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will be, too.”
    “Forty kids against two hundred Others.” Lucas doesn’t clarify the statement, but it’s more sorrowful than disbelieving.
    I know none of us are sure the kids we unveiled can’t find a way to win back Earth. We just aren’t sure they can , either.
    Then again, maybe we’re not capable of such a feat, either.
    “We shouldn’t talk about them in here. You never know who’s listening.” I cast a quick glance toward the ceiling, hoping they follow my drift.
    Deshi might be necessary, and maybe I’m closer to getting him to rethink his position than I was yesterday, but we can’t trust him. Not yet. And he could be listening to every word.
    As though we conjured him, Deshi appears in the corner. He looks a little nervous, and who can blame him? The risk he’s taking in letting the three of us say good-bye isn’t small.
    “Time to go.”
    Pax turns to me quickly, snatching me into a fierce hug. “See you tomorrow.”
    To my surprise, he does the same to Lucas. The two of them give each other a couple of slaps on the back, then Pax strides toward Deshi. “Take me first.”
    They disappear a second later, and I step into Lucas’s arms, not wanting to waste a moment of the privacy Pax just bought us. I pull his face to mine, taking more time with the kiss now that we’re alone. Lucas’s lips are dry and chapped; mine are, too. We smell terrible. None of that matters. He tastes like love and friendship, and his cold arms around my back send delightful shivers down my spine.
    His grip tightens and he lifts me against him, backing up until we run into the wall. My fingers find his hair and tangle in the curls, and I lose myself in the smell of winter and the warm need spilling through my blood.
    When he loosens his grip, letting me slide down the front of him until my feet touch the ground, it’s too soon. I don’t want to let go of him, not ever. But Deshi will be back any minute. Even so, I stand on my toes to reach his mouth again, taking and giving a little bit more. I can feel the knowledge between us, in the desperate desire to clutch these stolen moments, that this might be the last time we hold each other.
    Lucas’s smile is sad, his dimples creasing the tiniest bit. His hands are heavy on my waist, and I know he doesn’t want to let me go, either. “I wish we had more time. And more privacy.”
    The suggestion in his statement, and the idea of what might happen if Lucas and I had hours to explore each other, heats the blood in my heart. My mouth goes dry as the sensation spills downward into my stomach, then weakens my knees.
    I want it so badly—time. We might never get the chance.
    “I love you,” I say.
    The words are ridiculously inadequate for the feelings racing through me. Instead of trying to say it differently, to articulate everything, I simply stare up into his eyes. Lucas and I have always excelled at nonverbal communication, and right now I see those millions of feelings all over his face, too.
    His frigid hand brushes over the scar that runs from my hairline past my eye, down my neck, and finally slides around to thread into my hair. “I love you, too.”
    We’re holding hands in silence when Deshi returns, our sides pressed against each other for support.
    “Lucas next.”
    Lucas squeezes my hand, then steps to Deshi’s side. He casts one last glance at me, then sticks out his hand for Deshi to shake. The surprise on our fourth’s face is almost comical, and my heart breaks for him. It’s a simple act of kindness from a thoughtful boy, a thank-you and an acknowledgment of the risks he’s taken today.
    When Deshi reaches out, Lucas grasps his hand without hesitation. “Take care of her, Deshi. Okay?”
    I put my hands on my hips, summoning bravado because the gravity of the moment threatens to break me into pieces. “I can take care of myself, Lucas. Don’t be an ass.”
    Deshi’s eyebrows shoot up and he barks a short laugh. He stops as though the noise