”

Chastity couldn’t really bring herself to argue the point that aggressively. She went with them to the bus stop, and put an arm around Cassie’s shoulders, while Cassie rested her head on Chastity’s shoulder.

The bus arrived, and they loaded their stuff into the guts of it before filing in through the front door, heading straight to the back seat. Chastity was sandwiched between her best friend and the boy she liked, and it was nice. She could feel the entirety of both of them, and the fact that they were calm and okay helped her to feel calm and okay.

The internal voice that had chased her all morning still felt like it was there, but in this, sitting on a bus, and seeing the extent of the ruins, things were okay.

The city was a mess, borderline unsalvageable. The cracks were still there, even if they weren’t glowing ominously anymore. The Titans were gone. The Machine Army had been briefly placed on pause, but it had adapted.

The plan, it seemed, was that Gimel would belong to capes, and to the people closest to the capes. The refugees would settle just past the portals, in corner worlds that would become central hubs and settlements.

The Machine Army would be a problem. So would Cheit. Capes themselves would be a problem.

But it was okay.

She nuzzled Cassie’s head with her face. “You smell like wet dog.”

Cassie laughed. “Not a lot, I hope.”

“Just a little.”

“Are you sure that isn’t Doon?” Rain asked.

“It’s me,” Cassie said, at the same time Chastity said, “it’s her.”

Saying the dog’s name had got its attention, and Doon rose from its sleeping spot at Cassie’s feet, going to Rain.

Just petting the dog seemed to lower Rain’s blood pressure, doing away with the distraction that Chastity herself provided. Cassie was just a naturally happy, calm person.

It soothed. Vicariously, she could take that peace and happiness, and—

She nodded off, her thoughts dipping into the incoherence that came with approaching sleep. Cassie adjusted, leaning in closer.

She was safe here, with her people. Not from the other people on the bus, or from attacks, or from anything of that sort. But from that nagging, horrible, hateful voice in her head.

⊙

Freshly showered, dressed up in a black blouse with a low-cut V-neck, embroidered black pants with a flower lace pattern, and a nice coat that was leaps and bounds different from the rugged coat she’d worn for scavenging. Her boots had raised heels.