of creamy marble, restored and polished from the original ruins, are juxtaposed with newer stone pillars, forming paths that lead every which way, each ending in a long, rectangular pool of hot water. Windows cut high into the walls let the late afternoon sun stream in, illuminating patches of the marble floors and pools with golden light. It’s quiet and peaceful down here, so still that I can almost forget about the revelations we’d seen today.
I remove my long Striker coat and toss it onto the floor near one of the steaming pools, then strip off the bandolier for my daggers, the belt and blades at my hips, my vest, and finally my linen shirt. Finally, I let myself sink into one corner of a pool. The steamy water caresses away some of my ache. I let out a quiet breath, closing my eyes and letting myself luxuriate for a moment in the soothing heat.
In the darkness, I sense Red’s bond with me tense up, then sharpen and strengthen as if he’s nearing me. My eyes open in time to see his silhouette approach the bottom of the spiral marble steps.
I stiffen and duck down in the water to my chin. He pauses there at the first archway, blinking in momentary confusion at the sight of the baths, and then turns in my direction.
The Strikers bathe here? he asks me through our link.
I nod toward the pools at the far end of the hall. Usually the men go to a different—I start to reply.
Oh. He hesitates, looking farther down the hall, and starts walking toward the most distant pool. With half of his body in a beam of light and half in the shadows, he looks like a mirage that might melt into the darkness. I listen as his steps lead him away, and for a moment, I feel a strange sense of disappointment.
He pauses. Did you not want me to? he asks, and I curse his ability to sense my moods.
I scowl, blushing. No. Keep going.
He continues on. There’s silence for a while, followed by the faint sound of rippling water as he eases himself into his own steaming pool.
We can’t see each other from opposite ends of the bathhouse, but he’s close enough to talk through our bond, and that means he’s also near enough to send me glimmers of what he sees. I catch a glimpse of him looking over his bare, scarred shoulder at his wings, unfurled, the black steel blades of those feathers slicing down through the water’s surface. A patch of light from a nearby window halos his body in the afternoon’s glow.
My cheeks redden. It’s been too long since I’ve been with a man, and I can’t help but linger on the vision of his bare skin dewed with water. I take a deep breath, trying to still my thoughts. Even though I know he can’t actually see me, I stay ducked low so that all he can potentially see through our link is the bobbing surface of the pool. We stay quietly like this for a while, until I gradually start to relax again.
We can only speak from a certain distance, I tell him.
Yes, he replies.
When we’re far enough apart, I can still sense your emotions and see glimpses of your world. Can you do the same for me?
Yes, he replies again. But it seems the farther we get, the fainter that becomes.
What happens if we’re miles apart?
I don’t know. He pauses. The Federation tends to keep their soldiers and captains close to their Ghosts, so there is always someone within several miles of a Ghost.
What about a Skyhunter?
I can feel him shaking his head. I’m the first, and I am unfinished. I don’t know.
I imagine our link fading as we walk away from each other, first the words and communication between us, then our emotions and visions, our dreams, and then, finally, nothing but the beat of our hearts. Somehow, the thought of being completely untethered from Red sends a wave of unease through me. Have I already lost the ability to be alone? Or do I just not want to be away from him?
If we really can destroy the Federation’s bonds with their Ghosts, he now says, the war will end.
Not forever.
No. Not forever. They will try to find a way to repair it. Red grimaces. But they must first protect themselves from their newly freed Ghosts. Sometimes, all you need to fracture a regime is to exploit its moment