“Look,” I said as I held up my phone. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

Sterling shook his head as he pulled me close. “Fuck, Araneae.”

“What?” I craned my neck upward.

“The tears. In our world, they usually mean something bad.”

With my arms around his waist and his around mine, the world felt right. “This is what I was talking about, Sterling. You always jump to the most negative conclusion. Kennedy Lucille is here. She’s beautiful ...