CHAPTER THIRTY.

THE BARGAIN

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"DIN?!" TESS DID not hesitate. Though an ache was careening against her temples and the putrid stench of blood coated her lips, Tess leapt up and wrapped both arms around the Mandalorian's hard shoulders. Din stumbled back from the force, still in a perpetual state of shock.

His breaths grew ragged under his helmet, exertion from the fight to get to this hall weighing down on him. It didn't feel quite real. His heart still told him that he had lost, that his kids were still prisoners, that the mission had been a colossal failure. That this was all a dream.

But it wasn't, because her arms were around him, her sweat-stained hair fell against his neck, and when she pulled back, those storm-ridden eyes burrowed deep into his own.

This was real. She was here. He had gotten her back.

Din hugged her, a little too tight, because she winced when he squeezed her shoulder. Din pulled away to get a good look. Tess grimaced at what he was surely seeing. Dark shadows passed across her skeletal face, hair sticking together in clumps, a festering cut sliced across her forehead, and crimson coated her lips. Her collar was ripped from where Cyr Vanth had grabbed it, but her leg was cleaner, newer.

Din noticed all of this, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled her up as gently as he could, and cupped her cheek into the palm of his hand. Tess froze, only for a moment, and Din nearly pulled back, imagining all of the things the Empire could have done to illicit such a reaction. But then Tess relaxed, and pushed into his hand.

"I knew you would come back," her words were sluggish, uneven pants rattling through her.

There were a million things Din wanted to tell her in that moment, a million apologies, a million excuses. He wanted to tell her how the moment he had lost her and Grogu, it was like a vital organ had been ripped out of his chest with no anesthesia.

Tess, who was always so careful with her words, felt the weight of a hundred different things slipping off her tongue.

And yet, for several achingly long minutes, neither of them spoke.

Alarms blared around them, the ground shaking with the stormtroopers heavy footed boots, but all Tess Oprin and Din Djarin could do was hold onto each other, bask in the warmth of being together again. It was in that moment, Din realized how hard it would be to eventually say goodbye.

Tess was trying not to think about that at all.

At last, Din found his voice. "What happened? Did they hurt you?" It was strained, more frantic than he would have liked. In a situation like this, Din felt it was his duty to be the one going about this calmly. But right now, all he could hear was the staccato thump of his heartbeat against his ribcage, all he could see was the blood on Tess' forehead.

Tess nodded, swallowing hard. "I'm fine, I—" she paused, having heard what just came out of her mouth. "No," Din froze. "No," Then she looked up at him, and the fury in her eyes was as cold and torturous as a hurricane. She shook under his palm, and he nearly stumbled back when she gripped at his shoulders.

A tear slipped down her cheek, and it broke Din's heart. "They hurt me, Din," she whimpered. "They took so much..."

"I know," Din said, and he pulled Tess' head to the crook of his neck. She relented, sobbing into him so hard it wracked up her entire body. "I know, I know, it's okay, you're okay." She cried, and Din breathed out in her ear. "It's okay, you're okay. I'm here now."

"I hate them," she said, voice as hoarse as gravel. "I hate them!"

Din held her tight, feeling her entire weight collapse onto him. But he wasn't going to let her fall. Not again, not ever. He would carry Tess Oprin to the end of the world if it meant keeping her safe.

"I'm here," Din whispered. "I'm here, Tess." she nodded, letting out one last cry, and in that sound came everything she had kept locked away the moment she was taken. All the fear, all the grief, all the hopelessness. It washed through the empty Imperial hall like a tidal wave, and Din knelt to the ground with Tess still in his arms.  Never had he despised that there was a layer of Beskar separating them, digging into her, a barrier he could never remove, no matter how much he wanted to.

And, oh, he wanted to. Din Djarin's hands shook from the force of his desire to remove the helmet and let her see him for who he was.

But the code stopped him. It always stopped him. And they didn't have the time.

Tess removed her head from Din's shoulder, sniffing inwards and wiping the tears from her sharp cheeks, the salty liquid mixing with the blood of her cuts. She blinked several times, her breathing frenzied. Din watched her, waiting. At last, Tess looked into his eyes, and a frown came over her face. Such a familiar sight, Din almost wept.

"They still have Grogu," Tess said, grating. "Farther past my cell, we have to get him." From Moff Gideon, she almost added, but the words stuck to her throat like tar.

Din nodded along with her, and together they clambered up from the ground, shaking off the nerves bundled below their guts. The time for heartfelt reunions was over. They still had to complete the mission and find a way off the ship.

Din gestured to Tess. "Lead the way." She nodded, a hint of a smirk finding her lips. Just like old times.

The pair raced back the way Tess had come, turning corner after corner. At one point, Tess almost collided with a lone stormtrooper. Din pulled her back behind him, the trooper's blast reverberating off his armour, before the Mandalorian shot him square in the chest. Tess was silent during the exchange, but adrenaline kept her eyes wide and alert.

They turned down the passage leading to Tess and Grogu's cells. Two stormtroopers who hadn't been there before were stationed outside one of the doors. Tess slowed as Din kept going, pulling his spear from behind his back and smacking the blaster out of the nearer ones hands, then trusting it into the soft flesh of the other. Both troopers went down, grunting. Tess looked at the pair for a beat, deliberating, before reaching down and picking up one of the blasters.

Immediately, her stomach dropped, a chasm opening to let old memories flood her mind. The polished black weapon was heavy in her arms, uncomfortable and too big to be carried in any correct position. She almost let it fall from her grasp, let the past die and vanish into oblivion. But then she remembered where she was, the fight that was ahead of her.

As much as she wanted to duck and hide from it, Tess would be needing the blaster soon enough.

Din placed his spear back behind his head. For a second he thought he should say something to her, a kind of reassurance that she wouldn't need the weapon, that he would protect her.

But Din had learned long ago to never make promises he couldn't keep.

He turned away from Tess as she walked over to him, and together they looked as the door to the cell slid open.

What awaited them inside filled Tess' lungs with charred smoke. She raised her blaster, finger pulsing against the trigger as Moff Gideon stood over a handcuffed Grogu, the Darksaber buzzing only inches away from the small creature's face.

Bile rose in Tess' throat as the moff looked between her and the Mandalorian, a sick smile on his face. As if they'd already lost, and he still had everything.

Grogu cooed softly.

Din and Tess, guns raised, stalked into the room, the Mandalorian taking the lead as she limped behind him.

"Drop the blasters." Gideon said, his voice rich and resonant. Tess looked at Din, a question in her eyes. He sighed, face pained under his helmet, but gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Tess glowered, staring into the moff's eyes, before dropping the blaster. Din did the same.

"Very good." Gideon mused, and Tess took a step towards him, but Din held her back with one arm.

"Give me the kid." He said as calmly as he could.

"The kid is just fine where he is." Gideon answered. Tess gritted her teeth, bloodied lips pulling over pearly whites. It unnerved Gideon, the way such an accursed look seemed to fit perfectly on the girl, but he did not let that show. He moved the Darksaber over Grogu's head, back and forth, while the child curled away from the heat.

Tess' hands clenched to fists.

"Mesmerizing, isn't it?" Gideon murmured. "Used to belong to Bo-Katan," Tess glanced over to Din at the mention of the woman's name. From the way Din stiffened, his head moving just slightly towards her, she realized he hadn't come alone.

"Yes," Gideon mused. "I know you've been travelling with Bo-Katan. A friendly piece of advice," he grinned in Tess' direction. "Assume that I know everything. Like how the mercenary I hired for the girl was always going to betray me," Tess couldn't breathe. "Or the fact that your wrist launcher has fired its one and only salvo."

"Where is this going?" Din couldn't keep the impatience out of his voice. His mind was still stuck on the part about the mercenary, and just how little he knew about what had happened to Tess while on this cruiser.

"This is where it's going," Gideon said. "I'm guessing that Bo-Katan and her boarding party have arrived at the bridge, seeking me or, more accurately, this," he held up the Darksaber. "But I'm not there. And I imagine that they've killed everyone on the bridge, being the murderous savages that they are," Din's neck went straight, a clear enough sign that Gideon was speaking the truth. "And now, they're beginning to panic. You see, she wants this. Do you know why?"

"You talk to much." Tess said, and a flicker of disquiet passed over Moff Gideon's face.

He ignored her, continuing on, as if the interruption hadn't rattled him. "Because it brings power. Whoever wields this sword has the right to lay claim to the Mandalorian throne."

Tess turned to Din, the moff's words drilling a hole through her thoughts. Was that the only reason Bo had come? The only reason she was helping in this rescue. If that was the case, then they had no way of trusting her or any of the others that followed her.

Seeing the bait, Din said. "You keep it. I just want the kid."

Gideon bowed towards Tess. "You already have one."

"Give him to us." Tess said, the bite in her tone like that of the sand dogs on Tatooine.

Gideon's brows pulled together, his lips tight. Tess could see the conflict in how stiffly he held himself.

Then, he said in a tone far too light. "Very well," The Darksaber retracted and fell to his side. "I've already got what I wanted from him." Tess' glare increased, and she wasn't able to hide the confusion from reaching her eyes.

She blurted out. "What did you do?"

Moff Gideon smiled as Din put a hand on her arm. "His blood. All I wanted was to study his blood," Din dropped his hand, a sign the rage in Tess was corrupting him as well. "This Child—these children—are extremely gifted, and have been blessed with rare properties that have the potential to bring order back to the galaxy." Tess looked at Grogu, with his wide eyes and perfect, innocent face. She couldn't imagine what kind of monster would hurt someone like that.

The veins in her arm throbbed, a reminder that she had been spared from such...experimentation. It should have been the other way around. It should have been Tess who's blood was taken, and Grogu the one who was saved.

She fumed as Gideon's features turned soft. "I see your bond with him. With her," Tess wondered if those were tears glistening in the moff's eyes. "Take him," Tess and Din immediately moved for Grogu. "But you will leave my ship immediately and we will go our separate ways." Tess was too caught up in the possibility of freedom to find fault in the moff's words. She started forward first, ahead of Din, and went to stand in front of Grogu, a smile rising to her cheeks.

Din followed soon after, slowly making his way over to the two kids. Gideon turned away, staring straight ahead, as Din reached out to pick up Grogu.

They should have known better.

Heat pulsed past Tess' ear, and she shrieked when an arm wrapped around her shoulders, the Darksaber hovering inches away from her face. Tess and Gideon stumbled back, the girl pushing at his arms, nearly burning her flesh on the saber. Raw power emanated from the blade, and an ache fused into her temples.

"NO!" Din cried, whirling around.

Tess whimpered, Gideon's hot breath on her cheek. His nails dug into her shoulder, arm close to cutting off her airway. "If I can't have him," Gideon hissed, gesturing to a crying Grogu. "I'll have to keep her."

"Let her go!" Din yelled, stepping closer.

Tess choked out. "Din!"

"Hold on!"

Gideon tightened his grip on Tess, the Darksaber inching closer to her skin. The heat was almost unbearable. She gritted her teeth, sweat mixing with blood. Gideon lifted her off the ground, feet kicking the air.

He moved them up the steps and out into the corridor, Din following close behind. He fisted his hands in the air, angled towards Gideon, but with Tess so close to the moff, there was no way for him to attack without hitting her. Under his helmet, Din's look was sharp enough to cut glass. His heart hammered against his ribs like a bird trying to break free of it's cage.

He had failed. Just when he thought he could get everything back, just when he thought his kids were safe, they were snatched from him again. The look on Tess' face broke him in half, tore him apart limb from limb. He had seen her scared before, seen her terrified, but never had he seen her look so...helpless. And it was all his fault.

"You see," Gideon said, and Tess arched away from his touch. "It was a risk, taking that much blood from the Child, being so small," He spoke to Din as if he had just won the world. "So you can have him. But my work is not finished," his arm squeezed around Tess' neck so that she couldn't breathe at all. "And I will be needing her for a little while longer."

Tess twisted, her knuckles white against Gideon's black armour. Her eyes bulged from their sockets, a vein protruding from her forehead as air tried and failed to reach her lungs. A burning sensation went through her, heat expanding across her entire chest until it was like a hand reaching in and squeezing her organs until they burst. She was reminded of the day on Trask, where she had almost drowned. The water filling her lungs, the black spots dotting her vision, the realization that this could be her doom. It had almost been peaceful, then. She had almost wanted to never reach the surface.

But Tess Oprin was not the same girl she had been before. Before, the storm underneath was always one step from swallowing her whole. Grief and carelessness had the face of a friend. The Tess who lived now was teeming with life, she had weathered that storm and survived. Tess was in control of those thunderclouds. The lightning was her kin, the hurricane her friend. Tess had once thought death was a comfort, now she knew the opposite to be true.

Tess Oprin did not want to die.

That want pulsed from under her skin, a fire burning through every pore of her body. The tips of her fingers burst open, and tears flooded her cheeks as Tess screamed, the Force barreling through her like the split in a stream.

Moff Gideon stumbled back, pulled by some unseen thrust. Tess lurched forward, hands cradling her elbows as she fell into the Mandalorian's waiting arms. Gideon found his footing, the Darksaber limp at his side, as Tess turned her striking gaze on him. She wasn't sure, but it looked as if the moff shuddered when he met the steel of her silver irises.

Din let her stand, and watched her turn, a stiffness coming over her. He thought of the first time he had met her. Tears drying on her cheeks, her screams still emanating from the sand around her destroyed forge, having just lost everything. He remembered the brief moment he had seen who she really was, a scared little girl in a world which had never been kind, before the mask slipped on, before that grief turned to numb anger. He knew what it was to hide yourself away, and Tess had been doing that very thing since she was 10 years old.

Din stared at Tess, and watched as the mask finally slipped off.

The anger, the ice, the fury washed away, her features twisting into someone who held the entire galaxy on their shoulders. Tess let herself be consumed, and Din could do nothing as her hands fell to her side, and she readied herself for a fight.

Gideon smirked, sensing the shift as well, but it withered away when he saw she wasn't backing down. His surprise stopped him for a moment, as did Din. He couldn't understand, couldn't believe this was the same girl he had met in the bar all those weeks ago. Only when Tess turned to him, met his gaze from under the helmet, that he was shaken from his stupor.

Her gaze said only one thing: I am ready.

Din attacked.

Gideon went for Tess, swinging the Darksaber in a wide arc towards where she stood. The girl pushed back on her good leg, stumbling a little, as the Mandalorian swerved in front of her, putting his back to Gideon so the saber clanged against his armour harmlessly. A sizzling sound ran about the hallway. Tess heaved, pushing all her might into remembering the few combat lessons she'd watch Jo take from the sidelines.

Parry, block, use your size as an advantage and...That was all she had.

Tess couldn't believe how stupid her younger self had been.

Gideon swung again, and Din turned to block with his lower arms. Gideon's face grew shadowed with rage. He kept swinging, hitting Din again and again so that the Mandalorian was almost beside Tess. She reached a hand up, attempting to force the energy through her and blast Gideon away. Nothing happened.

Gideon paused a moment to smirk at Tess' feeble movements.

The girl huffed in frustration and leapt towards him, her small fist headed towards his face. Gideon smiled more, one hand blocking her own. The collision rattled her teeth, and a blinding heat raced up her arm as several bones shattered beneath the skin of her fingers.

Tess screamed, trying to pull her hand back, but Gideon wouldn't let go, poising the Darksaber close to her neck. Tess pulled as far back as she could, anything to get away from the terrifying heat.

A fist flew against Gideon's arm, loosing his grip on Tess just enough that she could falter away, holding her throbbing hand against her chest. The pain produced stars in her vision. Din blocked another of Gideon's swipes, Tess pressing her back to the wall, trying to hold onto her sanity as every molecule in her body was torn to shreds.

Gideon swung at a stumbling Din, but the Mandalorian was quicker, spinning on his knees and around the moff to the other side, pulling his spear from his back into a defensive position.

There was a beat of silence. Tess looked from Din to Gideon, her broken fingers taking up so much space in her mind it was hard to keep her eyes open. She thought she had experienced the worst of pain, the worst blows that could be dealt to the body, but every time something new would come to hurt her, Tess felt it all over again, like that fateful day when she had sawed off her leg. The shock of it would come back in full force, chipping away at her inch by inch.

She thought about giving up. There was no use standing straight, no use ignoring the pain, no use jumping back into the fight. She was useless, without the Force to rely on more than once, without her machines and without her mind, Tess had nothing to give.

It infuriated her.

She should have paid more attention to the combat lessons in Mos Pelgo. She should have taken the Marshal's advice when he told her to stay in the town the day her forge was destroyed, instead of riding out with him and the mysterious new stranger. She should have stayed. If she had, Tess could imagine all of the other things she might be doing right now instead of being here. She might have gone to find Jo, watching her friend dance through camp with the suns in her hair. She might have joined the Marshal at the bar, silent and somber but comfortable. She might be sitting out on the cliffs, legs tucked safely under her, watching the sunset with her head to the stars, mind a fathomless pit where she felt nothing at all.

She could have been safe, she could have been home.

Tess flexed her jaw.

No, that was not her home.

Home, Tess realized with a jolting start, was wherever a surly, helmeted warrior could wander. Home was in the hull of a ship, a bowl of bone broth shared between two figures, the fading light glinting off silver metal. Home was gloved hands covering her own, a hoarse voice calling her name whenever she was lost.

Home wasn't a place. It was a person. And that person was standing right in front of her, willingly fighting until his very last breath to keep her safe.

Tess got up, squared her shoulders, and pushed all unwanted thoughts from her mind. She stepped forward. Din caught her moving out of the corner of his eye. He faltered just a bit, her ruined state driving a wedge between his heart and head.

But Tess did not waver, not anymore. She hobbled closer to the Mandalorian, and for a moment Gideon looked as if he was about to pounce. But something in the moff was pulled taut, his muscles too tightly coiled to unwind fast enough. They were both frozen as Tess moved to the limp stormtrooper behind Din, ignored the shrieking pain in her hand, and pulled out the trooper's blaster rifle from under him.

Tess whirled, pulling back the safety, just as Din stepped expertly out of the way, and Gideon realized all too late what was happening.

Tess' breath left her in a dizzying blur, and she pushed away the bile as her finger slammed onto the trigger. The molten bolt imbedded itself in Moff Gideon's shoulder, guided in part by a force that could not be described. Gideon yelped, thrown back, Darksaber angled precariously near his body.

Din put an arm up to shield Tess in case the man tried anything, but Gideon was so preoccupied with his wound he couldn't think to retaliate. Din saw his chance, and swung the spear towards the man. Gideon fell against the wall, just missing the end of the weapon. Tess moved forward then, raising the blaster above her head like a hammer, and hit Gideon's cheek as hard as she could.

Gideon yelled, raising the Darksaber to take a swipe at Tess. Din stepped between them, maneuvering his spear to slash the base of Gideon's wrist, knocking the Darksaber loose. Tess raised her arms again and bashed the butt of the weapon against the hilt of the blade, knocking it out of his hand. The Darksaber dropped to floor near her feet.

Never had Moff Gideon felt the kind of terror which now vibrated through his very bones. Two imposing figures stood above him, his shoulder was on fire, and beginning sigh of defeat was imminent. Still, he could not show his concern, and tried to stand straight, to raise a fist against the little girl and the Mandalorian.

Before Din could stop him, Tess marched forward, blaster at her side, and slammed her metal foot into Gideon's shin with all her might.

Bone dented and flesh tore against hardened steel. Gideon screamed, falling to the floor in a pile of crumpled black.

Tess, glaring, stepped back awkwardly, and Din raised an arm to support her. She leant against him gratefully, the fight leaving her in a sudden rush. The drum-beat began again in her broken fingers, blood sticky on her face and hands.

She knew she should have, but Tess could not bring herself to drop the blaster in her hands. What had once felt like touching a live wire was now a vital piece of machinery to the inner workings of her world.

She hated it, and she loved it, and nothing made sense anymore.

Din raised the spear to be level with Gideon's shocked face, but not further. For a second, Tess wanted Din to drive the spear straight through Gideon's throat. Never had she wished death upon anyone but herself, but now the desire to watch the life leave this man's eyes was almost overpowering.

Almost.

If Din took that final step, and if Tess let him, how could she ever come back from that? To know for the rest of her life that she had helped kill someone, even someone as vile as Moff Gideon. Tess wouldn't be able to live with herself. Her heart would freeze over again, and everything she had worked towards would disintegrate under Gideon's limp fist.

"You're sparing my life?" Gideon asked, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. "Well, this should be interesting." Tess gritted her teeth, unable to look at him any longer. But Gideon wasn't finished with her yet.

"And where's my mercenary?" He called to her as she stepped away. "What did you say to him to have such a change of heart?"

"Be quiet," Din spurred the moff to his feet, keeping one hand firm against his spear. He hated the way Gideon looked at Tess, smug satisfaction rippling across his features, that even though he was defeated, it still felt like he had gotten what he wanted.

Din looked over at Tess, and his breath hitched in his chest.

She stood tall, despite the many injuries she'd sustained, one hand against her chest, and the other... Grasped in her tiny fist was the Darksaber.

Gideon froze under Din's iron grip. "Oh," he muttered so only Din could hear. "Now, this is something."

Tess did not seem to know what she had done. The rules of Mandalore and the history of Din's people were lost on her, but they were not lost on the other two. She frowned quizzically at Din, who didn't move for several long seconds. Her mouth opened slightly, hint of a question in her eyes.

It was Tess who dealt the final blow to Gideon, knocking the saber out of his hands, and it was Tess who had picked up the Darksaber before anyone else.

Din pulled Moff Gideon forward rapidly, sheathing the spear, and held out his hand. "Give it to me, Tess." She rose one eyebrow, but relented, and the heavy blade dropped into Din's open palm.

Gideon laughed. Din whirled, shoving him against the wall with the blade close in hand. Behind him, Tess gasped softly.

"You say one word of this," Din spoke as calm as the sea in the morning, and each word reverberated through his helmet like a crack of lightning. "There will be no more mercy."

"The girl is ruler of Mandalore," Gideon whispered, neck straining from the heat of the blade. "She will find out, sooner or later."

"One. More. Word." Din had lost all patience for this man. All he wanted to do was be back on his beloved Razor Crest, Tess and Grogu safe in their cots, with nothing to worry about but the open sky full of stars. That wasn't going to be possible anymore, he knew, but it was all Din had left.

Gideon seemed able to hear this in his voice, and kept his mouth shut, though not before nodding several times. They both knew it was a false promise, but there was nothing else to be done.

Din pulled the saber back, twisted one of Gideon's arms behind his back, and turned to Tess.

"Let's go," he told her, and Tess could taste the sweet tang of freedom on the tip of her tongue.

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When the door to the bridge opened, Bo-Katan turned to see Din Djarin walking behind a solemn Moff Gideon, the Darksaber clenched tight in one hand with Grogu in the other, and Tess Oprin limping mightily beside him, one arm cradled against her chest.

Bo hardly noticed the cuts and bruises on the little girl, barely saw Moff Gideon now in their custody. All she could focus on was the saber in Din's hand, and the truth of what she had just lost. Her eyes narrowed.

Din held his breath, glancing at Gideon without moving his head, wondering if he would say anything. If Bo discovered the truth, then he would lose everything, and whatever happened to Tess would be even worse. He didn't think Bo-Katan would go after the girl, but he still didn't know everything about the woman, and perhaps the throne of Mandalore was more precious to her than the life one girl.

To his equal relief and distress, Gideon said nothing, but he did look over at Tess with a knowing smile.

Tess was oblivious to the truth, though deep down unease slithered through her gut. There was something obviously wrong, but her head was too fogged with the pain of her broken hand she couldn't think what it was. Spots lined her vision, and every step caused a numbing shock to throb up her leg into her arm.

Her eyes scanned the rest of the room. All the soldiers she had seen the last time she was here were gone, perhaps locked up somewhere else, perhaps dead. Tess didn't really care.

Her gaze landed on the rest of their rescuing party. It wasn't just Bo and Koska that had come to get her and Grogu, but Cara too, as well as Fennec Shand. Cara let out a relieved sigh when she saw Tess, and nodded her head in greeting with a smile playing on her lips. Tess nodded back. Fennec, on the other hand, gave away nothing when she met Tess' eyes. Tess couldn't decide if she was glad to see the woman, or apprehensive. Perhaps a bit of both. She knew that if Fennec was here, Boba Fett was somewhere nearby.

A warmth spread in her chest, seeing all of these people here for her and Grogu. It meant that deep down, in some hidden part of each of them, they cared about her, and she found she cared about them too.

No matter what happened following this moment, Tess would never let her heart close up again. She would never let herself fall into the darkness, not when she had discovered there were people here that cared whether she lived or died, not when she had Din to pull her from the rubble of her own destruction.

She looked at him then, and the warmth grew. They hadn't even dealt with Bo yet, or Moff Gideon. Hell, they weren't even off the ship, but the overwhelming power of freedom pulled at her from all angles. They were going to make it, somehow, she just knew it.

"What happened?" Bo seethed, pulling Tess out of her reverie.

"They brought him in alive, that's what happened," Cara answered, walking over to Din and Tess. She stroked Grogu's fuzzy ear, and patted Tess gingerly on the shoulder. "And now the New Republic's gonna have to double the payment."

Moff Gideon's breath caressed Tess' ear, and she jerked back. "That's not what she's talking about," Cara went to stand between him and Tess, confused. Gideon didn't seem to mind, turning and speaking directly to Bo. "Why don't you kill him now and take it?" Cara grumbled, pulling Gideon back with enough force to form a bruise under his armour. Tess' breathing grew ragged as Gideon fell to the floor by her feet. He looked up into her eyes, then to Din's figure, and back to her.

"It's yours now," He said to them, and it was unclear which of the two he was speaking to. Din could not help the flicker of panic settling across his bones. "The Darksaber. It belongs to you." Bo looked away from them, her features stoic but quivering, as if one more word would snap her completely.

Din sheathed the blade, the saber now a lump of heavy metal in his palm. He glanced at Tess, but she was trying not too look at Gideon, and walked towards Bo. "Now... it belongs to her." Bo did not reach for the saber. Tess frowned, the tension in the room rising.

"Take it." She told Bo, and that familiar cutting edge of Tess' voice made Bo take a step back.

"She can't take it." Gideon explained, near giddy. "It must be won in battle. In order for her to wield the Darksaber again, she would need to defeat you in combat." He was staring at Tess again, glancing between the girl and the disgraced Bo on the dais.

Din knew what he wanted, for the subtle movements Gideon took to clue Bo in to the truth without breaking his promise. Fortunately, Bo was too preoccupied with staring at the Darksaber to notice.

"I yield," Din said to Bo. "It's yours." Still, the woman did not take it, and Tess was getting frustrated. Not only that, Gideon's words were starting to find a home in her mind, knocking loose some hidden knowledge there was something deeper going on here. Something, she eerily suspected, had to do with her.

"Oh, no," Gideon chuckled. "It doesn't work that way." He tried to get up, leering at Din and Tess. "The Darksaber doesn't have power. The story does. Without that blade, she's a pretender to the throne." Bo looked at Gideon, and shadows crept along her face until she looked more a statue than a human being. Tess knew that kind of sadness, that kind of relent. It made her veins catch fire.

"He's right." Bo said at last.

"Come on, just take it." Din told her. Bo bowed her head, and said nothing in response.

Tess could not help herself. She stalked toward the woman, much to Gideon's delight, and blurted out. "What the hell is wrong with—" she never finished, the room was suddenly alight with alarms beeping from all sides.

Everyone whirled to look at the screens closest to Fennec, where one part of the ship's diagram was a glaring red. Din moved to look closer, while Gideon stayed where he was.

"Well, perhaps she'll get another crack at it." He said.

"The ray shields have been breached," Fennec reported. "We're being boarded."

"How many life forms?" Bo asked.

Fennec's face was grave. "None." A momentary silence swept through the bridge, and Tess could hear her own heartbeat as loud as an engine.

Gideon pushed himself up and towards Bo. "You're about to face off with the dark troopers," he craned his neck back to where Din stood beside Tess. "You had trouble defeating one. Let's see how you do against a platoon." Her heart jumped to her throat, and the heated pulse of her broken hand blew through her body.

She was stupid to think it would be easy.

Din put a hand on her upper arm, guiding her gently to the side behind one of the control panels. He handed Grogu to her carefully, and she tucked him against her chest, the little creature's soft body a comfort in the ensuing chaos.

"You stay here," he told her. "Hide, if you have to." She nodded, mouth dry, tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. Without thinking, Din put a gloved hand up to her cheek, softly, barely touching her for fear she would recoil. She didn't. Tess stared into where she knew his eyes watched her beneath his helmet. "I'm going to get you out of here, Tess. I promise." They both knew he could swear no such thing, but his words were enough to quell the racing in her chest for just a couple seconds, and that was enough.

Grogu cuddled against her as Din walked away. She stood frozen for a moment, her face a mess of broken vows and hope turned to ash.

The others spurred into action.

"They're headed this way." Bo said as she moved in front of the screens projecting two lines of dark troopers marching towards them. Cara walked towards her and shoved Gideon down in the process. He fell almost gratefully, resting against the stairs of the dais.

Tess crouched as well, keeping her eyes trained on the back of the moff's head.

He could feel her watching him, and smiled, shifting his weight so that his billowing cape flooded over the ground —and anything hidden there— expertly.

Tess narrowed her eyes.

"Seal the blast doors!" Fennec shouted. Koska complied, and the unbreakable grey slabs slid into place with a hiss. Koska picked up her helmet and turned.

"They're here."

Tess hunched behind the control panel, Grogu saddled in her shaking hands. He grasped at the locks of hair streaming down her neck, and stared up at her placidly, his face calm and innocent.

Tess wished she could know how the baby always knew to keep his composure. The only thing she could feel at that moment was pure adrenaline, racing along her veins, beating so fast it roared through her ears.

Fennec picked up her large blaster rifle and positioned it facing the door. Koska put on her helmet and raised her own pistol. Bo-Katan stood beside her, wielding dual blasters, her stance prepared. Ahead of them, Tess could only see the back of Din, but that was enough to notice the frantic rise and fall of his shoulders.

The tension was palpable.

BANG!

Tess nearly jumped out of her skin. The sound erupted from the other side of the door. Everyone in the room flinched, their grips tightening over their weapons, and Tess closed her eyes, felt a heat at the back of her head.

BANG!

Grogu cooed from the folds of Tess' shirt. Though it hurt so much it almost blinded her, she moved him to tuck his head by her neck, so he was looking away. So he wouldn't have to see what happened when the dark troopers finally made it into the room. Tess' chest heaved like a rusted old machine, her skin tingling as if a thousand shards of broken glass were digging into her flesh.

"You have an impressive fire team protecting you," Gideon's grating voice pulled Tess' attention back to Din. "But I think we all know, after a valiant stand, everyone in this room will be dead..." the pounding continued, getting louder and louder with each clamour. "But me, and the children."

Gideon turned to look into Tess' wide eyes. She appeared like a skeleton who had found skin one size too big for her. The edges of her lips pulled downward, teeth chattering.

The middle of the blast doors started to pull outward, metal groaning as the steady hammering wore down the steel. Tess' whole body shook, a simmering beneath her skin that wracked up to her pulsing head. She thought she was smart in thinking they were free, she thought Din and the rescue team would keep her and Grogu alive. She thought they had won.

Why did her prayers always go unanswered?

Grogu cried into the soft part of her neck. His body shook along with hers, and Tess cradled his soft head, her lips moving as if to comfort him, but no sound came out. Words turned to ash in her mouth, choking her, killing her. She thought she might be dead by the time the dark troopers made it into the room.

Tess braced herself for the next dent made in the door, but before it could come, different alarms blared from all corners of the room. The occupants whirled around in confusion, their fear temporarily dispersed. Even Moff Gideon paused in his prospective victory. Grogu perked up from his hiding place, just as Tess lifted her head to look at one of the screens above her.

Then, out of the window and into the stars, Tess saw it.

An X-Wing cruised by the ship, it's exterior gone from white to beige over the years. Red stripes adorned small parts of it, and when Tess strained to get a better look at the pilot, all she could make out was a swath of black fabric.

"One X-wing?" Cara said. "Great. We're saved." Tess smirked, but her lungs contracted at the woman's words.

Bo-Katan moved over to the comms by Tess. "Incoming craft, identify yourself," She spoke into the mic.

Tess inhaled through her nose as the X-wing landed in the hangar with ease. Just as it did, Grogu pushed away from Tess, his eyes widening. Tess' throbbing fingers went momentarily still, a numbness cascading down through her nerves and into her broken hand. The feeling began to spread as Tess looked into Grogu's eyes. He cooed, and a pulse beat at the back of her head into her chest, to the rest of her body. Tess gasped, leaning against the console for support as the floor dropped out from under her.

She was back on Tatooine, standing before the krayt dragon, unleashing all of her might against it. The seams ripping at the edge of her fingertips, the ache in her head a constant pounding until her brain was a scattered mess of loose parts.

Grogu was sensing the same, his mouth open, his coos rising higher like the tide. Tess' frantic breaths were drowned by the throbbing pain racketing up through her bones.

The clamour of the dark troopers eased to a startling halt, and the silence which followed shook every single one of them to their core. Moff Gideon raised himself up as best he could with his wounded shoulder, and he turned to look at the children huddled in the corner.

When Tess saw the moff's face, the pain dulled. Moff Gideon wasn't staring at her like he had when she first arrived on the ship. No, Moff Gideon was looking at her the way he had all those years ago, the day her parents died, when she had brought the world to it's knees with one guttural scream.

Moff Gideon was afraid.

A wave of heat washed across Tess' temples, and she gasped, slamming herself against the edge of the console, keeping herself upright with only her shoulder. This seemed to unnerve Gideon even more, and he looked back to the door like it would explode any minute.

Tess put her non-injured hand up to her forehead, fingers shaking against her flesh like she could pull out the pain if she tried hard enough. It did not work.

Fennec asked the question they were all thinking. "Why did they stop?" Everyone moved forward a step. Bo-Katan looked down at the screen in front of her, and Tess craned to look through her blurry vision, but it was too high up.

As if she had heard her thoughts, Bo-Katan said. "A Jedi?"

Din whirled and Tess' jaw clenched tight. A Jedi. Such a simple phrase, but the force of it's presence took up all the air in the room. Tess looked at Din, her vision swimming with tears. He stepped towards her as she weakly pulled herself upright to stare into the screen. The black and white image showed a hooded figure wielding a sword made of light, cutting down the dark troopers as if they were clay figurines.

A Jedi.

Tess could hardly believe it. Moff Gideon turned to look as well, and when he saw the video playing out before him, something in his face changed.

Tess barely had time to pick Grogu up out of the way before Gideon sprung to his feet, blaster hidden beneath his cloak aimed directly at Bo. Then he shot her, again and again and again. Tess shrieked as Bo grunted, her armour sizzling from the blasts reverberating off of the woman. Bo fell to the ground in a molten heap. Tess hid Grogu, her entire body quaking with adrenaline, as Gideon turned the blaster on her.

Tess could only frown when Gideon pulled the trigger.

"No!" Din flew in front of them, kneeling before Tess and holding her under him, the shots glancing off his Beskar. Tess shut her eyes tight, mind still racing to catch up with reality.

"Drop it!" Fennec yelled, and the rest of the women aimed their blasters towards him. The moff wheezed, breath stolen from his chest, taking in the situation before him. Din kept his arms around Tess, but she forced herself to look over his shoulder, right into Gideon's eyes.

He stared directly at her as he raised the blaster into his own head.

"No," Tess uttered, climbing up Din's arm to stand. But Gideon never had a chance to pull the trigger. His gunshot wound made him slower than usual, and Cara slammed his hands with the butt of her rifle, then knocked him directly in the face. The man fell unconscious immediately, sinking to the floor.

Din put an arm around Tess as she stood, Grogu crying against her shirt. He pulled on the fabric, and both Din and her looked down to see the creature was pointing towards the screen set into the console. Together, they staggered over to the counter, where Grogu jumped out of her arms and pressed a hand to where the dark figure stalked through the halls of the ship, heading towards their location.

The pulsing came again, and Tess groaned, leaning her head against Din's shoulder. He looked down at her, hair tousled, skin shiny with sweat. He pressed a hand to her upper arm, holding her close, the only fraction of comfort he could give her with everything going on.

"Tess," he said her name as gentle as a summer breeze, and a tear slipped down Tess' cheek. She didn't look at him, couldn't look at him, because if she did, it would mean addressing what they both knew was coming.

Instead, she said out loud. "We got our Jedi."

Din sighed, and they watched the screen as the elevator doors leading to the bridge opened, the Jedi stepping out with his lightsaber raised. He mowed through the dark troopers with ease, laser sword cutting through the armour like an vibro blade through water. Tess' gaze was transfixed to the screen, and every movement the Jedi made, every time he used the Force, her breath grew shallower.

Din could barely look at her without the air in his chest constricting.

When the last of the dark troopers turned to face against the Jedi, the warrior raised a gloved fist. Immediately, the trooper was raised into the air, the metal that made up it's form tightening, denting as if a hammer were hacking away at it. It's blaster started to misfire, and the head caved in along with the rest of the body, until it was no more than a lump of smouldering machinery.

So this was what the Force could do when wielded by someone who knew how to use it. Tess' insides curdled with each passing second.

The Jedi made his way to the sealed blast doors, lightsaber still blazing at his side, and the pain at the back of Tess' head grew louder. Grogu looked away from the screen to where the Jedi now awaited, and raised one small fist towards the doors. Tess' brows shot downwards as Din picked up the child and led them to the centre of the room.

"Open the doors." He called out.

Nobody moved.

Din, Tess, and Grogu stepped down and towards Fennec, whose blaster did not lower.

"Are you crazy?" She questioned. Tess had half a mind to agree with her. This did seem crazy, all of it, like a dream and a nightmare sprung to life right before their eyes.

But the girl said nothing as Din placed Grogu in the chair at the console closest to the doors and pressed the button in front of him. All the while, Tess held firm to his free arm, both for physical support and because she thought if she let him go, they would be lost forever.

The blast doors creaked open, and Tess held her breath as the dark figure stepped out of the hallway filled with smoke. The Jedi entered the room with his hood still raised, his lightsaber still drawn, and Tess narrowed her eyes to keep her vision from going blurry.

Din put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but it did little to quell the overwhelming ache of finality.

The Jedi sheathed his lightsaber carefully, and lifted his hood from his face.

Tess breathed deeply as she looked at the man before her. He was lightly tanned, with hair the colour of fine straw and soft, almost baleful eyes. Only one of his hands were gloved, clasped in front of him loosely. His gaze passed over Din with little emotion, but when they landed on Tess, he met her tempered glare with an easy smile. His eyes were blue, like hers, only instead of a raging storm, they were as calm as a glassy lake, as clear as the afternoon sky. And for the first time, it was Tess who had to look away, unable to keep this man's stare, not when he seemed to be looking straight into her soul.

At last, the man moved from Tess to Grogu, who popped his head out from around the back of the chair.

"Are you a Jedi?" Din asked wearily.

"I am." The man answered. Tess' mouth went dry.

The man cocked his head at Grogu, then reached out an arm towards the creature. "Come, little one." Grogu cooed, looking at them with big, round eyes. Tess kept her own aimed at the ground, her uninjured hand crinkling the fabric under Din's armour.

"He doesn't want to go with you." Din's voice strained.

The man regarded them coolly before replying. "He wants your permission," at that, Tess did look up, her features twisting in surprise. "He is strong with the Force," the man continued. "But talent without training is nothing. I will give my life to protect the Child, but he will not be safe until he masters his abilities," then he turned to Tess. "And neither will she."

Tess could not help shaking her head, lips pursed.

The man considered her a moment, the way she clung to the Mandalorian, the electric fire in her eyes, before continuing. "You have a strong connection with the Force, young one," Tess clenched her jaw. "But you have let your anger and fear corrupt your power. Without the proper training, you cannot hope to wield the Force for good."

Tess' voice was thick. "And what if I don't want to wield it at all?" She took a step forward, letting go of Din. Her eyes glazed with tears, and her upper lip shook from the struggle of keeping the sobs at bay. "What can I do to get rid of them?" Please tell me there is a way, she thought, and as though he could sense her thoughts, the man's features slackened with pity.

Her shoulders were rigid as he placed his gloved hand atop them, and peered at her calmly. "If you do not want to wield the Force, then without frequent use or training, your powers will fade. Though I hope that is not what you decide."

Tess' face crumpled. It was exactly what Ahsoka Tano had told her back on Corvus, when Tess had chosen not to believe her. When she had screamed and begged the woman to take away her powers. When she had turned to her anger for the solution she wanted, just like this man had said.

All this time, the answer had been right in front of her, the truth of what the Force meant to her. Everything she had worked for, everything she had gone through, was to quash the cacophony of pain ringing out inside her body. To sew back what the Force had ripped away from her. All she had wanted was to put back the pieces that she had lost over the years, to return back to normal. Only there was no normal anymore, only change, and the Tess who had left Tatooine for an answer to her pain was not the same Tess standing before the Jedi.

What should she do? If she went with this man, she knew he could help her in learning the ways of the Force, perhaps even learn to control the storm inside her whenever she used her powers. But if she did, it would mean leaving Din behind.

At the thought, Tess looked up to see the familiar dark visor boring into the side of her head. Under his helmet, Din's face was drawn tight, every muscle pulled as far as it could go. A lump was lodged in his throat, awaiting the sentence that would change the course of his life. He had already lost Grogu,  he could feel it in his bones. All that was left was the girl in front of him, whom he had brought through hell to get here, and now whom he didn't want to leave. It was unfair, that she should have to choose like this. Din almost told her to leave, so the choice would never haunt them again, so she could go forward and never look back.

But Din knew if he did that, he could never forgive himself. It was selfish and it was hurtful, but Din didn't want Tess to go. He wanted to take care of her for as long as he could, he wanted her surly frowns and blunt words, he wanted to watch her eyes light up with each new planet they visited, he wanted to repair their ship together and sip bone broth after a hard day's work. He wanted her by his side.

All this he thought but did not say aloud, watching the tempered girl who stared at the Jedi's outstretched hand.

Tess' expression turned from puzzled to determined, and the edges carving her face hardened as she brought her eyes up to meet the Jedi's. Din held his breath, mouth as thin as a line, as Tess made her decision.

"I..." she said slowly, then paused, contemplating for one last second, before shaking her head and setting her shoulders firm. "I choose nothing," At first, Din just stood frozen, trying to understand, before she continued. "I don't need this power, and I don't want it." The Jedi pursed his lips, clearly disappointed.

"If you continue to use the Force without the proper training—" he started.

"I won't," Tess said. "You have my word. I'll let it fade away. I won't use it anymore." It hurts too much.

"There is still a place for you," the man said. "If you ever want it."

Tess gave him a half grin. "My place is right here."

Under his helmet, Din smiled, and if she had been able to witness it, Tess would have seen the moons and the stars and suns in his gaze.

Tess stepped back, and the Jedi let his hand drop.  

"Very well." He said, and Tess bit hard on the inside of her cheek. Din held her delicate hand firm in his own, thumb making small semi-circles into her palm. Tess relaxed at the touch, feeling as though the the weight of an entire cement block had been lifted off her throat. Only to be replaced with the bitter spike of realization that there was someone else the Jedi had come for. Someone else the Jedi was going to take away.

Din let go of Tess and picked up Grogu from where he perched on the edge of the chair. Seeing the little creature cradled in Din's large arms sent a flood of images passing through Tess, of all the moments they had spent together over the past few weeks. The soft touch of a three-fingered hand on her metal leg. Grains of sand pulled away from the crevices of her agony. Soft, flimsy ears hiding under her jacket.

"Hey," Din said, watching as Grogu's eyes glistened in the light of the bridge. "Go on." Grogu looked from the Mandalorian over to Tess, who curled one side of her lip in reassurance. "That's who you belong with," Din continued. "We'll see you again. I promise." Tess let in a sharp intake of breath. Grogu cooed, looking between the two, and Tess raised a hand to grasp at his cloth robe.

The child reached up and pressed three fingers to the base of Din's helmet. Tess tried to smile as Din leaned into Grogu's touch.

For a moment, as eerie peace settled over the three of them, Tess holding Grogu's sleeve, Grogu touching Din's Beskar, and Din holding both of them in his arms.

Then Tess felt the heady release of his touch, and she frowned as Din reached a hand up to his helmet, and lifted it slowly. A second passed, then two, and still Tess could not understand what she was seeing. She only heard the hiss of air, the careful breath of a man who had not felt the touch of the real world in a long, long time.

Din had taken off his helmet. And Tess would not look at him.

She could see only a dark smudge in her peripheral, her head turned away and down. The presence of him was overwhelming, the knowledge that if she turned just slightly, she would see the man behind the mask. And however much she wanted to see him, Tess could not bring herself to look up.

Because if she did, then this would all be over. The time they had spent together, the things they had fought through had all led to this moment, and if Tess allowed herself to see Din without the face she had come to know, what if it would change how she saw him? What if when she looked into his eyes, he did not share the same love she had for him? What if by looking at him, she lost everything?

Din struggled to breathe. The caressing touch of real air on his sweaty forehead were like the fingers of a corpse stroking his coarse cheek. He was painfully aware of almost every pair of eyes boring into the back of his exposed skull. All but one.

Din craned his neck to where Tess seethed beside him, her gaze obviously avoiding looking at his face. Din's face collapsed, his eyes begging, but Tess could see none of this. She would not look at him.

Din wasn't sure why he had taken off his helmet. Even more, he wasn't sure why Tess wouldn't look him without it.

Deep down, this was who he was, the real Din Djarin underneath all of the Beskar. Hadn't she been the one to patronize him for upholding the Mandalorian Code? Hadn't this been what she wanted?

Tess Oprin was not the type of person to give reason for her choices, but in that moment Din wanted nothing more than to understand her, really understand her, so it might quell the ache in his fast beating heart.

But he did not have time, not there, not with everything that was going on. Din turned his attention back to the small creature in his arms. The one he was actually saying goodbye to. Grogu watched him, eyes wide, and Din thought he could see a flicker of surprise pass across the child's pupils. A flicker of understanding.

Din closed his own teary eyelids, swallowing the lump forming at the base of his throat, as Grogu reached up a hand to touch the scratchy beard painted across his lower jaw and around his mouth.

Beside him, Tess shifted, but even as Din went to speak, she could not bring herself to look.

"All right, pal," Din said, as soft as feathers. "It's time to go." A tear slipped down Tess' porcelain cheek. Grogu whined, ears flattening as Din took one last look at the creature he had been taking care of for what felt like a lifetime.

When he spoke up again, Din's voice cracked over his vowels, more weight in them than one would have thought possible. " Don't be afraid."

He wasn't just talking to Grogu.

Tess sucked in a breath, face twisting, mask falling away. Din spied her out of the corner of his eye, took in her slanted brows, her tight jaw, the strain in her very core. After they got off the ship, Din thought, after they were somewhere safe and quiet, they could talk. They could figure out where to go next, the new steps they would take. But right now, Din had another responsibility; to keep himself from breaking.

He gently placed Grogu on the floor by his feet, where the creature hugged at his boots. Din didn't need to hear him speak to know this was Grogu's final goodbye. Grogu cooed, then turned to Tess, who wrung her hands together impatiently.

"Go on," she said, voice hoarse. When Grogu met her eyes, a pulse shook through her spine down to her toes and into her fingertips. Grogu did not break their stare, mouth puckered, waiting. A violent shake wracked up Tess' body, a shiver driving deep into her blackened bones.

"Thanks, kid," she managed to say. "For everything." Grogu smiled, and the last frozen part of her, the final piece of Tess' old life, was shed away. It had all led to this moment, this final farewell. The mission was complete, Tess' questions were answered, and a new dawn began.

Grogu slowly turned away, waddling over to the Jedi, and peered up at him. Then Grogu lifted up his small arms, and the Jedi picked the child up with the same care Tess and Din had shown many times before. Grogu cooed, and snuggled into the hood of the Jedi's cloak.

The Jedi looked back to the two motionless onlookers. A faint smile crested his lips, and the Jedi nodded to each in turn. Both of them nodded back, a wordless transaction.

Shifting Grogu in his arms, the Jedi said. "May the Force be with you."

And with that, both he and Grogu turned back down the hallway they had come. Each step they took pounded against Tess' heart, like a thread pulled steadily out of her chest. Din breathed heavy, and stared after Grogu still watching them from over the Jedi's shoulder.

Tess trained her gaze ahead when Din turned to look at her, that same pleading look in his eyes that she could not face. She could feel the desperation, the longing for her to see him for who he was.

But Tess was not ready. Not yet.

The thought struck Din like a bolt of lightning, clouds lifting. He saw the tears in her eyes, the tension running along her shoulders. She wanted to look at him, she wanted to see him. Din nodded to himself, resolution planted in his gut.

One day, he thought, one day. After all, what did they have now if not forever?

Din looked back ahead, and reached a hand towards Tess. Wordlessly, the girl twined her fingers with his gloved ones. They were clammy, so small they fit perfectly against his wide palm.

As the two watched the Jedi climb into the elevator at the end of the hall, Din squeezed her hand once, an embrace of reassurance, a promise. Tess blew out a breath, and one side of her mouth quirked up. She squeezed back.

The Mechanic and the Mandalorian stood together, side by side, hands entwined, as the fight ended, and a new dawn began.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

"I choose nothing." When I first wrote that line for this chapter, I knew that SHORT CIRCUIT had finally come to an end, that this chapter of Tess and Din's journey was at a close. It perfectly summed up Tess' character arc, how she had gone from wanting to feel nothing as an escape to choosing nothing out of love and care for the people around her.

There won't be an epilogue, like I said there would be (though I might make a one-shot book for some more Tess & Din fluff moments) because I feel that this chapter is a perfect conclusion. I will say more in the AFTERWORD, but right now I just want to say thank you. This book really has been a labour of love and I'm so grateful to have had the support you guys gave me to actually finish.

Thanks for reading, and until next time!