Page 326 of Reaper Said Mine

“No,” I tell both of them.

Bellamy sighs. “Leadership has made you boring.”

“Leadership has made me legally prudent.”

“Worse.”

A deep voice from the conference room doorway says, “I could speak to Dawson.”

The room changes before I turn.

Not fear.

Not anymore.

Awareness.

Gnash stands in the doorway with Skahar beside him. He wears dark civilian clothing rather than armor, though no outfit in existence could make him look harmless. His silver hair is pulled back loosely, and a newly healed scar cuts across one forearm where a piece of docking debris caught him during repairs last week. In one hand, he carries a sealed financial slate. In the other, he holds a paper cup that looks ridiculous between his claws.

Skahar squints at Bellamy.

“You are shorter when not standing on furniture.”

Bellamy places one hand over his heart. “And you are crueler every time we meet.”

“Then we both improve.”

Gnash’s eyes find mine.

The bond warms immediately, steady and deep.

Even now, after everything, that first rush still has the power to unmake my composure if I let it. The difference is that I no longer fear it. Loving him does not feel like being pulled away from myself. It feels like another kind of gravity, one I can stand inside without disappearing.

“Good morning,” I say.

His mouth curves. “It is morning?”

“Technically.”

“Then yes.”

“You didn’t sleep.”

“Neither did you.”

“I slept four hours.”

“In pieces.”

“They count.”

“Poorly.”

Bellamy leans toward Rana. “They’re flirting through health violations again.”

Rana nods. “Disgusting but educational.”

I ignore them and walk into the conference room with Gnash and Skahar. The room looks better than it did when we took the suite, though the ugly table remains a moral challenge. Through the broad glass wall, the market glows below us with movement, color, scaffolding, vendor lights, and the flickering screens of open trade boards updating in real time. The trade routes are not fully recovered, but they are breathing again. Freighters from Ybessa, Bravax, Melisant Spur, and three neutral houses have docked this week. Refugee convoys have begun moving out of emergency shelters and into rebuilt outer habitats. The region does not trust peace yet, but it is beginning to test its weight.