The only thing Colt was certain of was that he had not died.

Or, if he had, it was fast enough his body was now fully recovered.

There were a few minor cuts on him, Amneris’ shield having taken the brunt of the explosion. His clothes on the other hand . . . It was safe to say they would never be used again.

A quick look around told him the others seemed to be recovering quickly as well. Leo was hauling Nikki to her feet, the General sporting a rather nasty looking cut on his forehead. Carmin was lifting a large rock to free the trapped Zoe. Dan had been rolled onto his back, groaning in pain, his broken arm visibly fixing itself with the help of Kayla’s heka. Colt recoiled slightly at the sight. Jay was pulling himself off a woman – was that Ema? – and making sure she was okay.

Amneris, however, was in the worst shape of all.

She pushed herself onto her hands and knees, almost everything bent at the wrong angle. Her bone, skin, and muscle pushed itself back into the correct place with a horrifying crack, Amneris letting out a frustrated pain-filled cry with each one.

Colt rushed to her side. “Are you—”

“I’m fine,” she said, fully repaired, getting to her feet and brushing off her jacket. “How are the others?”

Said others stood around them, Zoe being held up by Carmin and Kayla, Dan’s arm in a makeshift sling, and Jay’s arms around Ema. This last point caught Amneris’ attention. She made a small, surprised noise before turning on her heel to face the destruction behind them.

“So, now we don’t even have a broken spaceship.” Amneris crossed her arms. “Way to go, Zo.”

“Why are you blaming me?” the Light-Bender whined, raising a hand to her aching head. “Can’t you open portals anywhere in the multiverse? Like, say, back home?”

“Oh, yeah.”

“No!” the others yelled.

Amneris huffed, “Well, that was unanimous.”

“Come on, Amns,” Nikki said, patting her shoulder. “We’re not that desperate yet and, no offence, you suck at portals—”

“I’m not that bad and am pretty sure we are that desperate—”

“—Like, properly suck. Unless it’s a jump between dimensions at the very least, they never turn out in the right place.”

Amneris shot her Second a sour look and snapped her fingers. A silver, swirling portal appeared at her side. “Get in the fucking portal, Nykesha.”

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Colt grabbed Amneris’ hand and dragged her out of earshot. “You could try to be nicer, Tali. They did come all this way to rescue you.”

Amneris braced her hands on her waist. “And yet who is doing the rescuing?”

He sighed and took her hands. “For me.”

She eyed him closely, letting out a lengthy sigh. “Fine.”

He let her go, watching closely as she made her way back to her Court, brushing past all of them before stepping through the portal.

The others exchanged concerned looks before following.

* * * * * * * *

Stepping out of the portal, Colt found himself standing in the living room of the forest house.

Jay led their limping visitor down the hall to the small infirmary, a fuming Kayla behind them. Dan waited a few minutes, shrugging helplessly at Colt, before following. Carmin, helped by Hathor who had been on the lounge when they arrived, slowly walked with Zoe held upright between them.

Colt turned to say something to Amneris—exactly what, he had no idea—only to find her no longer standing nearby.

“Give her a few minutes,’ Leo said. ‘It has been a long few weeks.’

Nikki nodded her agreement. ‘When that girl gets pissed, you don’t want to be around her.’

With those words, she took Leo’s hand—his entire body froze momentarily at the contact and he made a surprised sound—to follow after the others.

Shocking even himself, Colt did as he was told.

* * * * * * * *

Those few minutes turned into about two hours. Two hours spent showering, cleaning and dressing wounds—which were not as bad as he was expecting—and convincing himself things would be fine as he dressed. Colt wasn’t the nervous type. Never had be. But something about this had him on edge. He knew what they would end up talking about . . .

There was no use putting it off any further.

Colt clapped his hands against his cheeks and shook his head. It would be fine. Things would work out fine. It would be fine.

All those thoughts flung from his head as he knocked on her bedroom door. Instead of saying anything, Amneris merely tilted her head and opened the door a little further as an invitation inside. They sat on the edge of her bed in silence.

They spoke in unison. “So—”

They glanced at each other and laughed gently.

Amneris spoke first. “So . . . you’re Assar.”

“Yes.”

She nodded slowly. “It does explain a few things. How you know so much about me . . .”

“I thought it was a bit obvious on my part,” he admitted with a small smile. “There were a few times I almost screamed it at you.”

“Is it bad I can see you doing that?”

They laughed again.

Colt took her hand, Amneris entwining their fingers as they faced each other. Colt’s other hand rested on her cheek. A brush of his thumb before it trailed down her neck and tugged her braid gently. She smiled.

It faltered.

“What is it?”

“Just . . . trying to figure out what to do with you?”

“What do you mean?”

Amneris jumped to her feet, rubbing her hands over her face as she walked forward a few steps. She spun on her heels to face him again. “You’re dead.”

Colt smirked. “Because you can talk.”

She waved a dismissive hand, beginning to pace. “Not my point. I just mean that . . .” Amneris stopped pacing, arms dropping to her sides as she barked a laugh at the ceiling. “I have no fucking clue what I mean.”

Colt stood and placed his hands on her shoulders. “You need time?” She nodded. “It’s okay. We can figure this out.”

“Thank you, Colt . . . Assar.”

He snorted. “I do like Colt. It sounds cooler.”

“Colt it is!” Amneris squeezed his hand. “I have a few things to do here. See you at dinner.”

“Of course.”

Colt made to leave, getting as far as the door before stopping. He turned back, returning to standing in front of Amneris. He grasped the sides of her face, leaned down, and kissed her deeply. It was over just as fast.

Colt cleared his throat. “I – I’m just going to . . . yeah.”

He dashed out the door as Amneris stood in place, staring wide eyed, brain still reeling.