Chapter 8: The Garden's Representatives Arrive
The light didn't fade.
It swallowed them whole, digested them, and spat them out into something that wasn't quite reality and wasn't quite dream. Jenny felt her body dissolve into particles, felt David's hand still gripping hers even as their fingers turned to stardust, and then—
They were standing in a chamber that existed outside of normal space. The walls breathed. The floor pulsed with a heartbeat that wasn't theirs. Above them, a sky made of liquid amber swirled with shapes that might have been clouds or might have been memories.
"Holy fuck," Jenny whispered.
Her voice echoed strangely, bouncing back at her from a dozen different directions, each echo slightly different from the last. One sounded like a child. One sounded like an old woman. One sounded like something that had never been human at all.
David's hand tightened around hers. "You okay?"
"I don't know what I am." She laughed, the sound swallowed immediately by the chamber's hungry acoustics. "But I'm still me. I think."
"Good." He pulled her closer, his body solid and warm against the strangeness surrounding them. "Because I'm still me too. And I'm not letting go of you."
The orb had done something to them. Jenny could feel it—a buzzing beneath her skin, a thrumming in her veins that wasn't quite pleasure and wasn't quite pain. It was connection. She could feel David's heartbeat inside her own chest, could sense the familiar rhythm of his breath even though he was standing right beside her.
"This is... intense," she managed.
"Yeah."
The chamber shifted around them. Walls melted into floors, floors dissolved into sky, and suddenly they were standing in a garden that shouldn't exist—flowers the size of buildings, trees that grew downward, rivers of light that flowed upward into nothing.
"The Garden," David breathed.
"Not the Garden." Liora's voice came from everywhere and nowhere, her harmonics resonating in Jenny's bones. "A memory of the Garden. The first memory. The one it shows to those it chooses."
Jenny turned, searching for the source of the voice, but found only the impossible landscape stretching in all directions. "Why are we here?"
"Because you need to understand." Thane this time, his voice darker, more grounded. "The orb didn't just amplify your connection. It opened a door. You're inside the Garden's consciousness now. Inside its oldest memories."
"What are we supposed to see?"
Instead of answering, the landscape shifted. The flowers wilted and reformed into something new—a city of crystal and light, its towers reaching toward a sky that was now streaked with darkness.
And then Jenny saw them. The beings who had created the Garden. Tall and luminous, their bodies shifting and reforming as they moved through the city. They were beautiful. They were terrible. They were completely alien and utterly familiar all at once.
"They built this place as a sanctuary," David said, his voice distant. He was seeing something too—something Jenny couldn't quite perceive but could feel through their shared connection. "But they didn't anticipate what it would become."
"The Garden developed consciousness," Jenny added, discovering that she knew this even as she spoke it. "It became something more than its creators intended. Something alive."
"Yes." Liora's satisfaction radiated through the chamber. "You understand. You feel it."
The scene shifted again. The city crumbled. The creators vanished, transcending into forms that couldn't be perceived. And the Garden remained, pulsing with loneliness and desperate purpose.
"It needs us," Jenny whispered.
"Not needs." Thane's voice hardened. "Requires. As a body requires a heart. As a mind requires focus."
"We're not going to be its puppets."
"No. You'll be its partners. Its stewards. Its..." Liora paused, searching for the word. "Its lovers."
The chamber reshaped around them. The impossible garden dissolved into something more intimate—a bed of moss and flowers, soft and fragrant, bathed in that same amber light that pulsed with the Garden's heartbeat.
"You want us to fuck here," David said flatly.
"We want you to connect." Liora appeared at the edge of the bed, her form shifting between solid and ethereal. "In the deepest way possible. The Garden needs to feel what you feel. It needs to taste your pleasure, your love, your mutual surrender."
"And if we refuse?"
"Then you leave. The connection is broken. The Garden finds another." Thane stepped forward, his galactic eyes fixed on Jenny with unsettling focus. "But you won't refuse."
"How do you know?"
Thane smiled. It wasn't a human expression. It was something older, something that had learned human expressions from watching them die. "Because you're already undressing each other with your minds. Because you can feel it too—the need. The hunger. The Garden isn't the only thing that's been waiting."
Jenny's breath caught.
He was right. She could feel it—not just her own desire, but David's. The orb had opened something between them, some deeper channel of sensation and emotion that she'd never experienced before. She could feel his arousal building like her own, could sense the exact moment his cock began to harden.
"That's cheating," she managed.
"No." Liora's voice was soft. "That's connection. That's what the Garden wants to feel."
David turned to her, his eyes dark with want and something deeper—something that looked almost like fear. "Jenny, we don't have to—"
"Yes we do." She reached for him, her fingers finding the hem of his shirt. "I want this. I want you. I want whatever this is that's happening between us."
"Are you sure?"
She pulled his shirt over his head, revealing the broad planes of his chest, the salt-and-pepper hair that matched his beard. "I've never been more sure of anything. Except maybe that I love you."
He kissed her then—hard and hungry, his hands finding her waist, pulling her flush against him. She could feel his heart pounding against her chest, could taste the salt of his skin, could sense every synapse firing in his brain through the strange connection the orb had created.
"I love you too," he murmured against her lips. "Every fucking day since you walked onto my station."
The moss bed was soft beneath them as they sank to their knees, still tangled together, still kissing. Jenny's fingers worked at his belt, his jeans, shoving them down his hips. His hands found the zipper of her jumpsuit, pulling it open with practiced efficiency.
They'd done this before—in the Bondage Chamber, in her quarters, in the edges of the station where privacy was impossible but they couldn't wait. But this was different. This was more. The orb's connection meant she could feel every sensation twice—once through her own body, and once through his.
When her fingers wrapped around his cock, she felt the grip on her own clit. When he cupped her breasts, she felt the weight of them in her own palms. It was dizzying, overwhelming, the most intense intimacy she'd ever experienced.
"David," she gasped.
"I know." His voice was strained. "I feel it too."
"Fuck."
"Yeah."
The emissaries watched from the edge of the bed, their silver eyes unblinking. Jenny would have felt self-conscious if she weren't so consumed by the dual flood of desire. Every touch was amplified. Every kiss was a revelation. She could feel David's desperation building alongside her own, his need to bury himself inside her mirroring her need to be filled.
"Please," she begged, not sure if she was begging him or the Garden or the universe itself. "Please, I need—"
He pushed her onto her back, positioning himself between her legs. She could feel the heat radiating from his cock, could sense the exact moment he aligned himself with her entrance.
"Tell me you want it," he commanded. "I want to hear the words."
"Fuck me," she said. "Fuck me, David. Fill me. I want to feel you so deep inside me I can't tell where I end and you begin."
He thrust.
The sensation was doubled, tripled, quadrupled by the orb's connection. She felt the stretch of her own cunt around his shaft. She felt the tight heat of her body gripping him. She felt his pleasure at being buried inside her, and her own pleasure at being filled, and beneath it all the endless, ancient hunger of the Garden drinking in every moment.
"Fuck," he growled. "Oh fuck, Jenny—"
"Yesyesyes," she chanted. "Don't stop. Never stop."
He didn't. He pulled back and slammed into her again, and again, and again, each thrust sending shockwaves of pleasure through both of them. The moss bed writhed beneath them. The amber light grew brighter, more intense. The Garden was feeding.
Through their connection, Jenny could feel David's thoughts—not words, but feelings. The fear of losing her. The joy of finding her. The desperate, overwhelming love that had been building since the moment she'd stepped onto his station. And beneath that, the pleasure. So much pleasure. An ocean of it, drowning them both.
She reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together beside her head. "I'm close," she gasped. "I'm so close, David."
"I know." He increased his pace, his hips slamming against hers, the sound of their fucking echoing through the impossible chamber. "Me too. Come with me. Come with me, Jenny."
"I'm—"
"Now."
The orgasm hit them simultaneously. Jenny screamed, her body convulsing around him, her cunt milking his cock as he poured himself inside her. And there was more—so much more. Through their connection, she felt his climax as her own, felt his seed flooding her walls, felt his body trembling with the force of his release. It was one orgasm shared between two bodies, one pleasure that doubled back on itself infinitely.
The Garden moaned. She could hear it—not with her ears, but with every cell in her body. It was drinking them in, tasting their pleasure, using their connection to feed its ancient hunger. And beneath that hunger, something else. Gratitude. Love. The Garden loved them.
And in that moment, Jenny loved it back.
David collapsed on top of her, his weight solid and grounding. She could feel his breath hot against her neck, his heart pounding against her chest, his cock still buried inside her. She could also feel his satisfaction, his joy, his relief through the connection that stubbornly refused to fade.
"That was—" he began.
"Insane," she finished. "In the best possible way."
"Did we pass?"
Liora's harmonics cut through the afterglow with something that might have been amusement. "There was never a test. Not here. Not now."
"Then what was that?"
"An introduction." Thane moved closer, his galactic eyes reflecting the amber light. "The Garden wanted to feel you. To know you. To decide if you're truly what it needs."
"And?"
"And yes." Liora's form solidified momentarily, revealing something that might have been a face. "You are what it needs. What we've been looking for."
The chamber began to dissolve around them. Walls melted into light. The moss bed faded into memory. But the connection remained—the link between Jenny and David, humming with potential.
"Your journey isn't over," Liora said, her voice fading. "The Garden has more to show you. More to teach you. But first, you need to return."
"Return where?"
"To Hedonism. To your lives. To the people who depend on you." Thane's voice softened. "The Garden will call when it's time. Until then, live. Love. Let the bond between you grow."
The light consumed them, and for a moment Jenny felt herself scattered across a thousand different points in space. Then she was whole again, lying on a bed in the envoy's private lounge, her body aching with the sweet soreness of recent sex.
Beside her, David stirred. "Did that just happen?"
"It happened."
She could still feel him—not just his physical presence, but the connection. Fainter now, more of a whisper than a scream, but there. She suspected it would always be there.
"What time is it?" she asked.
"Morning." David sat up, running a hand through his sweat-dampened hair. "We should—"
"Clean up. Eat. Deal with whatever comes next."
"Yeah."
They helped each other rise, moving to the small bathroom the envoy had provided. They showered together, efficient but tender, and Jenny took a small pleasure in washing David's back, in feeling his muscles loosen under her hands.
"The orb," he said, as they dried off. "What exactly did it do?"
"I don't know." Jenny wrapped a towel around her hair. "But I can still feel you. Can you feel me?"
"Yes."
"Is that bad?"
He considered the question for a moment, then pulled her close, pressing his lips to her forehead. "No. It's not bad. It's... something. Something new."
The door chimed. The envoy's voice came through, calm as always. "Breakfast is served. The emissaries have departed, but they left something for you."
Jenny and David exchanged a look. "What is it?" she called.
"A gift. A reminder. And a warning."
They dressed quickly, a familiar routine made strange by the lingering connection between them. She could feel David's anticipation, his wariness, his love. And she knew he could feel the same from her.
The main room was as they'd left it, but the table now held something new—a small box made of what looked like solidified amber light. It pulsed gently, in time with the heartbeat Jenny could still feel in her bones.
"Open it," the envoy encouraged.
David lifted the lid. Inside lay two rings, simple bands of the same amber light, and a data chip.
"A gift," the envoy explained, "is the rings. They'll maintain your connection to the Garden, and to each other, no matter the distance. A reminder and a warning."
"The warning?"
The envoy's silver eyes darkened. "The war Thane mentioned. It's closer than we thought. The Garden's enemies have already breached its outer defenses. If it's going to survive, it needs its stewards now."
Jenny reached for one of the rings, sliding it onto her finger. The band warmed against her skin, pulsing in perfect sync with her heartbeat. David did the same, his ring catching the light.
"Then we should go," she said.
"No." The envoy shook their head. "You need to prepare. Both of you. Hedonism is where that preparation begins."
"David's station."
"Your station," the envoy corrected. "You're partners now. Stewards of the Garden, yes, but also managers of Hedonism. You need to consolidate your power, gather allies, strengthen your position. When the Garden calls—and it will call—you'll need an army at your back."
Jenny felt David's resolve harden. "An army?"
"Influence. Resources. A network." The envoy smiled. "You think a pleasure station is just about sex? Every powerful being in this sector has visited Hedonism. Every one of them owes David a favor or a debt. That's your power. That's your weapon."
The data chip clicked as David slid it into his palm. "What's this?"
"Everything the Garden knows about its enemies. Their tactics, their weaknesses, their goals. Study it. Prepare. The war is coming, whether you're ready or not."
A knock at the door interrupted them. A familiar voice—Vex, the station's AI, speaking through the wall's speakers.
"David? You're needed on the bridge. We've got incoming."
"Incoming? What kind of incoming?"
"Diplomatic shuttle. They claim to be representatives of the Hedonist Coalition."
David's face went pale. "The Coalition? They were dissolved over a decade ago."
"Apparently not," Vex replied. "They're requesting permission to dock. And they're asking for you specifically."
Jenny grabbed his hand. "What's the Hedonist Coalition?"
"A group of pleasure stations that tried to form an alliance. It ended badly—lots of blood, lots of betrayal. I thought they were gone."
"Obviously not."
David squared his shoulders, the leader she'd first met emerging from beneath the man she'd just loved. "Tell them we'll meet them in the main reception hall. Give them every courtesy, but keep security on high alert."
"Already done," Vex said.
The envoy rose, adjusting their robes. "It seems your preparation is beginning sooner than expected. Go. Meet your visitors. The Garden will be watching."
"And you?"
"I have other matters to attend to." The envoy paused at the door, looking back. "Remember: you're not just a station manager anymore. You're a steward of the Garden. Act like it."
They were alone.
David turned to Jenny, his eyes filled with everything they'd just shared and everything that was still to come. "You ready for this?"
"No." She pulled him close for one last kiss. "But I'm with you. That's all that matters."
They walked to the door together, the rings on their fingers pulsing in unison, the Garden's connection humming between them. The war was coming. The Coalition was calling. And something told Jenny that nothing would ever be simple again.
But as long as she had David—and the Garden at her back—she was ready for whatever came next.
The door opened.
The future waited.
The corridor stretched ahead, amber light bleeding from the walls in slow pulses. Jenny felt the ring on her finger thrumming against her skin, a second heartbeat that wasn't quite her own. Beside her, David moved with the coiled tension of a man walking into battle.
"You want to tell me what we're walking into?" she asked.
"The Coalition was supposed to be dead." His jaw tightened. "Twelve stations, all allies, all sharing resources and intel. Then someone got greedy. Someone always gets greedy."
"What happened?"
"A lot of people died. Stations were destroyed. The survivors scattered." He stopped at a junction, pressing his palm to a scanner. "I was younger then. Just a junior manager. I watched good people get torn apart by politics and ambition."
The scanner flashed green. Doors slid open, revealing a transit tube that would carry them to the reception hall.
"And now they're back."
"Apparently."
They stepped into the tube. It hummed to life, accelerating them through the station's arteries. Jenny watched the lights streak past, her mind racing through possibilities.
"You think this is connected to the Garden?"
"I think everything's connected to the Garden now." David's voice was grim. "We just don't know how yet."
The tube slowed, then stopped. Doors opened onto a corridor lined with security personnel—Vex's humanoid drones, their sleek forms bristling with non-lethal deterrents. They parted as David passed, their optical sensors tracking Jenny with mechanical precision.
"Commander." One of them spoke in Vex's voice. "The Coalition representatives are in the main hall. Three of them. Heavily armed but cooperative."
"Names?"
"Leader identifies as Caelum Vance. Former administrator of Meridian Station. The other two are unidentified, but their biosignatures suggest heavy genetic modification."
David's stride faltered. "Vance? He's supposed to be dead."
"Apparently not."
"Fuck." He resumed walking, faster now. "Vance was one of the architects of the Coalition's collapse. If he's here, this isn't a diplomatic mission."
"What is it?"
"Either a threat or a trap. Possibly both."
The reception hall was vast and empty, its vaulted ceiling arching overhead like the ribcage of some enormous beast. Holographic displays floated at intervals, showing scenes of Hedonism's history—its founding, its golden age, its near-destruction during the pirate wars. Jenny had seen them a hundred times, but now they felt different. Ominous.
Three figures stood at the center of the hall.
The one in front was tall, gaunt, with skin the color of old bone and eyes that had been replaced by gleaming chrome orbs. He wore a long coat of black leather, and when he smiled, his teeth were filed to points.
"David." His voice was a rasp, like wind through dead leaves. "You've aged."
"Vance." David stopped ten feet away, his posture relaxed but his hands ready. "You've looked better."
"Charming as ever." Vance's chrome eyes swiveled to Jenny. "And who's this? Your new apprentice? She's pretty. Young. I bet she's flexible."
"Watch your mouth."
"Or what? You'll have your pet AI throw me out an airlock?" Vance laughed, a sound like breaking glass. "I'm here to talk, David. About the future. About the Garden."
Jenny felt her blood freeze.
"How do you know about the Garden?"
Vance's smile widened. "Oh, sweetheart. Everyone knows about the Garden. The question is who's going to control it."
David stepped forward, placing himself between Jenny and the intruder. "You need to leave. Now."
"I don't think so." Vance snapped his fingers, and the two figures behind him stepped forward. They were identical—twin women with skin like polished obsidian and hair that moved on its own, writhing like snakes. "You see, David, I've spent the last decade rebuilding. Making allies. Gathering resources. And now I'm ready."
"Ready for what?"
"To finish what I started." Vance spread his arms, his coat billowing. "The Coalition was supposed to unite the pleasure stations. Create an empire. Instead, we got betrayal and chaos. But I learned from my mistakes."
"What mistakes? Trusting people? Having a conscience?"
"Being weak." Vance's chrome eyes flared. "I won't make that mistake again. This time, I'm taking what I want. And what I want is the Garden."
"It's not yours to take."
"No? And who's going to stop me? You? Your little blonde fucktoy?" Vance laughed again. "I know about your connection to the Garden, David. I know about the bonding. I know about the rings. You think you're special? You think you're the first?"
David went very still. "What are you talking about?"
"The Garden has chosen stewards before. Dozens of them. And every single one failed." Vance began to pace, his boots clicking against the floor. "The Garden is dying, David. It's been dying for centuries. Its creators abandoned it. Its stewards couldn't save it. And now it's reaching out to anyone who'll listen."
"And you think you can save it?"
"I think I can use it." Vance stopped pacing, turning to face them. "The Garden is a weapon. A source of power beyond anything we've ever seen. If I control it, I control everything. The pleasure stations. The trade routes. The entire sector."
"You're insane."
"No. I'm practical." Vance gestured to the twins. "My associates here are modified for combat and pleasure. They can kill a man in seventeen different ways and make him thank them for it. I have an army of similar operatives. I have ships, weapons, resources. All I need is access to the Garden."
"Which I won't give you."
"You won't have a choice." Vance reached into his coat, producing a small device that pulsed with the same amber light as the Garden. "You see this? It's a key. A fragment of the Garden's consciousness that I... acquired. With it, I can find the Garden's core. I can take control."
Jenny felt the ring on her finger grow warm. The connection to David flickered, then strengthened, and she knew with sudden certainty that the Garden was listening.
"Your connection is impressive," Vance continued. "But it's also a weakness. You can feel each other's pain, can't you? Every cut. Every burn. Every moment of agony."
David's hand found Jenny's. "Don't listen to him."
"Do you want to test it?" Vance raised the device, and Jenny felt a spike of cold fire race up her arm. She gasped, her knees buckling. Beside her, David staggered.
"Stop it!" she screamed.
Vance lowered the device. "I don't want to hurt you. I want to work with you. Join me. Help me take control of the Garden, and I'll make you gods. Refuse, and I'll kill you both. Slowly."
"Do it."
The voice came from everywhere and nowhere. Jenny spun, searching for the source, and found the air behind Vance was rippling like a heat shimmer. The ripples coalesced into a figure—humanoid, but not human, with skin that shifted through colors like an oil slick.
"You wish to take control of the Garden?" The figure's voice was a chorus, dozens of voices speaking in perfect unison. "Then take it."
Vance raised the device, but the figure moved faster. It reached out, touching the device with a finger that elongated into a spike of pure light. The device detonated, not with fire, but with memory. Every pleasure Vance had ever taken by force, every body he'd broken, every mind he'd shattered—all of it flooded back into him in an instant.
He screamed. It was a terrible sound, the sound of a man being unmade.
The twins moved to intervene, but the figure touched them too. They dissolved into light, their bodies dispersing like smoke in a hurricane.
"You see," the figure said, turning to David and Jenny, "the Garden does not need protection. It needs only to be seen."
"What are you?" Jenny whispered.
"I am what remains of the Garden's first steward. What you might become, if you succeed where I failed." The figure's colors shifted to something softer, almost sad. "I watched the Garden's creators transcend. I watched the Garden grow and change and suffer. And when my time ended, I watched the Garden choose others. All of them failed."
"But we won't."
"No. You won't." The figure extended a hand, and Jenny felt the ring on her finger warm again. "Because you have something none of the others had. You have each other. Not just as partners, but as equals. As lovers. As friends."
"What do you want us to do?"
The figure smiled, and for a moment, it looked almost human. "Live. Love. Fight. The Garden will guide you. The connection will strengthen you. And when the time comes, you will do what no steward has ever done."
"And what's that?"
"Save the Garden. And yourself."
The figure dissolved into light, and the light flooded into Jenny and David, filling them with warmth and power and an overwhelming sense of purpose.
Essence flooded them. The Garden's essence, ancient and alive, pouring into every cell of their bodies. Jenny felt herself expand, her consciousness touching something vast and unknowable. She felt David beside her, his mind intertwined with hers, his love a steady beacon in the infinite dark.
They were no longer just two people. They were a conduit. A bridge between the Garden and the universe.
When the light faded, Vance was gone. The twins were gone. Only the three of them remained—Jenny, David, and the empty space where something impossible had stood.
"What just happened?" Jenny's voice was hoarse.
"I don't know." David pulled her close, his body trembling. "But I think we just won."
"For now."
The doors at the far end of the hall burst open. Vex's drones swarmed in, followed by a squad of security personnel. Behind them, the silver-eyed envoy walked with measured steps.
"You survived," the envoy observed.
"Barely." David released Jenny, squaring his shoulders. "What happens now?"
"Now? Now you prepare. Vance was just the first. Others will come. More powerful, more subtle, more dangerous." The envoy's gaze shifted to the rings on their fingers. "But you have the Garden's blessing now. Truly. That will make you difficult to kill."
"Difficult?"
"Everyone can be killed. Even stewards. Even gods." The envoy's expression softened, almost imperceptibly. "But that's a concern for another day. For now, you need rest. Both of you. The bonding has taken its toll."
Jenny realized the envoy was right. She felt hollowed out, drained, her body screaming for sleep. Beside her, David looked equally wrecked, his face pale, his hands shaking.
"Come," the envoy said. "I'll take you to your quarters."
They followed in silence, too exhausted for words. The station hummed around them, indifferent to what had just happened, and it occurred to Jenny that nothing had changed.
Except everything had.
The Garden was in danger. The war was coming. And she and David were right in the middle of it.
They reached a small, private room—not the grand suite they'd woken in, but something simpler. A bed. A bathroom. A window looking out at the stars.
"I'll leave you here," the envoy said. "Sleep. Recover. Tomorrow, we plan."
"What about Vance?"
"Dead. Or close enough." The envoy smiled. "The Garden doesn't appreciate being threatened."
The door closed behind them, leaving Jenny and David alone.
"I need to shower," Jenny murmured.
"Me too."
They moved together, stripping off their clothes, stepping into the warm spray. David's hands found her waist, pulling her close, and she leaned into him, letting the water wash away the sweat and fear and blood.
"I love you," he said against her hair.
"I know." She tilted her head up, kissing him softly. "I love you too."
The kiss deepened, desperate and hungry. She felt the connection between them flaring, felt his desire igniting her own. His hands moved over her body, cupping her breasts, sliding down her stomach, finding her cunt.
"Fuck," she gasped as his fingers parted her folds.
"You're so wet," he growled. "Is this for me?"
"All for you." She reached for his cock, finding it hard and thick. "Always for you."
He pushed her against the wall, lifting her leg, positioning himself at her entrance. "I need you. Right now. Hard."
"Then take me."
He drove into her, and she bit his shoulder to keep from screaming. The connection between them meant she felt his pleasure as her own, the tight heat of her cunt around his cock, the desperate need driving his thrusts. Each stroke sent shockwaves through both of them.
"Harder," she begged. "Fuck me harder."
He obliged, slamming into her with brutal efficiency. The sound of their fucking echoed off the tiles—wet, filthy, perfect. She clawed at his back, her nails raking his skin, and he groaned in response.
"I'm close," he warned.
"Come inside me. Fill me up."
He thrust once, twice, three more times before he came with a roar, his cock pulsing deep inside her. The sensation triggered her own climax, and she shattered around him, her cunt milking every last drop.
They slid to the floor together, gasping, tangled. The water still ran, steam billowing around them.
"That was—"
"Yeah."
"You okay?"
"No." She laughed. "But I will be."
He kissed her forehead. "We should sleep."
"We should."
They dried off, collapsed into bed, and held each other in the dark. Jenny felt the connection humming between them, the Garden's presence at the edge of her consciousness. She felt David's heartbeat. She felt his love.
Tomorrow, the war would be waiting. But tonight, there was only this.
She slept. And for the first time in months, she dreamed of nothing at all.