Oh.
Torian faced her fully, and for a moment it felt like even the trees held their breaths. Amelia’s eyes flicked to Torian’s lips, and Torian’s heart stuttered. Her next words were quiet: “If you take the easy path, and I take the hard one, I guess I should be glad they realigned so fast.”
It seemed to take Amelia a moment to remember that a proper conversation was a statementand response. Her mouth opened, clearly searching for words. Her body leaned closer to Torian’s, their foreheads an inch apart.
“Sometimes, I feel like my pathisyour path,” Amelia finally said.
Torian inhaled slightly, eyes widening.
Amelia didn’t move forward, but she also didn’t pull back.
It was the closest they’d been since the kiss six months ago.
And then, because the galaxy was a cruel, unforgiving beast, Celise stomped into the clearing.
It wasn’t a subtle entrance, either. Her sister cursed loudly as she fought past the unruly underbrush, coughing from the exertion. “Perrosk!” Celise bellowed hoarsely. “What in thefuckare you doing out here? I didn’t say you could get out of bed, much less tromp around in the wilderness—”
They recoiled faster than a kid playing with live wires. Amelia leapt to her feet, bracing on the bench as she composed herself. It was unfair how fast she recovered, considering Torian’s heart still pounded and her brain seemed foggy.
Amelia offered a dry smile. “Doctor, what a surprise. I heard you say that exercise is the path to a healthy—”
“Don’t.” Celise narrowed her eyes, first at Amelia, then at Torian. She waggled her finger. “And you, Torian. You brought me here to run a clinic. You should know better than tosteal my patients.”
Torian spluttered. “Wait. I was just sitting here—”
“Save it. I don’t know what relationship you two have, and frankly, I don’t care. But you need rest, Perrosk. Get your ass back to my clinic.”
When Celise had said she was going to earn her medical license, their mother laughed and laughed. At the time, it felt rude, and Celise was righteously indignant. Now, Torian was starting to see her mother’s humor.
Amelia didn’t move. “I told you before, I’m fine.”
“There is no way that’s medically true.” Celise narrowed her eyes.
Torian tried to insert herself, raising her hands to calm everyone. “I’ll make sure she gets back, Lise—”
“You don’t want my ire either, Torian. Moss shared the report of your heart rate today, and its analysis from yesterday. You’re equally exhausted.” Celise crossed her arms, a malicious glint in her eyes. “You wanted me on this space station? Congratulations. You got me.Allof me.”
“I have regrets,” Torian grumbled.
“Your sister is scary,” Amelia agreed.
“Tough shit. Get back to the clinic. Both of you.”
But with little else to do, they trudged after Celise.
Inside the clinic, Torian lay on one bed and Amelia lay on the other, and they both closed their eyes. Celise read a book in the corner long enough that Torian almost did fall asleep, and then finally seemed satisfied that her patients weren’t escaping again. She retired upstairs with threats and promises, which left Amelia laughing and Torian vaguely scared.
After she was gone, Torian rolled on her side and faced Amelia, who mirrored her position. Their cots were close enough. In the quiet hours of Vaesa’s morning, surrounded by moss and aliens and hope, Torian’s hand brushed Amelia’s—and the two shared a private smile.
EPILOGUE
“You’re almost there,” Lyric said over Torian’s headset.
“That’s good to know,” Amelia drawled, her voice sounding mechanicalized through their envirosuits, “because from our perspective, it’sfucking impossibleto tell.”
They were traveling through one of the long, round tubes that connected the smaller bio-domes to the center of Vaesa—a process that had seemed so straightforward until about thirty minutes ago. Torian thought they’d be simple walkways, closed in on either end with an airlock or energy barrier.
But apparently the nylarians of old had decided that even these corridors needed to be beautifully filled with plants from Verdaan.
