A cold sweat broke out along my spine despite the freezing air. “They lied to you,” I whispered, the crushing weight of the truth finally beginning to crack through the nightmare. “They told you I was dying so you would agree to disappear. And they told me you were dead so I would stop looking for you.”

Thomas stared at me, the profound tragedy of the realization sweeping over his features. The five months of shared, isolated grief crashed together in that tiny alleyway. He hadn’t abandoned me. He had sacrificed his entire life, his name, and his freedom, living like an outcast in abandoned city warehouses just to keep me safe from a threat he thought was holding me hostage.

“They separated us,” he breathed, a single tear cutting through the dust on his cheek. “They made us mourn each other while we were both still breathing.”

Before I could throw my arms around his neck, before I could press my face into his coat and erase the horror of the last five months, a sharp metallic click echoed from the far end of the alley.

Thomas immediately shifted, pulling me behind his broad frame. A heavy black SUV had pulled up to the curb, blocking the exit to the main street. The tinted windows rolled down slowly, revealing the dark silhouette of a man holding a sleek tablet.

“Subject 404 has broken protocol,” a smooth, emotionless voice broadcast through a speaker on the vehicle. “Anomalous contact established with civilian witness.”

Thomas squeezed my hand tighter, his body tense and ready to move. He turned his head slightly, his mouth brushing my ear just like he used to when we danced in our kitchen.

“Run, Firefly,” he whispered softly. “We’re getting our life back.”