“And we came, didn’t we?”
“You came with Natalie’s ticket in Brianna’s hand.”
Valerie looked away.
Then Brianna stepped forward, holding the gold ticket carefully.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
Valerie turned. “Brianna, you don’t have to—”
“Yes, I do.”
Brianna looked at me.
“I knew it was your ticket. I told myself you didn’t care because you never made a big deal out of anything. But you did care. I saw your face when Dad gave it to me.”
My throat tightened.
“I liked being chosen,” she admitted. “I liked that he picked me first. I didn’t think about what it meant for you because that would have made me feel awful.”
The apology did not erase the past.
But it reached a place excuses never had.
“Thank you for saying that,” I replied.
Valerie looked unsettled by how the room shifted without her permission.
My father turned to her.
“I need to speak with Natalie alone later.”
“And what am I supposed to do?”
“For once,” he said, tired and honest, “not make this about you.”
Valerie’s expression hardened.
“I didn’t know about all this,” she said.
“You didn’t ask.”
The answer ended the argument.
Valerie left.
Brianna lingered.
“Natalie,” she said, “there was a man at the reception asking about you.”
My heart kicked.
General Ellison closed the door again.
“What man?”
“Older. Gray suit. He asked if I was Captain Reed’s sister.”
Dr. Vale went still.
“Did he have a pin?”
Brianna nodded slowly.
“A little lantern. I thought it was an academy thing.”
“What did he say?” my father asked.
Brianna frowned, trying to remember.
“He said, ‘Tell Natalie her mother’s map still points north.’”
The air left the room.
Dr. Vale sat down hard.
