Reunification Day forces up the grief that Xaden desperately tried to hold down.

With his gaze fixed on the stars, they stare back down at him, and he searches for a sign. For anything, really. A sign his father’s proud of him. A sign he’s doing the right thing by continuing the rebellion. A sign that he can win against the army of venin threatening their way of life. A sign that everything will be okay.

He’ll take any bit of hope the moon has to spare.

His feet dangle off the side of the Parapet as he sits, a feeling that would cause a lesser person to tremble at the fear of falling. But he takes comfort in the gentle air that moves through his hair and kisses his skin. It calms him. As much as anything can, anyway. His shoulders slump from the weight of his responsibilities, but in the somber silence, he lets himself feel the vulnerabilities he’s kept boxed up and hidden.

A sound has his head snapping to the side, the sight causing his whole world to tilt. But despite the fear that rises in his throat in the tune of his pounding heart, he finds himself wondering if the figure approaching him, a sight to behold, is the sign he’s been looking for.