"Get out of the car." It's just above a whisper this time, but the command is much stronger in his piercing eyes... "Turn around," he demands before she's even closed the door behind her. He knows it's an excuse to touch her after so many nights of reaching out for her ghost. He needs to feel that she's still flesh and bone.

"His bruises on her fade. More time, and you begin to see the flickering wildness in her eyes again. The cage rattles. You quiet it. Neither of you even breathes in the direction of your darkness. It's as though she's never seen it, never felt it, and the sharp electricity between you turns to ease."