Page 8 of Jude

“To you?” Octavia’s mouth felt dry. Jude always said things like that. He always made her think he cared. But how could he? They’d never met. They’d shared hundreds of messages. She felt like she knew him, but if they met in person, he’d pull back. He wouldn’t be able to see beneath her scars, wouldn’t be able to get past the damage on her flesh. She was still broken. She couldn’t meet him before she healed, until she could see the rejection in his eyes and accept it. That could take a lifetime and then some.

“I don’t think you’ve ever dedicated a song to me,” said Jude. “It might be nice.”

She had. Hundreds of them. She’d just never told him. “Maybe I should dedicate the next one to Tobias. He’s in a bad way.”

“Once we get him back here, he’ll be fine,” said Jude. “I was worried earlier. I didn’t know how badly hurt he was.”

“It sounds like he’s got a serious injury.”

“We’ve got dragon serum at the base. They’ll have some in the Foxhound kit, as well. He’ll be healed in a couple of days. All he’ll have is a scar and a great story to tell over a beer.”

Octavia would love to get her hands on some of that serum. Ever since dragon hybrids—people who were half-human and half-dragon—had revealed themselves to the Ember brothers and they’d begun working together, they’d developed serums to heal injuries in record time. She had to rely on the old-fashioned, grit-your-teeth-and-bear-it version of pain relief. Occasionally, she got her hands on basic pain meds, which she stored zealously for fear of getting sick or injured and not having any way to treat herself. That was the risk when you were alone. You were always vulnerable.

“So, about that next track?” Jude’s voice had a curious tone to it. He could always sense when she was thinking about things. She had a tendency to overthink. Being alone made that easy to do.

“Pick something positive,” said Octavia. “Maybe your medic can play it to Tobias when she treats him?”

“Sophia doesn’t allow music in the medical room,” said Jude. “She says it’s distracting.”

“It’s supposed to be,” said Octavia. “That’s why music is so amazing. It removes your worries and sends you off to a different world. It brings joy.”

“I’ll suggest it to her when I go see Tobias,” said Jude. “If she chews my head off, I’ll have to come and find you and you can take the blame.”

“I’d like to see you try.” Octavia prided herself on remaining a ghost. It was how she’d survived on her own for such a long time.

Jude was silent for a few seconds. “So would I. In fact, I’ve been thinking.”

Octavia worried her bottom lip between her teeth again. “About anything in particular?”

“About you.”

She swallowed, her pulse racing. “Are you going to tell me what those thoughts are?”

“I don’t like to think of you out there alone.”

“It’s the safest place to be.”

“It isn’t,” said Jude. “I think it’s time.”

The air in the van suddenly felt thin. She swiped the sweat from her forehead. “Time for what?”

“Time for us to meet.”