Sometimes all I want is to be a few inches taller so the world does not look like a dense collection of torsos.

But now, I am also learning this: we can be mended. We mend each other.

Yes," I say. "Three of these flying birds." I touch my collarbone, marking the path of their flight - toward my heart. One for each member of the family I left behind.

You may have succeeded in shutting down the attack simulation, girl, but it was by luck alone, not skill. I would die of shock if you managed to do anything useful again for a long time" This is the Marcus that Tobias knows. The one who knows right where to hit to cause the most damage.

Some people believe that I will go nowhere, and maybe they're right, but maybe they're not.

Why do you say vague things if you don't want to be asked about them?

It's what you deserve to hear," I say firmly, my eyes going cloudy with tears. "That you're whole, that you're worth loving, that you're the best person I've ever known.