bumps, plying them with water and tight hugs. The first-aid kits open in the wild grass already looked empty.
Roman climbed out of the sludge-filled pipe first. Ankle-deep in the sopping-wet mess, he took Sasha’s arm and steadied her as she took the big step down. Priyanka used his shoulder for balance as she followed the girl toward where Jacob and some of the others were sorting through a pile of soot-stained belongings. Someone must have gone back into the house to gather up a few things to take with them.
Finally, Roman turned back toward me, raising his hands as if to help me down the way he had Sasha. Instead, he hesitated, ghosting a touch over my forearm before I took his hand and stepped down. Roman stared at his own hand the whole time, as if he had to focus all his attention on this simple task.
“Are you all right?” I asked him.
Roman startled, glancing up at me through his mussed dark hair. “I’m not hurt.”
“I meant about Lana,” I said. “Priyanka explained to me a little of what happened. I wish you had just been honest with me.”
“I should have,” he said. “I’m sorry, Suzume.”
“Zu,” I corrected.
He met my eyes again. “Zu. I know it doesn’t matter, and I don’t expect forgiveness, but I wanted to tell you the truth a thousand times.”
“But you also wanted to protect your sister,” I said. From me.
“She’s been surrounded by danger from all sides since the day her powers manifested. There’s almost nothing I wouldn’t do to protect her. To reach her,” Roman said. Then he added, somewhat ruefully, “Lying to someone who was supposed to stay a stranger didn’t feel like that big of a sacrifice at the time.”
“Funny,” I said. “I was trying to keep you a stranger, too.” If there was one thing I was always going to understand, it was doing whatever it took to protect the people you loved. “I set up you and Priyanka to be captured when we got to Haven. Can we call it even?”
His face went slack as my words sank in and he replayed that moment in his mind. To my surprise, he laughed softly, pressing his hand to his head and tilting it back. My eyes fixed on the strong line of his jaw, where there was a small scar just below his right cheek. “Priyanka was right. I’m an idiot. You, on the other hand, are amazing.”
It was spoken as a simple, direct statement of fact. It made me want to believe him, to let that warmth permeate my whole self until it became reality. But all I needed to do was look around me to find the truth. “Yes, amazing at ruining lives.”
The humor left his expression. “That’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” I said. “I shouldn’t have turned on the phone. I’m not stupid. I really do know better, but I did it anyway, and I brought hell down on these kids. I destroyed the one place they felt safe.”
I’d almost single-handedly killed this dream. The thought of facing Ruby and Liam now left my chest too tight to breathe.
“You did what any of us would have,” he said. “For all we know, they could have been tracking it even when it was off.”
“They would have caught up to us before we ever made it out of Nebraska,” I pointed out.
He gave me a stern look. “You’re interrupting my attempt to make you feel better.”
“You know what would make me feel a lot better?” I told him. “Another rousing rendition of ‘Cheer Up, Eileen.’”
“Well, all right.” Roman sucked in a deep breath.
I held up my hands, stopping him. “Kidding.”
Roman’s face turned more sober the longer he watched me. “I meant what I said before. If you hadn’t gotten the noise turned off, none of us would have made it out of there. Everyone pulls a bad card. What matters is how you ultimately play it. You didn’t run. You stayed and fought.”
“So did you.”
Roman ducked his head slightly, absorbing the gratitude in my words. “You had it handled.”
Behind him, Priyanka broke away from Jacob and the older teens and strode toward one of the clusters of kids. She swung the powered-down drone out in front of her.
“Hello, tiny Psilings!” she said, forcing brightness into her voice. “I’m your new friend Priyanka, and I’m going to show you how to disassemble a drone and steal its useful parts!”
Roman turned, watching as she knelt beside them. “She’s not hurt, either.”
I knew