Page 67 of Aviatrix

Three words I once lived for. Now they feel like water. Like something I can’t quite hold onto.

My fingers tremble as I close my eyes. “I… can’t.”

Because I’m not sure if what I feel for him is love anymore. And if it is, it’s not like before. Not like when he proposed. Not like when I believed every promise he made. Not now, after all the lies.

Was it all a lie?

Or just the last few months?

“I’ll see you soon,” Lark says.

“Yeah,” I manage. “See you soon.”

I hang up and lean back in the chair, blowing out a long, frustrated breath.

Amber is safe. She’s fine. She made it. She’s alive.

I rise, heart heavy, and head into the corridor.

We’re all safe. For now. But what happens when we’re not?

I push the thought aside as I step into the hangar, heading straight for VAL.

The quiet is broken by a voice.

“She’s a beauty,” one of the crew members calls out.

“She is,” I agree, letting my gaze trace the matte black surface. She glistens under the shoddy lights like something out of a dream.

“Where’d you pick her up?” he asks.

I hesitate. “I… uh…”

“Ah,” he says with a knowing look. “Classified, right?”

“Yeah.” I nod, unsure if it’s the truth or just easier that way.

But the question sticks. Was VAL always tucked away at that sun-bleached desert base? Or did someone plant her there?

My thoughts drift. First to Eli’s unexpected arrival. The thumb drive. Gary’s warning that someone is coming for her. Then, to Thea’s visit. The alarms. Something was off. Or maybe I’m just chasing shadows.

“She’s fueled and ready,” the crewman says, turning to leave. But then, he pauses. “You ever seen the sun rise over the harbor?”

I shake my head. “Can’t say I have.”

He jerks his thumb toward the hangar doors. “Come on. You don’t want to miss it.”

I follow, the sound of my boots echoing against the steel walls.

He pulls the door open, and I head into the dark morning as the cool air wraps itself around me. A thin orange ribbon stretches across the water, making the rows of ships glow.

I hold my breath as dawn unfurls over the horizon.

For a moment, the world stills. The horror of the past week slips from my shoulders. I just let myself be. I let myself enjoy something as simple and profound as a sunrise. Another day we weren’t promised.

Footsteps sound behind me. I don’t need to turn. I know it’s him. I feel Eli like a current in my blood, intimate and unrelenting.

He stops beside me, his arm brushing mine.