When Anath’s eyes met her own, Black Heart Machine can see right through them, into the soul of her friend. She could see it all—the disbelief, and questioning the validity of her entire reality. She knew this because she felt it too, and for all the time it took for Anath to run to her, Black Heart Machine prayed to the gods that they would collide—that her and Anath would once again lay neck and nose upon each other’s backs and it would be as real as the first time. And when Machine finds Anath’s nose firmly buried in her chest, she lets a small cry of joy escape from her dark lips. They were not ghosts trapped in the mortal world. Not just yet.

“I felt dead. I dreamed of death.”

Black Heart Machine closed her eyes, filling her lungs with air as her and Anath remained close—pressed against each other, quivering in bliss and disbelief. She spent what seemed like an eternity with her body against Anath’s, not wanting to let go and lose the feeling of having her near again. She wanted to remain with Anath until the day she died—the thought of losing her again was too much to bear.

“I cannot express how much I missed you.”

And she did. She wanted nothing more than this moment to last forever, and yet she knew it couldn’t. Black Heart Machine took a step back and studied Anath’s face, her deep brown eyes full of esteem and budding determination.

“Anath,” Machine continued, her tone shifting toward seriousness. “Promise me that when we die, we die together.”

If a war was coming, then the Codebreaker would do more than well to keep her General at her side. And if Machine had her way, war would be inevitable.

BLACK HEART MACHINE