Spark looked at him a long moment. The breeze riffled the ends of her hair, which had been trimmed into an even line below her ears. It looked cute.
“Did you really think you could just walk away?” she asked. “After what we went through together?”
“I thought…” The words dried in his throat, and he swallowed. “It was the best thing, for everybody.”
A weak part of him had wanted to stay, to whine and beg around Spark like a stray dog hoping for scraps. But he had too much pride for that, so he’d left. Better to try and make something out of the cloth of his own life, no matter how ragged.
“You thought wrong,” she said. “You entered the realm, and battled the Dark Queen. That changes you. Don’t deny it.”
He dropped his gaze to the tide-slick stones at the water’s edge. She was right. Strange things moved through his dreams, fears and visions he couldn’t share with anyone. Unless they’d experienced the same thing.
“The queen said something, during that battle,” Spark said. “It took me a few days to figure it out. You’re BlackWing, the hacker.”
“Not anymore.” He hunched his shoulders, waiting for her scorn.
Instead she scooted over and put a hand on his arm.
“Nobody else could have done that—cracked the wall between the realms, then shut it again.”
“I was stupid. Do you hate me for it?”
“Well, I don’t admire some of your choices. But you fixed everything in the end—and you know your way around sim code.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out an envelope. “This is for you, from Vonda.”
“Your manager?” He took it and turned it back and forth in his hands.
“Open it.”
He glanced over at her. Her eyes were lit with suppressed emotion.
“Do you know what it says?” he asked.
“I have an idea—but believe me, I had nothing to do with this. Other than telling Vonda you were BlackWing.”
Aran pulled in a breath, tangy with salt, and opened the envelope. Inside was a letter typed on official VirtuMax letterhead. Sometimes going old school with real paper was far more impressive than a digital message. More weighty and real.
He scanned the words, then backed up and read the whole thing slowly. Heart pumping with crazy hope, he looked at her.
“Is this serious?” he asked.
“Let me see.”
He tilted the letter for her to read, then watched the smile blossom across her face.
“Oh, yes,” she said. “VirtuMax needs to hire the best threat testers they can find. They need you, Aran.”
“But my background—”
“The company wouldn’t have allowed Vonda to make you that offer unless they’d checked you out thoroughly. The fact that your brother set you up is pretty clear, despite the crappy public defender that let the charges stick. And I think Burt might have given you a character reference.”
Aran stared at her. “Your security guy? He hates me.”
“No, he’s just cautious and good at his job. Notice I’m alone out here?”
He glanced about the beach. No sign of a security team watching.
“I hope he’s nearby,” Aran said. “You’re a little too valuable to be completely unguarded.”
Spark rolled her eyes and shook her head at him. The pink in her hair was echoed by the wash of clouds overhead.
He refolded the letter and slipped it back into the envelope, his insides churning with choices. Of course, he knew that companies hired former hackers to help ensure that their programs and games were as impenetrable as possible. But he never thought he’d get an offer to trade his black hat in for a white one. Well, maybe gray.
Speaking of villains…
“I have a few questions,” he said. “What about those two gamers, the Terabin twins?”
“Gone,” Spark said. “All their daddy’s money couldn’t help them weasel out of the fact they deliberately set that fire. Not with Niteesh as an eyewitness. They might be able to hire good lawyers, but they’re never working for VirtuMax again.”
“They tried to kill you. And me.” He curled his fingers into fists.
Her expression hardened, and she stared out over the water. Aran wanted to touch her face, stroke that grimness away.
“They’ll pay for it,” she said. “The trial’s later this year. But I don’t want to talk about them. I want to talk about you. About us.”
She looked back at him, her eyes serious. Above them, the sky lightened to pale blue, and the sea shone like a broken mirror, bright copper at its edge.
“What do you think?” he asked. “Could you stand seeing me around?”
Her smile was answer enough.