Which brought her to the worst worst-case scenario: street walking. Out in all weather, fucking in cars or an alley. Sex work was dangerous, and she’d be exposed to the very worst in people with no way to protect herself. Forget about insisting her clients wear a condom. It was a hard life, and Thalia didn’t think she’d last long.
Both scenarios sucked. Nicky was mean and vindictive. Whatever punishment he chose, he would aim for maximum suffering. Her best option was to run away.
Damn Doc for being right about needing to run away. Damn him for leaving her.
Thalia glanced at the window, then inspected the room. Getting out wasn’t an issue. She’d snuck out plenty of times before. Cash was her biggest concern. Other than her electronic reader, she didn’t have much; certainly nothing to pawn.
At least that Nicky knew about.
Thalia kneeled at the opened closet, pulled back the corner of the carpeting, and lifted a loose floorboard. Carefully, she took out the pill bottles. Before stuffing them in a backpack, she wrapped them individually in clothing to muffle any pills rattling about. Doc failed to keep a close eye on the medicine stock, and Thalia had grabbed whatever purloined loot she could. Everything had a street value, especially pain meds. If she wasn’t picky about the buyer—and to be honest, she wasn’t picky at all—she could get enough to catch a bus out of town.
Her identity chip was the bracelet kind issued to kids. When she turned eighteen, she should have applied for an implanted chip, like every adult on the planet, but that never happened. She’d need a new one eventually, which meant more money.
She never finished school but got her graduation equivalency. That wasn’t so unusual. Lots of people never finished school, some because the school physically wasn’t there anymore and others because they had been displaced. Turning up in a new town with no identity and minimum education wasn’t the best way to start fresh, but it was better than whatever Nicky had planned.
Thalia stuffed the backpack with anything that could be sold: a few pieces of jewelry, her digital reader, a sluggish tablet computer, and even the pair of designer heels that Nicky bought her a few years ago. He went through a stage where he tried dressing her like a doll and it was creepy as fuck. Thank God he got distracted by something else.
Pulling up the hood of her sweatshirt, Thalia climbed out the window and into the night.
Chapter 2
Havik
Havik reclined back onto his elbows. Through the dome glass, the stars shimmered with distortion. Years of abrasions from sandstorms created imperfections in the material, giving the night sky a soft, muted appearance. The first time he had seen the true night sky as a youth, without the filter of the city’s dome, he had been stricken speechless. Ren had teased him mercilessly, but that was his duty as a friend, to keep the ego of the warlord’s son in check.
Water gurgled and splashed in a nearby fountain, sprinkling the ground with moisture.
A year had passed since he lost his mate. He had walked the sands and spent many a cold and brilliant night under the unfiltered stars. He had seen the heart of the desert, where past conflict melted the sands into a sea of glass, and nothing grew. He journeyed to the mountains in the west and crossed to the narrow swath of fertile land on the far side. He had spent time in the lush green lands of the south, uneasy with the effortless and comfortable life there.
None of those places were home, but every step helped distance himself from grief.
During his travels, when he found a spot that resonated with him, he spread the ashes of his lost mate and their son. He could not share the world with them in life, so he left pieces of them behind in incredibly beautiful places. What remained of the ashes, he kept in a cylindrical tube on a cord around his neck. He did not know where their final resting place would be, but he felt confident that he would know it when he discovered it.
He took a swig from the wine bottle. The sakeder, his year of mourning, was at an end. Traditionally, one marked the occasion with a celebration. Havik thought he might organize a small gathering, as he had passed too many hours with only himself for company, but when he mentioned it to his stepmother, he received an icy frown.
Not entirely unexpected, though.
“Here you are, hiding away and having your own celebration.”
With the bottle in hand, Havik gestured for Ren to join him, sloshing wine onto his hand.
“Sloppy.” Ren plucked the bottle from Havik and sniffed, then took a long pull. “Only stealing the finest wine, I see.”
“It’s a celebration, isn’t it?”
A long moment passed. Havik returned to watching the stars. He picked out constellations with ease and remembered the stories. Why had he never shared those stories with Vanessa? Regret tinted the thought, but it did not pain him. Time created distance and with distance came peace.
Ren made sputtering noises. “You disgust me,” he said.
Havik turned to his friend, confused. “Don’t be so judgmental. Pass it back.”
Ren looked at the bottle and his mouth twisted into a frown. He threw it hard, smashing it into the ground. Glass and wine exploded on impact.
“I’ll be as judgmental as I please. This display is disgusting,” Ren said, contempt in his voice. “I defended you for an entire year. I said there were things we did not know, did not understand, and you could not judge you when you were
