Page 138 of The Alien in the Archive

The air feels heavier now. I watch Lyn as she fidgets—rolling her shoulders back, jaw tight, like she’s bracing for me to throw her words back at her.

It makes my chest ache.

Before I can respond, Thorne shifts. He steps forward, slow and deliberate, until he’s facing Lyn directly. She stiffens immediately, her expression going wary.

“I don’t need your apology,” he says softly, his deep voice like a calm tide. “You don’t owemeanything.”

Lyn’s eyebrows pull together in confusion, but she doesn’t interrupt.

Thorne holds her gaze, and there’s no anger in him, no coldness—just quiet gravity. “I understand what you saw. I understand the fear that came with it. You’re not wrong to hate what the Borean Empire did to your people. To your history. I can never undo it, but I can tell you this: I left because I could no longer live with what we had become. I ran when I should have fought.”

The room is silent. Lyn looks away, her throat working, but Thorne isn’t finished.

“I hid,” he continues, his tone soft but unyielding. “I chose cowardice because it was easier than facing the consequences of my people’s actions. That choice—mychoice—cost others dearly. Maybe even people you loved.”

Lyn’s face twists, her hands curling into fists at her sides. I can feel her anger rising—not quite at him, but at everything. The Borean Empire. The Convergence. The messy, impossible history she’s been forced to reckon with.

Thorne doesn’t waver. “I don’t ask for your forgiveness,”he says. “I only ask for the chance to help mend what was broken.”

Lyn looks at him for a long time, her face unreadable. Finally, she exhales sharply and drops into one of the armchairs, like her legs can’t hold her up anymore.

“You’re both impossible,” she mutters, scrubbing a hand over her face. “You know that, right? Both of you. How do youdothis?”

I blink, caught off guard. “Do what?”

She throws up a hand, gesturing wildly at the two of us. “Make me feel like the bad guy even though I’m still mad at you!”

Riley, who’s been lurking near the edge of the room with his arms crossed, snorts. “Because youarethe bad guy.”

Lyn shoots him a withering glare. “Shut up, Riley.”

“Just saying,” he smirks, but his voice softens a little as he moves to lean against the wall. “You don’t get points for saving the day, but you showed up. That counts.”

Lyn rolls her eyes, but there’s a flicker of something else there now—relief, maybe. But it’s like she’s waiting for someone to tell her it’s okay to feel conflicted.

“You’re not the bad guy,” I say, and she looks up at me. “I was scared too, Lyn. I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. But you didn’t tell anyone about my powers, and you’re here now. That means something.”

Her expression softens, just barely. “Orin doesn’t think so. He’s still furious about the whole thing.”

I nod, swallowing the sting of that. “Maybe he will, eventually. Maybe he won’t. Either way…you’re here, and you want to help. That’s a start.”

Lyn swallows hard, her gaze darting toward Thorne before coming back to me. “You really trust him?” she asks, quieter this time.

“Yes,” I reply without hesitation.

Thorne’s presence brushes against my mind like a soft touch, and I feel his gratitude—his steady, quiet belief inme.

Lyn sighs and slouches further in her chair, scrubbing a hand through her hair. “Then…I’ll try to trust him too. I’m not saying I’ll be good at it, but I’ll try.”

“That’s all we’re asking,” Thalara chimes in, speaking for the first time since Thorne stepped forward. She sets Ashlan down gently, smiling when he chirps in protest. “You don’t have to fix everything today. Just help us.”

“And take on coffee runs for a while,” Riley adds.

Lyn hesitates, then lets out a long breath. “Fine,” she mutters. “But I’m still not doing tea runs.”

“Yes, you are,” Riley says immediately.

“Absolutely not.”

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