Chapter 226: 227 | How to Survive It
"I’m going to tell her everything." I turned away from the window. "She deserves to understand what she’s walking into. The real version. Not the sanitized summary I gave her this morning."
Noel laughed. It wasn’t a happy sound. "Your honesty policy is going to get us all killed."
"Maybe." I crossed the room and dropped onto the couch beside her. Close enough that our shoulders touched. "But I’d rather die with people who know exactly who I am than survive by keeping secrets from the people I’m asking to trust me."
Noel was quiet for a moment. Then her hand found mine on the cushion between us.
"That’s either very noble or very stupid."
"Can’t it be both?"
"In your case? Probably."
Mera circled the couch and settled on my other side. Her tail immediately wrapped around my wrist. The warmth of her skin seeped through my sleeve. A reminder that she was there. That she wasn’t going anywhere.
"So we wait for Aurora." Mera’s voice had softened. Lost some of its edge. "Tell her everything. Then what?"
"Then I go to my meeting with Reeves and find out what she knows about my blood work."
"And after that?"
"After that I figure out how to beat a system that’s rigged against me with resources I don’t have and a timeline I can’t control."
Cheon made a small sound. Not quite a laugh. Closer to recognition.
"That is essentially the situation you have faced since arriving in this body."
"Yeah." I leaned back into the couch. Let the exhaustion I’d been fighting all day settle into my bones. "Guess I’m getting used to it."
The next twenty minutes passed in something that almost resembled normalcy. Cheon continued her analysis. Mera stayed pressed against my side, her breathing eventually slowing into the rhythm of someone who hadn’t slept enough and was losing the fight to stay awake. Noel typed messages on her phone. Coordinating something with someone. I didn’t ask.
When the knock came, I extracted myself from Mera’s unconscious grip and went to answer it.
Aurora stood in the hallway holding two large bags of takeout. Her dark hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail. No makeup. Casual clothes. She looked like she’d been planning for a quiet evening of conversation and ramen, not a crisis briefing about federal surveillance and compromised family members.
"Hi."
"Hi."
She stepped inside. Saw Mera asleep on the couch. Saw Noel typing furiously. Saw Cheon surrounded by screens displaying data streams in multiple languages.
"So this is what the support network looks like when things are happening."
"This is what it looks like when everything is falling apart and we’re trying to hold the pieces together long enough to figure out our next move."
Aurora set the food on the kitchen counter. Turned to face me fully. Her green eyes searched my face for something. I didn’t know if she found it.
"Tell me."
So I did.
I told her about the photographs of Vivian meeting with Marcus Wei. About the intercepted message that proved someone in my father’s operation had federal contacts. About Noel’s assessment that Vivian might be an unwitting tool rather than a willing participant. About the accelerated timeline and the collapsed strategy and the reality that becoming visible might not protect me if the people who could offer protection were already compromised.
Aurora listened without interrupting.
When I finished, she was quiet for a long moment.
"You really don’t do anything halfway, do you?"
"That’s what Noel said."
"She’s right." Aurora moved closer. Close enough that I could smell the ramen and something underneath it that was just her. "Rome. I’ve known you for less than two weeks. In that time you’ve drained yourself nearly to death saving a stranger, revealed your deepest secrets to multiple people, started a relationship with me while maintaining relationships with at least four other women, and now you’re telling me that your father has federal connections and your sister might be compromised and everything could fall apart at any moment."
"Yeah."
"And I’m still here."
"I noticed."
Her hand came up. Touched my jaw. The same place Laurana had touched earlier, but the sensation was completely different. Warmer. More personal.
"I don’t know why." Her voice dropped. "I should be running. Any sane person would be running. But I look at you and I see someone fighting so hard to do the right thing that you keep almost destroying yourself in the process. And I don’t want to run from that. I want to help you figure out how to survive it."
"Aurora."
"I’m serious." Her thumb traced along my cheekbone. "I told Nolan the truth this morning. He took it better than I expected. He’s hurt but he’s not broken. We’re going to have a real conversation soon about what happened and what it means. But right now, I’m here. With you. Because this is where I want to be."
I kissed her.
It wasn’t planned. Wasn’t strategic. The drain stirred immediately, reaching for the warmth of her Essentia, and I felt the edges of her nail beam ability brush against my consciousness. Light and heat and something sharp beneath it. Her reserves were substantial. Her control was better than I’d expected.
She kissed me back.
Her hands slid into my hair. Pulled me closer. The pressure of her body against mine was familiar now. Different from Mera’s warmth or Cheon’s careful precision or Noel’s fierce intensity. Aurora kissed like she did everything else. With genuine enthusiasm and complete commitment to the moment.
Someone cleared their throat.
Noel.
"Not that I object to displays of affection in principle." Her voice was dry. "But we have approximately forty minutes before Rome’s meeting with Reeves, and I’d like to eat something before the next crisis occurs."
Aurora pulled back. Her cheeks were flushed. A small smile played at the corners of her mouth.
"She’s direct."
"You have no idea."
"I heard that." Noel stood from the couch and walked toward the kitchen. "Aurora, the ramen is getting cold and Mera snores when she sleeps in awkward positions, so we should probably move this conversation somewhere she won’t be disturbed."
Aurora looked at me.
I shrugged.
"Welcome to the support network."
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