By the time we returned to camp, the sandstorm had died down, and the sky was clear again. A mixed blessing if there ever was one—less sand smacking me in the face, but the sun was out in full force.

As I watched Cannoli and Agni work on the fish, I realized I didn’t give Cannoli enough credit for how fast she learned new techniques. Especially when it came to cooking. Agni demonstrated how to properly slice the leather-skinned Encroacher into strips for drying once, and Cannoli descended onto the next fish in line as if she’d been doing it for years.

Agni laid out sections of thin, off-white fabric that they used to wrap the thin cuts of flesh. It looked more like beef or pork than fish—the meat was way darker than any freshwater or ocean catch I’d ever seen.

Meanwhile, Keke stripped smaller bits from their haul with her paring knife. She started with the rainbow fish, chipping away at its scales and holding them flat in her palm for me to see.

“I saw some of these on the girls’ jewelry in Kandota. I’m guessing it’ll sell well,” she noted, sliding them into her [Cat Pack].

“Good eye,” I replied. I turned to Agni and Cannoli. “You said we’re going to dry a lot of this meat, right?”

“That’s right,” Agni said without looking up from her work.

I glanced at the gigashanks, then the other girls breaking down the tent. We were supposed to leave right after they’d finished carving. I couldn’t imagine we’d lay them on the backs of the gigashanks while we traveled or somehow hold them between our mounts. “Where?”

Agni chuckled, then pointed at the fabric. “That’ll sap the moisture from ‘em in our packs. We can lay some of ‘em out and smoke some at the next camp.”

“Won’t that attract other Encroachers?” The smell of smoking meat could raise me from the grave. Roaches didn’t seem much different.

“No more than our usual night cookin’, Matt. Besides, plenty of us to take ‘em on, eh?” Agni shrugged.

“What about the threadfins?” Keke asked.

“They don’t move at night. Anything that’ll come after us’ll be above the sand,” Agni replied.

“We could set a trap around the perimeter of our camp. That’ll help us prepare for any hungry beasties.” Zahra came behind me, watching the girls work on the fish.

“How would we do that?” Cannoli asked, wiping a bead of sweat trickling down her brow.

“It’ll be a simple one—sticks, twine, and small bells. But at least a trap would let us know if they’re coming,” Zahra explained. “I have the materials for it, too.”

I felt pretty damn stupid. It wouldn’t have been hard to set one up our previous nights in the desert to keep us safer. Judging from Agni’s facial expression, she was feeling about the same.

“That’s a mighty fine idea there, Zahra.” Agni nodded. “We’ll do just that.”

Once they were finished carving and everything was packed, we returned to the giant lizards and another full day in the sun. Ceres patted the protection balm on her skin as we rode, then dabbed it on the back of Cannoli’s neck beneath her hair. Not exactly how I’d imagined catgirls putting sunscreen on one another, but it was still sweet to watch.

Each day of our journey, we all seemed to grow more used to the weather and omnipresent heat. Everyone seemed more energetic as the hours waned by, and we were all acquiring healthy tans. Bias aside, Keke wore hers best.

Beyond the sandstorm, the day’s traveling was uneventful. Agni said we’d made good time by when the sun began to set, and she called us to a halt. Unfortunately, we didn’t have an oasis this time. There was still plenty of clear water left in our canteens, but they were the only source for miles around.

“Um. Hey, Matt?” Cannoli’s voice surprised me as I dismounted the gigashank and turned to face her. The bright red had vanished from her cheeks, replaced by a soft bronze from the sun. It was a nice contrast to her hair.

“What’s up?”

She twined her fingers together and shifted from one foot to the other. Buttons appeared on her shoulder and touched his cheek to hers. “Can I keep watch with you tonight?”

I scratched the back of my neck. Had I done something wrong? “Oh, yeah. Sure. No problem.”

Cannoli beamed and clapped her hands. “Yay! Okay! Thank you!” Without another word, she skipped off to help build the campfire.

Doesn’t seem like I’m in trouble.

Keke poked my side and giggled. “She just wants to spend time with you, you know.”

I blinked and helped her down from the enormous lizard. “Am I that easy to read?”

“Yes. You get this look on your face when you think we’re upset with you. Like this.” Keke furrowed her brow, scrunching her mouth and nose together in a frown, then put one hand behind her neck.

“Wait, seriously? It can’t be that bad.” I laughed.

She relaxed and grinned. “Not all the time.”

Twin talons suddenly latched onto my hair, kicking and twisting the strands with painful force.

“Pitch the fucking tent, Matt! Squaawk!” Ball screamed over my head. “Squawk! Lazy Matt!”

“Alright! I’m coming! Jesus.” I swatted him away, and Keke and I joined the others.

The fire crackled cheerily as I picked off another thick piece of fish meat from the jerky pile. Everyone else had gone to bed, leaving Cannoli and me alone together. Surely they wouldn’t notice just one more little piece gone—

“You’re going to get a tummy ache, Matt,” Cannoli giggled.

“It’s just so good,” I groaned, popping the strip into my mouth. Not only did it look like beef steak, but it tasted like it, too. The seasonings Cannoli and Agni had used were to die for, and the stuff was safe to eat raw. I was never a big fan of sushi, but Ichi Island fare may change my mind.

“It really is.” She curled her legs to her chest, and Buttons hopped from her shoulder to her knee. He stretched his tiny arms and legs forward and back, relaxing in the warmth of the fire.

“How are you doing? With, well, everything, I guess?” It hadn’t really hit me how long it had been since just her and I sat down and had a talk. It felt like years. Counting the conversation with her and Ravyn didn’t seem fair since it was three of us there.

She idly braided one long section of her hair and stared into the fire. “I’m okay. I think.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “My dreams can be pretty bad sometimes. All I can do is my best, though, right?” Carefully stroking Buttons’ head, she continued, “When I think about staying back on Ni Island instead of joining everyone and being in your Party, it breaks my heart.”

“You know we want you here, too, right?”

“Mhm. I know. It’s just something I wonder about sometimes. Like if it would be better for me. This quest to find the other men has been hard on all of us. But we’ve made so many new friends, and I’ve almost seen the whole world. I…I think my mom would be proud.”

I didn’t know much of anything about Cannoli’s mom beyond her imprisonment, and I wasn’t sure if I should be the one confirming it for her. Instead, I carefully put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. “I know all of us are proud of you.”

She leaned her head against my chest and curled her tail around my back. “Really?”

“You’ve saved not just our lives but the lives of girls you’ve never met. You bring light to every dark situation you find yourself in—literally and figuratively.” At that, she giggled. “I really admire you, Cannoli. You’re brave and persistent, and your cooking puts the rest of this world to shame.”

“You’re just saying that,” she murmured.

“You know I’m not.”

Her ears twitched forward, then she slowly nodded. “You’re right. I know.”

We sat in companionable silence, enjoying the cracking fire and songs of insects. It felt good to hold her petite frame against me again. I hadn’t realized how much I’d missed it.

“Were the Abalone hot springs as magical as they say?” she asked after a time.

“They were beautiful,” I admitted. “I was, er, surprised that Tristan and I shared the same pools with everyone else.”

“Why wouldn’t you?”

I felt the embarrassment from the first day in Abalone returning. “Where I came from, men and catgirls would have a wall between them.”

“Hm. That’s no fun,” Cannoli cooed.

“Is that so?” I teased.

Her cheeks pinked, and she hid her face in her hands. “Did I really say that out loud?”

“You did.” I tickled her sides, and she squealed. Buttons jumped from her knee and scrambled back up to her shoulder as she fell into giggles. After I stopped, I put my arm back around her shoulders. “We’ll go to Abalone together next time. Promise.”

“I’d love that.” Her laughing subsided, and she settled her head back against my chest. “I really am okay, Matt. As long as I have you and our friends, I can get through anything.”

I kissed the top of her head. “I’m not going anywhere.”

“I’m glad.” She took my hand in hers and squeezed it. “Are you okay?”

Like her, the nightmares were pretty damn bad. Shi Island had left a lot of scars that would take more time to heal. But, through it all, we were still here. I was still here. “Yeah. I am.”

“Good.” Her shoulders relaxed, and she looked up at me. “Will you kiss me?”

I was happy to oblige.