“Is it safe?” I ask.
Evo’s lips part like he wants to object, but his eyes flash with light, and he nods.
I hesitantly lift a hand to my helmet and open it. The air is thin but improves with every breath.
“Can I go now?” I ask.
“Yes.” Evo releases the control panel and begins returning to his regular metallic shade. “Castor is staying behind to guard. Eon?”
Eon steps back from guarding me as Poppy joins us.
“Hello, Aera. I am Poppy. We have not yet met.”
She tries a smile, but it is more teeth than I expect.
“Uh, hi.”
“I need to work on this happy gesture.”
“Anger suits you better,” Diesel chuckles from where he and Sarge charge the Life Support system.
“Eon and I will check out the bridge,” Poppy tells me before turning to Evo. “Go makepeace.”
Evo sighs through his nose, but doesn’t object as he guides me out of the room. As we leave the doorway, I realize I haven’t thanked the Titans who brought life back to my colony’s ship. I catch the doorframe and lean back inside. Castor, Diesel, and Sarge glance at me.
“Thank you.”
I don’t wait for their response because I’m eager to see if anyone is left. The other crews from Rebel ships now fill the hallways with litters, medical bags, and rifles on their backs.
“We can’t get in,” a woman calls to us from down the hallway. “It’s not that the system is down, but that it’s DNA-coded.”
I push through the people. “I’m coming! It’s a Solcrue protection measure.”
“That wouldn’t stop them,” the woman says.
“I know. But it would slow them down.”
“Raven...” Eon stops beside the woman as Poppy heads for the cockpit. “Be careful, beautiful.”
She looks up at him with love and adoration. “You too.”
I slide in beside the access panel and remove my glove. “You two are together?”
Raven laughs softly once. “Yeah. He literally snuck his way into my life. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
While I’m curious what it’s like to date a Titan, I do have other priorities. The panel scans my trembling hand. But I’m talking to her partly out of curiosity, partly to distract myself from the fear of what we will find. I am worried about Isa, Brodin, and Charlee the most. “I never thought of humans and Titans... together.”
She snorts. “It’s agoodfit.”
Evo coughs and looks away as he stands behind me. He rubs the back of his neck like he’s uncomfortable.
“Voice code required,” the door says.
“Fire under my wings. Fury in my soul. Solcrue will reap what they’ve sown.”
The door clunks as the airlock splits open, and the doors peel apart. Daken turns around like he’s drunk. His eyes are sunken, and his breathing is labored. He fights to lift his rifle. “Who’s there? Stay b-back!”
Evo gently takes the rifle as relief overwhelms me.
