“If you say so.” Sevro wrinkles his face and downs the last of his flask as he glances down the hall. Mustang approaches.

“Guards are redeployed,” she says. “Marine patrols are diverted from hall 13-c. Cassius is clear to the hangar.”

“Good. You sure about this?” I ask, touching her hand. She nods.

“Not entirely, but that’s life.”

“Sevro? You still prime?”

Sevro hops down from the crate. “Obviously. I’m here, ain’t I?”

Sevro helps me maneuver the gravRig through the brig’s doors. The guard station is deserted. Food wrappers and tobacco dip cups all that remain of the Sons team who guarded the prisoners. Sevro follows me from the entrance down into the decagon room of duroglass cells, whistling the tune he made for Pliny.

“If your leg’s a little wet…,” he sings as we stop before Cassius’s cell. Antonia’s cell is across from his. Her face swollen from her beating, she watches us hatefully without moving from her cell’s cot. Sevro knocks on the duroglass separating us from Cassius.

“Wakey wakey, Sir Bellona.”

Cassius wipes his eyes of sleep and sits up from his bed, taking in Sevro and I, but addressing Mustang. “What’s going on?”

“We’ve arrived at Luna,” I say.

“Not Mars?” Cassius asks in surprise. Antonia shifts in her cot behind us, just as startled by the news as Cassius appears to be.

“Not Mars.”

“You’re actually attacking Luna?” Cassius murmurs. “You’re insane. You don’t have the ships. How do you even plan to get past the shields?”

“Don’t you worry about that, sweetheart,” Sevro says. “We got our ways. But soon hot metal’s gonna be sliding through this ship. And someone’s likely gonna come in here and pop you in the head. Darrow here gets all sad thinkin’ of that. And I don’t like sad Darrow.” Cassius just stares at us like we’re mad. “He still doesn’t get it.”

“When you said you were done with this war, did you mean it?” I ask.

“I don’t understand….”

“It’s pretty bloodydamn simple, Cassius,” Mustang says. “Yes or no?”

“Yes,” Cassius says from his cot. Antonia sits up to watch. “I am. How could I not be? It’s taken everything from me. All for people who only care about themselves.”

“Well?” I ask Sevro.

“Oh, please.” Sevro snorts. “You think that’s going to satisfy me?”

“What game are you playing at?” Cassius asks.

“Ain’t no game, boyo. Darrow wants me to let you out.” Cassius’s eyes widen. “But I needa know you aren’t gonna come try to kill us. You’re all about honor and blood debts, so I need you to swear an oath so I can sleep soundly.”

“I killed your father….”

“You really should stop reminding me of that.”

“If you stay here, we can’t protect you,” I say. “I believe the worlds still need Cassius au Bellona. But there’s no place for you here. And there’s no place for you with the Sovereign. If you give me your oath, on your honor that you will leave this war behind you, I’ll give you your freedom.”

Antonia bursts out laughing behind us. “This is hilarious. They’re toying with you, Cassi. Just plucking you like a harp.”

“Be quiet, you poisonous little brat,” Mustang snaps.

Cassius eyes Mustang, judging our proposal. “You agreed to this?”

“It was my idea,” she says. “None of this is your fault, Cassius. I was cruel to you, and I’m sorry for that. I know you wanted revenge on Darrow. On me…”

“Not on you, not ever on you.”

Mustang flinches. “…but I know you’ve seen what revenge brings. I know you’ve seen what Octavia really is. What my brother really is. You’re only guilty of trying to protect your family. You don’t deserve to die here.”

“You really want me to go?” he asks.

“I want you to live,” she says. “And yes. I want you to go, and never come back.”

“But…go where?” he asks.

“Anywhere but here.”

Cassius swallows, searching himself. Not just seeking to understand what he owes honor or duty, but trying to imagine a world without her. I know the horrible loneliness he feels now even as we give him freedom. Life without love is the worst prison of all. But he licks his lips and nods to Mustang, not to me. “On my father, on Julian, I promise not to raise arms against any of you. If you let me go, I will leave. And I will never come back.”

“You coward.” Antonia punches the glass of her cell. “You gorydamn sniveling little whipped worm…”

I nudge Sevro. “Still your call.”

He tugs the hairs of his little goatee. “Ah hell, you better be right about this, you pricklicks.” Digging into his pocket he pulls out the a magnetic key card and Cassius’s cell door unlocks with a heavy thunk.

“Then there’s a shuttle waiting for you in the auxiliary hangar on this level,” Mustang says evenly. “It’s been cleared to fly. But you have to go now.”

“That means now, shithead,” Sevro says.

“They’ll pop you in the back of the head!” Antonia is saying. “You traitor.”

Cassius puts a tentative hand on the cell door, as if he’s afraid he’ll push and find it locked and we’ll laugh at him and all the hope we’ve given him will be ripped away. But he has faith and, steeling his face, he pushes. The cell’s door swings outward. Cassius walks out to join us. He holds out his hands to be cuffed.

“You’re free, man,” Sevro slurs, rapping the orange box heavily with his knuckles, “but you gotta get in the box so we can wheel you outta here without anyone seeing.”

“Of course.” He pauses and turns back to me to extend a hand. I take it, a strange feeling of kinship rising in me. “Goodbye, Darrow.”

“Good luck, Cassius.”

And for Mustang he pauses, wanting to reach out and wrap his arms around her, but she merely sticks out a hand, cold even now to him. He looks at her hand and shakes his head, not accepting her gesture. “We’ll always have Luna,” he says.