Page 69 of Sixth
His voice sank so only she heard it. “We are not done with that kiss.”
Her laugh came out thin and grateful. “Good.”
He brushed his thumb along her cheekbone. The contact sent a slow warmth down over her throat and into her chest. It steadied her faster than anything elsehad.
“Course plotted,”Core said into the calm that followed. The voice had steadied but still held a tremor.“Path set to the Council world. Forges dark. Systems clean. All readings clear.”
Apex looked at the others. “We move,” he said. “We have truth to deliver.”
Hannah touched Locus’s arm and nodded. Winn slipped her hand into Jo’Nay’s and squeezed. Lume hovered in a bright arc and then tucked herself against Emmy’s shoulder.
They left the forge behind. The corridor lights came up in a smooth climb instead of a stutter. The ship’s hum lost its fever and settled into a steady throb that made Emmy think of a heartbeat at rest after a sprint.
On the way to the bridge, Apex’s hand found the small of her back. He didn’t steer. He didn’t direct. He matched her steps like a promise.
The bridge windows opened on a field of stars that looked close enough to touch. When Core engaged the drive, the stars stretched into clean white lines that pulled them forward like strands of silk. Emmy stood shoulder to shoulder with Apex and watched the first threads elongate.
Behind them, the forge bay’s remains were released into the void, Core igniting the engines until the debris vaporized in a burst of white fire. It burned away every trace of Voss, scattering him into nothing but dust and light—his final, absolute destruction carried out as they leapt toward the stars.
“Ready,” she said.
“Always,” he said. A warrior’s vow.
Behind them, Jo’Nay murmured to Winn. His voice filled with quiet pride. Locus drew Hannah closer and kissed the top of her head with a tenderness that would have surprised anyone who didn’t know him. Lume made a pleased sound that vibrated in the bones of theroom.
“I will not let anyone inside me again without your consent,”Core said.“I will ask. Iwill learn. Iwill guard.”
Emmy smiled. “We know.”
She took Apex’s hand and laced her fingerswith his. Heat pulsed under her skin and through his. The ship leaned intothe climb. The streaking stars brightened. The future narrowed to a point of light ahead and widened to a horizon behind. She thought of halls of glass and the way sound would change inside them when a different kind of law spoke. She thought of the way Apex had said alive and made it sound like a prayer and a challengeboth.
“Let’s go take back what belongs to us,” shesaid.
He turned his head and looked at her mouth. “We will take it.”
He turned his head and closed the last inch between them, his mouth finding hers. The kiss was quiet, unhurried, and full of promise—aseal to everything they had survived. It deepened just enough to make her breath catch.
When he finally drew back, he pulled her tight, both of them breathing the same ragged air. “We will take it,” he said again, softer this time, and she smiled through the ache of it, knowing this was what home feltlike.
“Drive stable,”Core said.“Systems stable. Hearts… stable.”
Emmy laughed softly at that. She didn’t correct the AI. It was right enough. She leaned into Apex’s side and watched the stars draw their paths. Ahead, the Council world waited. Behind, the forge bay cooled.
Alive, she thought. The word filled her mouth like warmth.
Stars surged. The ship answered. The rest of their fight opened like a road of light.
