Naomi laughed, a small sound that vibrated through my chest where she pressed against me. For a moment, everything felt almost normal. Just a guy and his girlfriend sitting on a couch after a rough afternoon, making jokes about their aggressive squad leader. The kind of domestic normalcy I'd never really had in either of my lives.
Then my phone buzzed with another text and the illusion shattered.
"Come on." I stood up and offered Naomi my hand. "Let's go face the firing squad."
The walk across campus to the training facility took about eight minutes at a normal pace. We made it in six, Naomi's shorter legs working double time to match my stride. The evening air had cooled from the afternoon heat, carrying the smell of salt from the distant ocean and something floral from the gardens we passed. Other students moved around us in clusters, heading to dinner or study sessions or whatever else normal academy life involved.
