I gasped for air, bolting up and thrashing against the rushing water dragging me along. I fell and hit the floor, letting out a cry. I heaved a breath in, and heaved out my dinner onto the floor, choking and wiping my lips. My ears were ringing, and my thigh was vibrating. There was a gently moving pressure on my back, up and down my spine.

  Fuck. I sat back on my haunches as Amy said something that I couldn’t quite process. I shook my head and pulled out my phone, rejecting the call and tossing it aside. I turned and wrapped my arms around Amy, burying my face against her neck as I tried to control my breathing, tried not to break down like I always did.

  Amy gently shushed me, rubbing gentle circles around my back. My ragged, heaving breaths gradually slowed, and my heart did with them. Her fingers ran through my hair, making me shiver, and I pressed closer to her. I knew when I was, I knew we hadn’t talk about...any of this yet. But right now I didn’t care.

  “You’re okay,” Amy whispered. “You’re safe Lia, you’re alive.”

  “Yeah,” I croaked, sniffing. “Yeah, I am. Thanks.”

  “Of course,” she said gently. “You okay?” I shook my head.

  “Died,” I said, pulling away from her. “I...fuck, that was bad.”

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “No, I want to go wash the puke out of my mouth,” I replied bitterly, then softened my tone. “And then...maybe we could cuddle?” Her eyes widened and I saw her face turning red.

  “L-like...cuddle cuddle?”

  “Is there any other kind?” I asked sarcastically, then walked quickly to the bathroom.

  I washed my mouth out and gargled until I felt vaguely clean. Almost as an afterthought, I snatched a towel from the cabinet and brought it with me, tossing it over the puddle of sick I’d left on the floor. Amy was sitting on the couch, hands in her lap, legs together, looking anywhere but me. I sat next to her and leaned against her arm, making her flinch.

  “Sorry,” I apologized.

  “It’s okay,” she squeaked. “Just...um...”

  “No, I mean…” I sighed. “How do you feel about me Amy?” When she didn’t answer, I laid my head against her shoulder. “I like you, for the record. I’m...sorry it took me this long to do anything about it.”

  “Why are you saying this?” Amy asked shakily.

  I explained my last death, and Skitter’s. I explained the kiss, which made her choke on her own spit. She apologized a dozen times before I calmed her down enough to explain the rest of how that went. Amy stopped me and took my left hand, then demanded I repeat myself. I let her touch my skin and did, watching her face get redder and redder as she realized I was telling the truth.

  “So, yeah,” I said with a shrug. “I...god, I’m so happy I didn’t go back further Amy.”

  “Me too,” Amy murmured, gaze fixed on our interlocked fingers. “I’m sorry, for kissing y—”

  “Amy please, you’ve apologized enough haven’t you?” She frowned and I brushed my stubby fingers against her cheek. “It was a surprise...not a bad one, just a lot.”

  “Still…” she said, shutting her eyes. “Shouldn’t have.”

  “Apology accepted and I forgive you,” I said, a little exasperated. “I’m not going to complain about having something good in my life.” Her cheeks darkened again.

  “Don’t say shit like that,” Amy mumbled. “I’m not good.”

  “Agree to disagree because I don’t feel like fighting,” I said with a shrug, taking her other hand. “So, Amy...want to go on a real date sometime?” Her grip around my hands tightened.

  “You really want to?” she asked, not meeting my eyes. “With...me? You know what I did, you can’t trust me.”

  “Maybe not implicitly,” I half-agreed, leaning closer to her. “But I want to.”

  I kissed her. It wasn’t some grand romantic gesture, sweeping her off her feet, or an ill-informed attempt to stop her from panicking; just a simple, chaste peck on her cheek. Amy sniffed and wrapped her arms around my back, hugging me tightly. She wasn’t quite crying, but her breathing was ragged and I could feel her shaking.

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  “It’s okay,” I whispered, shutting my eyes as she leaned into me. “We’ll take it slow, okay? Don’t have to do anything either of us don’t want.”

  “You really…” Amy took a shuddering breath and pulled away, staring into my eyes. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  I flinched when her lips met mine, but didn’t pull away. Just like I remembered, it was clumsy, stiff, and awkward. I still felt my cheeks burning up as we held each other there. We broke apart after just a few seconds, and I could see Amy was as red-faced as I felt. My stomach squirmed and when she moved in again, I couldn’t help pulling back.

  “Sorry,” I apologized shakily, running my fingers through my hair. “Umm, uh, that was…”

  “Nice,” Amy said breathily, licking her lips.

  “Yeah,” I agreed, fiddling with a strand. “Just...um.” I licked my lips and shook my head. “No, nothing, it was good. I guess we’re...dating?” A smile wormed its way onto Amy’s face.

  “Okay,” she said after a moment. “I um, maybe it’s stupid to say this but...it kind of felt like we were already.” I chuckled dryly.

  “Yeah that’s on me,” I said with a sigh. “Took me a while to figure everything out. You...you helped, honestly. Made me have a conversation I didn’t want to, but needed to. So thanks, for that and for...I guess for wanting me.”

  “I could say the same,” Amy replied quietly. I frowned and gently stroked her hair.

  “Hey, it’s okay Amy, really.” I sighed and glanced up, my gaze tracking towards the door. “I should go and get some rest, there’s gonna be a meeting in the morning for sure.”

  “Huh? Why?”

  “Skitter, dead, remember?”

  “I...got distracted.”

  I gave her a lopsided grin and pecked her cheek, then rose from the couch. I retrieved my phone, then grimaced as I remembered the mess I’d made. I used the towel to wipe up the puddle, then tossed it in the hamper and headed to the door. Amy joined me as I flipped up my hood and mask, wrapping her arms around me and giving me pause.

  “Would you...stay?” Amy asked, her voice small.

  “I…” I swallowed as my stomach fluttered. “That’s...um, not exactly slow."

  “Sorry,” she whispered.

  “Maybe…” I licked my lips, plucking at a stray lock of hair. “I could just take the couch?”

  “Yeah, yeah, that makes sense,” Amy said quickly. I felt her nodding. “Just a sleepover.”

  “Or something,” I agreed, shifting and turning so I was facing her. “Maybe...one more movie?”

  “How about—”

  “I’m picking,” I cut her off. “Had enough courtroom drama to last a lifetime, thanks.”

  She giggled as we headed back to the couch and settled down. I laid my head on her shoulder and let out a sigh, more at ease than I’d ever been after dying.

  “Amaranth,” Defiant greeted me.

  “Hey,” I said, grabbing a seat across from him in the little interview room. “Thanks for giving me the time of day.”

  “Of course,” he replied. “While I’m authorized by the Guild to take a sworn prediction, I have to ask: why me and not your superiors?”

  “Because you know about predicting Endbringers.” There was a tense pause.

  “Am I to take it you can?” he asked, sounding more than a little skeptical.

  “Behemoth’s going to attack on Monday the twenty-fifth,” I answered. I’d managed to sort that out this morning, with a bit of help from Amy. “Some dam in Northern India. I don’t know where, but it’s one of the biggest in the region.” Thanks Vala.

  “You’re not lying.” Defiant sounded shocked. “You believe that.”

  “I know it,” I countered. “Look, you have the stuff to figure out where he’s coming, set up seismometers or whatever. And you have that thingy that predicts these guys anyway, right?”

  “It’s still experimental, one moment.” He reached into a bag at his side and took out a tablet. He tapped it a few times and it lit up. “Hello Dragon.”

  “Defiant, is something the matter?” she asked.

  “Not exactly,” he replied, setting it up on the table between us so I could see her, and her camera could see me. “Amaranth, please repeat your prediction.”

  “Behemoth, July twenty-fifth, Northern India, big dam.” Defiant gave me a look but I just shrugged.

  “Would you run that against our data?” he requested.

  “I will,” she said, looking at me. “While I do, could you explain what’s going on?”

  “For all intents and purposes, I’m a precog,” I said. “I remember things that haven’t happen, and I remember Behemoth attacking a big reservoir in Northern India. I don’t really know how much else I can give you.” Besides dying which I obviously wasn’t offering.

  “Will you give us the full story?” Defiant asked. Fucking lie detector.

  “No,” I said shortly. “I’m telling you what I remember, the important parts. Details don’t matter.” In this case, because they’d already changed once. I wasn’t sure why, maybe because I told people? That didn’t make sense though, it wasn’t like Behemoth read up on PRT documents.

  “That’s not for you to decide,” he said, voice firm.

  “Actually, yeah it is,” I retorted, glaring. “I have a good reason not to go into detail, truth. And you’re not going to be able to convince me, truth.” Defiant stared silently at me, mouth fixed in a frown. I met his gaze, easier to do than face an oncoming flood.

  “Defiant,” Dragon said, drawing his attention. “Data makes sense with what we’ve been reading; that chain of earthquakes on the subcontinent.”

  “I nearly forgot, they were so infrequent.”

  “If he’s deep…” Dragon trailed off and frowned. “Thank you for this, Amaranth. We’ll make sure to take this seriously. The locals will be alerted too, we may be able to put together the perfect fight.”

  “I hope so,” I said. “Who knows, by the end of the day maybe he’ll be dead.”

  “I think that’s overly optimistic,” Defiant said. “But perhaps we can deal a blow that delays his next attack significantly.”

  “Sure.” I shrugged.

  “Was there anything else you remembered Amaranth?” Dragon asked as I rose. “Anything at all.” I frowned, thinking of the end of the world.

  “Let’s talk after Behemoth,” I answered. “Just...one thing at a time.” Dealing with what was in front of me, like Amy said.

  “You can count on it,” she said. “Goodbye Amaranth, and good luck.”

  “You guys too,” I said with a nod, turning and leaving the room.

  I let out a sigh of relief. Things would be different this time, I was sure of it.