I watch her a minute.
The way her jaw tightens.
The way her hands shake when she thinks nobody’s looking.
She’s scared.
Hell, we all are.
But she doesn't quit.
Doesn’t fold.
She just keeps moving.
Fighting.
Surviving.
I cross the room in two strides and catch her hand.
She jerks, startled, but doesn't pull away.
I tug her against me, wrapping my arms around her, holding her tight enough to make my ribs ache.
For a second, she stands stiff.
Then she sags into me, forehead pressing into my chest.
"We can do this," I murmur against her hair. "We will."
Her fingers clutch my shirt like she’s afraid I’ll vanish again.
"I know," she whispers.
And somehow, I think maybe we will.
Maybe we can finally stop running.
Maybe we can finally be a family.
If we live long enough to see that ship lift off.
CHAPTER 21
KELLI
We don’t sleep much after Silpha leaves.
The air’s too thick, too wired, like we’re all waiting for the floor to crack under us.
Traz pulls the busted crate into the center of the room and dumps out everything we’ve got—ammo clips, battered old blasters, a few knives so rusted they’d be more useful for intimidation than killing.
"We gotta be ready," he says, voice low but cutting through the room like a blade.
I nod, grabbing the satchel and pulling out the ration packs, counting them with quick, nervous fingers.
Four days' worth if we stretch it hard.
