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The tall shape paused. Its luminous hand withdrew an inch from my temple. The grinding hum that had been building hitched and stuttered.

“There you go, clever girl.” I swallowed hard, glancing at Rennick to ensure he was still behaving. “You can tell the difference. Feel it. I didn’t die in that fire. And I want to figure out how to help you get out of this loop. But I need to be alive to do that.”

The resin around my legs stopped climbing. The white light in the channels dimmed, and the tall shape pulled back, its edges softening.

“Talk to your ship, Rennick,” I whispered.

“She never listens to me.” His gaze didn’t leave me.

“Make her listen! You bought her because you’re a stubborn bastard who doesn’t walk away from problems. You could have sold her on, or junked her when she refused to bond with you, but you kept her. Prove to her that you’re worth listening to.”

He pressed his hands against the floor, his eyes still on me. “I know you’re hurting and confused. But I’m here, and I’m not leaving. Cass isn’t in this partnership, so you need to let her go. She can’t stay with us. Being bonded to you isn’t her destiny. She already has a family on this planet.”

The hum shifted, almost as if the ship went, huh.

“You weren’t supposed to be alone this long,” he continued. “Nobody should’ve left you like this. Whatever happened, I’m here, and I’m not going anywhere. But you must let her go.”

The resin around my legs softened, like fingers unclenching one by one, and the ghosts pulled back toward the alcoves. The tall one went last, its hand still extended toward me like it didn’t know how to stop reaching for something it needed.

I pulled my legs free, scrambled back, and Rennick caught me against his chest before I hit the wall. His arms locked around me, holding me in place.

The ghosts hovered near the alcoves, dimmer and smaller, like candles burning down. One by one, they sank back into the recesses.

I was shaking. Full-body, core-deep. Rennick’s arms stayed around me, and his body heat kept me together.

“I’m okay,” I whispered, repeating myself several times, my teeth still chattering.

“No, you’re not. And that’s also fine,” he murmured against my hair.

“It’s adrenaline. It’ll pass. I’ve been here before. But it involved bombs, not ghosts trying to assimilate me.” I tipped my head against his chest.

The ship’s hum settled beneath us, sounding tired, and the light dimmed to a soft pulse, like a body breathing after a long cry.

“What did you see?” Rennick asked. “You got another memory flash, didn’t you?”

“It was the fire again.” I pulled back an inch, feeling steadier in his arms. “I’ve been getting pieces. She showed me a Kelvane running. They were scared and had lost control.”

“Our ships never work against us. Once we bond, they’re our support until death or the bond is severed, which is never simple. Someone must have sabotaged her.” Rennick pulled me closer, seeming reluctant to let me go, even though he’d told the ship I couldn’t stay. “Then they cleaned up their mess. They buried what happened, and they tried to bury the ship’s memory along with it and hide her in an auction house.”

“They did a lousy job,” I muttered against his solid chest.

The sealed entrance cracked open. Doc’s face appeared in the gap, scanner first, checking readings before she’d finished squeezing through.

I stepped back from Rennick, still unsteady on my feet.

“You’re alive! Good.” Doc pressed the scanner against my chest. “Your stats went places I never want to see again. What the fuck happened in here? More spooky ghost shit?”

Tambi and Monica pushed through behind her.

“My ship isn’t haunted.” Rennick growled the words as his gaze cut to me.

“Those things looked spooky to me.” Monica shrugged. “And I have no issue with ghosts. I mean, you have to believe in a thing for it to be true, right?”

Doc huffed out a breath, still checking her scanner reading. “Sure, we’ve seen no evidence of ghosts since we stepped onboard the Hollow Chorus. No disembodied voices, spectral mists, misted windows with handprints. None of that points to ghosties, does it.”

Tambi pursed her lips. “Let’s give up on the labels and settle on energy discharges that look a hell of a lot like ghosts and leave it at that. What do we need for an exorcism? You want these things out of here, Rennick?”

Rennick nodded. “The trapped energy needs to be at peace. Whatever is causing these fluctuations, my ship can’t heal.”