My feet are grateful for solid ground as I step down onto the station walkway, the calm wrapping around me like an old friend. I welcome it and the heightened state of awareness it gives me, but feel it devouring more of me than ever. I try to ignore the whisper of fear in the back of my mind. The anxiety someday it will eat me up until only the fighting machine remains fades in favor of surveying my surroundings.

Vander descends next to me, the glow of his skin lighting ...