She had to admit he had immediately attracted her on aphysical level, and she'd been intrigued by things which couldn't possibly beThéoden. A boy who couldn't draw butwanted to be da Vinci. Whose mother hadbeen his ideal. Who hadn't faltered fromnecessity in the days after the Spire's arrival, then had had nightmares aboutthe people he'd failed to save. Driven,time-poor, prone to putting people last outside of emergencies. Very like her. And, if that conversation was anything to go by, just as shielded anddefensive as she, for all his clear self-confidence.

It mattered a great deal that he'd made sure the entire worldknew the debt they owed to the Moth who had possessed him. And he'd seen that the first thing she'dneeded to know was how he felt about her art. But how could she go with him, constantly seeing only that he wasdifferent from the boy she loved? Thatwould only hurt them both more, a long spiral of comparisons anddisappointments she didn't have the strength to face.

Fight. Always fight. No matter how impossible the odds, no matter who you've lost, how you'vebeen hurt. If there doesn't seem to be away out, look for one. If you seem tohave come to an end, start afresh. Never, ever give up.

Had Théoden foreseen this choice? Unable to settle her thoughts, Madeleinewalked up to the house, to wash her face and follow the noise of discussion toa crowded lounge room. Musketeersdishing out food and talking over what to do next. They greeted her cheerfully, entirely as ifshe hadn't been curled up in her room for the past two days, and shuffled aboutto make a space for her to sit. Madeleine tucked in beside Emily so she could thank her for a timely rescue,remarked on Gavin's impressive black eye, and accepted a piled plate fromNash. Pan grinned at her from the floorbeside Noi's feet, then turned his attention back toa sniper war of paper balls with Min.

Acceptance washed over her, a sense of care and belonging, acertainty of place. Whatever happened,they would support her, pick her up if she fell, cover her weaknesses and beglad of her presence. She ate, and foundherself almost smiling, and when Noi asked which city Madeleine thought theyshould go to, she looked across at a closed, expressionless face and said:

"Melbourne."

Epilogue

A perfect autumn day. By ten the streets were already filling,crowds flooding from the train tunnels, walking from the bus drop sites,meandering down the centre of the closed roads, gaping at the crest of whitevisible above the trees. Most woredust-catchers: broad-brimmed hats supporting elbow-length veils, reminiscent ofbeekeeper garb but with a dense, silky weave. A few – the elderly, the very young – were clumsy in Hazmat gear. Bareheaded among them were Blues and Greens,or the foolhardy percentage who gambled that the Conversion would make themheroes, not corpses.

Many crossed the southern portion of Hyde Park on their wayto the ceremony, some glancing at the young woman seated on the stair of theAnzac Memorial, none coming close enough to see the deep stain of her hands, orthe patch on her face hidden by an unnecessary dust-catcher. She watched them on their way to commemoratea different war, and occasionally glanced at a worn paperback while fielding astream of text messages. As middayapproached, the flow of people tapered off, but by that time the northern halfof the park and surrounds were a solid mass, even spilling across the dividingstreet into the southern park. The moodwas celebratory. It was a day to mark areturn to some semblance of normalcy, to gather at the point of invasion, nolonger a gaping hole leaking toxic dust, or the churned scar which had pluggedit, but a park once again, with a functioning train station beneath. To proclaim relief, sorrow, triumph, and amove forward. The dust-catcherssilently, unavoidably, underlined that there was no going back.

The white noise of chatter died away to echoingspeeches. Then applause, more speeches,more applause. Finally, inevitably, aunited chant which thousands of voices turned into a roar, thunder.

"All for one! AllFor One! ALL FOR ONE!"

By two o'clock the park had nearly emptied, thousandsstreaming over to The Domain, where food stalls and a sound stage had been setup for an afternoon concert. Musicthumped. The performance was in fullswing when a curvy young woman wearing a white dress and blue headband crossedinto the southern half of Hyde Park, followed the length of the reflectingpool, and climbed the Memorial stair.

"Not sketching?"

"Not stupid."

"I guess it would be a bit of a giveaway."

They hugged, and as ever Madeleine was immediatelywarmed. It was if a year's separationhad never happened.

"How was the ceremony?"

"Blah blah blah,then a few thousand people in tears. Ready to go down?"

Madeleine glanced at the time on her phone and nodded.

"I should have grown some sense and skipped outtoo," Noi said, as they headed north. "I'm so jetlagged I can't think straight."

"Do you want to put off dinner? Change it to tomorrow?"

"Hell no. I'llnap for an hour or two while everyone's gabbing, then I'll be good to go. Besides, I've been dying to meet Millie'sgirlfriend. What's she like?"

"Zoe? Clever, abit of a joker. Tries to be cool, butabsolutely hero-worships Millie. Waittill you see them in their uniforms."

"A potential portrait?"

"Maybe. I've donea few studies." She caught Noi's frown and smiled through the veil. "I think the police thing is workingout. Millie's breezing through thetraining, and she's so happy even her parents are starting to accept."

"Mm. I stillregret talking her into calling them. All that fuss and drama."

They'd been in Mumbai at the time, six months after the fallof the Spires, and the Wrights' discovery their daughter was still alive hadled to a stream of accusations and demands. Though it gave Madeleine a headache just to remember, she thought thatit had worked out better for Emily in the long run. Her parents so clearly adored her.

"How's casting going?"

"All the major roles are set. The rest we'll work through next week, whichshould be fun and a half. At least nowTyler's signed Nash can go back to being himself, instead of the Walking Towerof Stress."

Madeleine laughed. "Why was he stressing? Tylerreally wants to play Milady." Reshaping the villainess of The Three Musketeers into aloyalty-torn heroine had produced a particularly juicy role, and Tyler was farfrom the only Big Name who'd been keen to win it.

"Oh, just a small matter of Undying Devotion. Besides, TBM is not exactly a major-leagueproduction company, even with Saashi on board."

They crossed Park Street speculating on the chances of Nashwinning Tyler, which at least had shifted into the realms of possibility now hewas twenty-one instead of sixteen.

"Do you think you'll finally settle for a while?"

"Hey, you've gadded about almost as much as we have – isthere a city you two haven't studied in? But, yeah, we're thinking of basing TBM in Sydney even after the film'sdone. I'm going to have to slow downanyway." She touched her stomach,and nodded at Madeleine's questioning glance. "Not a hundred per cent planned, but we'd been talking aboutit. We both like the idea of a bigfamily."

Delighted, Madeleine paused to hug Noi again. "I'm not sure I should congratulate youthough – TBM's going to have it rough without you keeping everyoneorganised."

"I'll be keeping my finger in the pie, don't worry aboutthat. Just not baking them for a crew offifty for a while."

"So does this mean you're going to schedule the weddingat long last?" Madeleine asked as they made their way through a mix oftowering fig trees and recently-planted saplings.