She vanishes into the crowd again.
And I stand in that bar, heart pounding, bruised, breathing, hopelessly alive.
CHAPTER 11
ALAINA
Idon’t hear it on the comms. Don’t see it on the holo-board. I justfeelit—like the air shifted in the bar, a tremor running through the floor. The rumors come first through soft voices, gossip clipped in back hallways:
“Did you see him on the plaza this morning?”
“He’s back.”
“Bar folks say he’s scheduled to appear tonight.”
My chest hammers. My fork hovers over cold supper. Caelix babbles in his high voice—light, innocent—oblivious to the storm brewing.
I swallow. I tell myself it’s lies. But I erase them one by one.
I slip into work early. The bar’s still quiet. Neon glow paints the floor. The air smells of spilled liquor, cold metal, and faded smoke stains. I trace the coordinates of old steps, moving among empty stools and the echo of my own boots.
Jorla is stacking glasses, humming a low note. She pauses and watches me for a moment.
“Something’s off,” she says, voice low.
“Just tired,” I lie. My voice echoes. It tastes hollow.
She nods instead of prodding. She’s learned. Some things are too raw to ask.
Mid-shift, the door hisses open. It doesn’t sound like other doors. Itfeelslike one I know.
Footsteps. Heavy. Scaled. Cautious.
My back stiffens. I grip the rag so tight my knuckles whiten. A fellow server freezes mid-step. A patron’s laugh breaks off.
I don’t look.
Until I do.
When I finally glance, he’s exactly where I always feared.
Troka.
A ghost in flesh. Rough around the edges from war. Shadows under his eyes. Scars I never saw before. But still—his golden gaze finds mine like a magnet.
My breath catches. A drink tumbles in a tray behind me—crack goes the glass. Heads whip. Bar staff murmur.
He steps to the bar. The world tilts.
I swallow. “You’re here,” I say, voice more brittle than I planned.
He nods once. Doesn’t smile.
“Coffee?” I force a laugh. “Still addictive, still here.”
He doesn’t settle for coffee. He says, “Scotch.”
I nod and move to pour. My hands shake. The glass clinks too loud.
