“Luna? How are you?” Taj asked, looking at her and slightly smiling.

  Taj rarely smiled.

  “What? Did I do it wrong?” she asked.

  They were back in their library. Taj’s projection was fragmented and blurry; he didn’t want to materialize better. Yet, he seemed in a good mood. Also, rare.

  “O, no, you did it well. Troublemakers. You are like Rowan. Your great-great-grandmother. We were troublemakers then, me and Rowan, and we are troublemakers now, me and you. No?” Taj said, his voice strangely soft.

  Then he added, “Luna, your energy, does it feel normal?”

  “I am all right, just as usual, dizzy,” Luna said and grimaced.

  The rubbers were back on her arm, disconnecting the flows. Everything should be fine soon.

  Managing two energies—truly fun. Especially when one energy flow was weaker, and she couldn’t learn how to use it properly. The streams were not even; balancing it was difficult, and, whenever they tried, things were exploding.

  As two hours ago or so.

  “It worked,” Taj said; he looked satisfied.

  His reaction made her concentrate on what happened.

  “It could be used in a battle? But there are not many duals, right? I mean, alive?”

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  “Only you, I am afraid,” Taj said and added. “I checked your Silly.”

  “My Silly, sure. Taj?” Luna asked, being less happy.

  “I think, Luna, it will soon be solved, one way or another. The coincidence is too great. There is something more to this.” Taj said calmly; he looked as if he were already expecting it.

  “You think it will be that simple?” Luna asked.

  She had a brief thought: what if it could be finally simpler?

  But Taj shook his blurry head.

  “I am not saying it will be simple. I am saying they will for sure talk. I suspect they already exchanged the other information, but now they will talk again and will come to you. Or after you.” Taj looked at her to see how she reacted.

  Luna was quiet for a moment.

  “Let’s wait then and if, fight together?” she asked, finally.

  “O? Good. Luna, we can always try to leave—both of us. You are trained well. You packed what we would need on a run and secured money.”

  “I finally am ready to decide on it.”

  It was the truth. She was always scared. But lately, she was more and more able to manage her fears. Not forget them—manage, take control back.

  Luna had to thank Taj for his training and all their talks. It had helped so much. Then, Lukai had also shown her that her training was not in vain; she was capable of something. She could work at the OFF camps. That was a giant thing—to overcome fears and go to work, as people did every day. The Shadows place. She saw how people lived.

  So many ways to live one’s life, different ways than Unio ways.

  All the recent months acted as a catharsis.

  “Taj?” Luna looked at him directly, with emphasis. “Taj, thank you.”

  He patted her head; his touch was light and a bit stingy, buzzy.

  “Luna? Your Silly, I checked his energy. He is powerful, as expected from the future leader. Lord, that’s how they call his father, no? I was taken before Shadows were official. I think I met his mother, Sara, if I recall correctly. How amusing, as Song would say, amusing…”

  Luna listened. She wasn’t sure what to think about it.

  Silly was Shadows Young Master; it was one. What he hid, that was the second. She also hid quite a few things. What should she do when they meet? Taj was right; they will come here to talk. Or catch her. Both options were possible.

  “Taj? Let’s discuss what we want to say if they come to talk, all right?” she asked.

  Taj nodded. They sat in the library for a long time.