But then he starts waiting after shifts. Walking with me. Making melaugh—God, it’s infuriating how fast he can still do that. One sideways look. One crooked smirk. One memory dragged out of the dust and suddenly I’m seventeen again, hopeless and raw and wanting everything I swore I’d buried.
He makes it so hard to keep the wall up.
And I need the wall.
Because if it falls—if he sees through it—it’s all over.
That night, I tell myself I’m just passing through the hangar. Just grabbing a report.
But my steps slow at the observation deck.
I see them before they see me.
Kaz is sitting cross-legged on the floor, Dar perched on his knee. The sim screen’s been split—one side for Kaz, one for Dar. They’re flying matching drones through a canyon course, weaving through obstacles like it’s the most serious mission on the planet.
Kaz whoops when Dar beats him to a checkpoint.
Dar squeals, slapping the console.
I watch as Kaz tousles his hair.
Something in my chestshatters.
I press my hand to the glass, watching them like I’m a stranger to both.
This isn’t fair.
It’s everything I ever wanted and everything I was terrified to hope for. Kaz’s laugh. Dar’s joy. The way they mirror each other without even realizing it.
I should be happy.
I should be running down there, dragging Kaz into a hug and blurting out the truth through tears and apologies.
But I don’t.
I just watch.
Frozen.
Torn.
Because part of me wants to protect this moment forever.
And part of me knows it can’t last.
CHAPTER 37
KAZ
Dar’s got peanut butter on his cheek and juice in his hair, and Verzius looks like he’s five seconds from opening the nearest airlock.
“I swear to the Void, this child is part cyclone,” Verzius mutters, trying to wipe Dar’s face with one hand while rescuing a sippy cup from hitting the floor with the other. “Nova owes metwodrinks and a vacation after this.”
Dar giggles and twists away like it’s a game.
“Hold still,” Verzius huffs. “You got jam in your eyebrows. How does that even happen—are youmarinatingin your food now?”
I lean against the doorway, arms crossed, grinning.
