“I didn’t come here to win you back,” she says. “I came to save him. He’s dying, Kyldak. His immune system is collapsing. The hybrid stem disorder—they said he wouldn’t make it past his second birthday unless I found a compatible donor. And guess what? There’s only one in the goddamn galaxy.”
My stomach caves in.
“You used me.”
She nods. No denial. Just raw honesty. “Yes. I did. I stole your sample. I hacked your lab. I lied. And I would do it again, a thousand times, to keep him breathing.”
I stare at her.
“You could’ve told me.”
“You think I didn’t want to? Every night I slept in that chair, I wanted to scream it at you. But I couldn’t—what if you said no? What if I lost everything?”
“Youalreadydid.”
The silence thickens. The ruin hums. Even the air feels heavier.
I sit down beside her.
She blinks in shock.
“You’re not running?” she whispers.
“I’m tired of running,” I mutter. “And I want to know everything. No more riddles.”
She leans her head back against the wall, exhales slow. “Kel is smart. Smarter than me. He builds things out of broken code. He sees patterns in light. But he gets sick. Fast. Fevers that spike and drop. Blood cell collapse.”
My heart splits.
“Why not tell me sooner?”
“I didn’t think I had the right.”
“You hadeveryright. You were his mother.”
“And you were his father. But I didn’t know if you still wanted to be.”
I reach out and take her hand. It trembles.
“I do,” I say. “I want to know him. I want to fight for him. I want tolivefor him.”
Her breath hitches.
“Then come with us,” she whispers.
I nod, slow. “Let’s bring him back. Let’s bring us back.”
She leans into me, and I wrap my arms around her. We hold each other like we’ll shatter otherwise.
Eventually, she pulls back just enough to look at me.
“I’m sorry I lied,” she says.
“I’m sorry I made you feel like you had to.”
A long silence.
Then I smile, just barely.
