The extraction was set for three days later.
Aria stood at the window of the Luna's quarters, watching the mountain in the pale morning light. Wren was asleep in the bassinet beside her, her small chest rising and falling in the particular rhythm of peaceful sleep.
Three days, she thought. Three days until we go into the heart of Thessaly's network.
She pressed her hand against the stone wall, grounding herself. The fear was there, it was always there, but beneath it, something else. Something that felt like purpose.
Xavier appeared in the doorway. "You're up early," he said.
"Couldn't sleep," she said. "Too much thinking."
He crossed to her, his hand finding hers. "About the extraction?"
"About everything," she said. "The children. The network. The future." She paused. "Abou
