He arches a brow ridge. “You say that a lot.”
“I mean it this time.”
He studies me anyway, golden eyes sharp but warm, then nods and sits beside me on the steps like this is the most natural place in the world for a walking war crime to park himself.
Up close, he smells like clean metal and sun-warmed air, armor scrubbed down but never fully rid of the battlefield. There’s a faint tang of energy discharge clinging to him, like static after a storm. It’s grounding. Familiar.
I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding and stare out at the plaza.
People mill around below—reporters pretending not to stare, Alliance officers pretending they don’t see the reporters, civilians pretending this is just another day. The city keeps moving because that’s what cities do. They don’t stop to process your trauma.
“Hey,” Voltar says softly.
I glance at him.
“You were incredible,” he murmurs.
I snort. “I didn’t punch anyone or flip a table. I feel like I underperformed.”
“That’s restraint,” he says. “Terrifying restraint.”
I smile despite myself.
He leans closer, voice dropping. “You’d make a terrifying soldier.”
I tilt my head. “You say that like it’s a compliment.”
“It is,” he says easily. “You held your ground without armor. Without weapons. You didn’t flinch.”
I think of Otto’s glare. The way his disbelief curdled into rage when he realized intimidation didn’t work anymore.
“I flinched,” I say quietly. “Just not where he could see it.”
Voltar’s mouth curves into something softer than a grin. “That counts.”
I watch a pair of Alliance officers escort Saul across the far side of the plaza—head down, wrists bound, bravado long gone. He looks smaller without his uncle’s shadow to hide in.
“Did you see his face?” I ask.
“Saul’s?”
“Otto’s,” I correct. “When Tugun took the stand.”
Voltar lets out a low chuckle. “I thought Otto was going to rupture something.”
“Worth it,” I say. “Completely worth it.”
Silence settles between us, but it’s an easy one. The kind that doesn’t demand filling.
My hand drifts to my stomach without thinking.
Voltar notices immediately.
“You okay?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I say. “Just… checking in.”
“With the tiny terror?” he asks solemnly.
