The merchant shook his head and left her there, floating in the dark, the Jewel 16X humming beneath her like a second heart—dangerous, impossible, and hers.

“No,” she said. Then she smiled. “But I’m going to do it again.”

“I know what she is,” Lira said.

The universe collapsed into a tunnel of violet light. Her vision narrowed to a pinhole. She felt her own heartbeat as a series of cannon shots. The inertial compensators screamed. The Jewel ’s frame sang—not a warning, but a song. A hymn. A promise.

The merchant went quiet.