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replies. “I’ll tell you tomorrow.”
    “Tell me now,” I demand. I hate secrets.
    Ash leads me away from the game, and when we’re alone, he tells me about the break-in
     at the Legion, and the Tenth. I lean against him, shaken by the news. I can hear the
     steady thrum of his heart through his black shirt. It’s the only sound that ever calms
     me in these mad times.
    “How did the Sentry manage to build an entire new state right under our noses?” I
     say.
    “No one’s lived in that area for years because of the volcano,” he explains.
    My fingers dig into the material of Ash’s black shirt. “We can’t let this happen.
     No matter what, we have to stop Purian Rose.”
    Ash’s body tenses. I look up at him, but he simply kisses my forehead again. We return
     to the game, but neither of us is in the mood to play anymore. Day senses the shift
     in the atmosphere.
    “Time to open presents!” Sumrina says.
    Everyone gathers around the table again, and they jovially hand me their presents.
     I manage a smile, although all I can think about is the Tenth.
    Polly shyly hands me an envelope, and I open it up. Inside is a photo of me and Polly
     when we were kids, with Mother and Father standing primly in the background. This
     was back in a time when we were all happy together, before my father died and my mother
     was imprisoned. Even though we had our differences, I miss them both so much. I give
     Polly a big hug.
    “I love it. And it’ll go perfectly in my new picture frame from MJ! Thanks, everyone,”
     I say.
    Ash takes my hand. “I want to give you my gift outside.”
    * * *
    Out on the deck, the air is cool and crisp, the sky bright with stars. It’s a beautiful
     evening. Perfect. Ash leads me up a small flight of stairs onto the flat roof of the
     barge. I gasp. The roof has been covered in glass lanterns, which cast a kaleidoscope
     of colors across the varnished wood. Scattered between them are white orchids, my
     favorite flower. The sweet scent perfumes the air around us. So this is why I had
     to shut my eyes earlier?
    “It’s beautiful,” I say.
    Ash picks up a flower and passes it to me. “You’re beautiful.”
    I giggle, suddenly self-conscious. I certainly don’t consider myself pretty, but I
     love the fact that he does. He digs around in his pants pocket and retrieves a small
     parcel, carefully wrapped in brown paper and bound with red ribbon.
    “I didn’t have much money,” he says, passing it to me.
    “It’s okay. You know I don’t care about that stuff.”
    I untie the ribbon and open the package to reveal a stunning pendant. It has a traditional
     knotted design intricately etched into the gold, and some Darkling script written
     around the edge. It’s very old and clearly valuable.
    “I love it!” I say.
    “It was my mom’s,” Ash explains.
    I try to hand it back. “It’s too special! I can’t accept it.”
    “She’d want you to have it,” he says. “
I
want you to have it.”
    “Thank you,” I whisper, touched by his kind gesture.
    His fingers brush my skin as he puts the pendant around my neck, sending little shivers
     of pleasure down my body. I twist around and kiss him, my hands running through his
     rippling, silken hair, which coils around my fingers. He lets out a soft moan, his
     arm looping around my waist, drawing me closer.
    “Let’s get out of here,” I murmur against his lips.
    “It’s your birthday,” he replies.
    “So?”
    He pulls away, sighing. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you, but Day made you a cake, and
     I think she’ll kill you if you don’t eat it.”
    I pout, and Ash laughs.
    “I suppose we should get back to the party,” I say reluctantly.
    “Not just yet,” he says quietly, retrieving another parcel from his pocket. This one
     is smaller than the first and wrapped in beautiful, handcrafted silk paper.
    “Another present? You shouldn’t have,” I say, taking it.
    “I hope you like it,” he says, rubbing the