“Travel safe, Brother,” Tyler Jones says quietly. “Someone’s got to keep an eye on our girl.”
? ? ? ? ?
Caersan barely spares us a glance as we make our way into the central chamber. The bodies of the Waywalkers are still here, and the Starslayer sits among them on his throne, the stink of death hanging in the air.
The cracks are all over his face now, lit from within. But his mind is more powerful than ever, battle-hardened, surer for all the practice we’ve had. I can feel his energy crackling around us, gold and the dark red of dried blood.
As if in response, I twine my own mind around Kal’s, slip my fingers into his. We are stronger together. More than ever, I’m sure that the Eshvaren were wrong—I was never meant to burn it all away, to shed the things that matter most, so I could harden myself into the trigger of a deadly weapon.
Love is the beginning and the end of everything I do. It’s my reason. It’s the answer to every question. It gives me strength. And my love is with me.
As we take our places, I can feel the thrill of the impending battle bubbling up inside me. The knowledge that soon, soon, I’ll be linking myself to the Weapon, and soon, soon, I’ll feel that rush. It’s like surfing a tsunami—you’ll wind up dead at the end, but you’ll have a helluva time along the way.
Sempiternity’s broadcast comes crackling over comms, echoing around the room, and as I listen, I can feel the station’s exhausted Waywalkers gearing up to offer up the last of their energy to rip open just one more rift.
“Sempiternity fleet, prepare to jump in ten, nine, eight, seven …”
The voices of Sempiternity’s soon-to-be ghosts echo in my mind.
Tell them …
I wish …
If I had another chance …
I curl my hands into fists. I’ll make another chance for them, or I’ll die trying. And I’ll always carry their memories with me—the memories of the people they became, in this future I’m working so hard to erase.
As long as I live.
I look across at Kal, and he meets my gaze squarely.
“I’m sorry it’s ending this way,” I whisper.
“While we fight, there is hope,” he replies just as soft. “Nothing is ending yet, Aurora.”
And the golden glint of his mind is like a wink from Scarlett—a promise that I might know a lot, but I don’t know it all, and he’s not done trying.
“… three, two, one …”
The tear opens in front of us, a boiling explosion of color, and as one, every last independent creature in the galaxy plunges through.
The Ra’haam is waiting.
A huge fleet of ships clad in moss and flowers, vines trailing out into space like questing fingers.
I see Redlich’s red tugboat explode into glittering shards ahead of us.
And then everything is chaos.
24
SCARLETT
“Ow, Finian. Your elbow is sticking into my back.”
“That’s not my elbow,” Fin murmurs.
“Okay. Not that I don’t appreciate the enthusiasm, but time and place?”
“It is my elbow,” Zila hisses. “Now will you two please be quiet.”
The fighter shakes around us as Nari slows its approach. In the dim light of its hold, Fin shoots me a wink. And while his smile makes me smile in return, I can’t ignore the hard ball of ice I feel growing in my gut.
Maybe this time, I think to myself.
Maybe this time, we’ll pull it off.
We’re crammed in the cargo hold of Nari’s fighter as she approaches Glass Slipper Station for what seems like the hundredth time today. But when I snarked about it last run, Zila informed me it was only the fifty-first, so I don’t complain again. It’s nice to see Z opening up a little about her feelings—Maker knows it’s a big step for her to be snapping at anyone. But honestly, I could do with a little less of the tetchy right now.
The fighter slows to a halt beside the waste disposal system.
The doors open soundlessly at our backs, and slipping out into the great big black, we run through the play like we always do.
Ejection tube.
Morgue. Pinkerton’s key.
Elevator shaft.
Hab level.
Distract guards.
And finally, we reconvene in Pinkerton’s office.
This part is all clockwork by now. Alert sirens and wailing PAs. The station is coming apart just like always, and even though we’ve lived this day more than fifty times now, I’m growing more and more afraid with every attempt. I can’t believe that just a few loops ago, Fin and I were so blasé we decided fooling around was a good idea.