“Good?”
“Really good.”
I smile and pick up my fork.
But I’m not really thinking about the food. I’m looking at her—really looking. The way her face has filled out since she got here. The color in her cheeks. The brightness in her eyes that wasn’t there those first few days.
She looks healthier. Stronger. Morehere.
“How are you feeling about everything?” I ask.
She laughs, a little exasperated. “Which thing in particular?”
“Fair point.” I grin. “I don’t know—what’s bothering you the most?”
The smile fades. She pushes a piece of pasta around her plate.
“Well. It was Silas. But now…”
She trails off. Doesn’t finish.
I put down my fork and reach across the table. Take her hand.
“Whatever it is,” I say. “You can tell us… Tell me.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t. I really can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because he said if I did—” She stops herself. Presses her lips together.
And just like that, the warmth in my chest turns to ice.
He said.
Silas said something to her. Threatened her. And she’s been carrying it alone because he made her think she had to.
I’m furious. Not at her—never at her—but at him. At the idea that he’s trying to isolate her from us. Trying to make her think she can’t trust the people who would burn the world down for her.
“Nova—”
“Can we talk about something else?” She pulls her hand back. Reaches for her water glass. “Please?”
I want to push. I want to demand she tell me everything so I can figure out how to fix it.
But this is a date. Our first date. And I don’t want to ruin it by making her feel cornered.
“Sure.” I pick up my fork again. “Tell me something good. Something you’re looking forward to.”
She blinks. Like the question surprised her.
“I don’t know,” she says slowly. “I’ve never really… thought about it like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like there’s a future to look forward to.”
The words hit me somewhere deep.
