He looks tired. Hollow. But steady.
“I’ll meet you at the cliff’s edge tomorrow. The one overlooking the vent fields. Drel says the air quality will be stable. You remember the spot.”
My heart thuds.
“I’ll wait,” he says. “Even if you don’t come.”
The feed ends.
The next morning, the sky above Corven-7 is a soft, stormy lavender. Nessa clutches my hand on the tram like she always does—tight, warm, humming to herself as the scenery blurs past.
She doesn’t know what today is.
She doesn’t know who’s waiting at the edge of the horizon.
And I don’t know who I am anymore.
A mother?
A coward?
A survivor?
Maybe all of them.
But today… maybe I can be something else.
CHAPTER 16
RYNN
Iwatch from behind the door. Not proud of it. Not ashamed, either.
This is my daughter. This ismylife.
But right now, it belongs tothem.
Vael stands at the edge of the cliff, the geothermal vents in the distance sending long, ghostly ribbons of mist into the air. The land around us is all gray stone and soft moss, dotted with sulfur-bloom wildflowers. The wind carries the sharp tang of ozone and mineral steam. It curls through Nessa’s hair, which whips around her cheeks like flames.
She holds tight to her claw-toy in one hand, the other balled at her side.
“Who’s that?” she asks, not looking at me.
I kneel beside her. My voice is hoarse. “He’s someone… important.”
Nessa’s golden eyes—so damnedVakutanit hurts—narrow on him.
“He looks sad.”
“He’s been through a lot.”
She says nothing for a long moment. Then, “Am I supposed to say hi?”
“No.” I touch her shoulder. “Only if you want to.”
She nods. Once. Sharp. She’s braver than I am.
And then, slowly, she walks toward him.
