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Aimee frowned. “Done? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Itmeans,” Taly said, holding up a painting of a woman who had her nose, “that I’m not training you anymore. No more workouts, no more water whips, no more protein shakes that taste like goblin piss. We’redone.”

She heard Aimee shift her weight, hopefully to leave. Unfortunately, she wasn’t that lucky.

“I don’t accept that.”

Taly barked out a laugh. “Well, that’s too fucking bad.” She dragged over the next crate, prying off the lid with unnecessary force. It came away with a groan and a spray of dust that made her cough. “I told you, I’m not wasting my time on someone who doesn’t appreciate it.”

“And who said I don’t appreciate you?” Aimee demanded.

“Gee, I don’t know,” Taly drawled. “Your tone, your body language, all that crap you yelled at me.”

A scoff. “Like you even care. I thought you were glad you weren’t her.”

Taly didn’t bother answering. She wasdonewith this conversation.

“So what then?” Aimee snapped. “You’re just going to punish me? Is that it?”

Taly sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. “Go. Away.”

But the steps groaned again. Before Taly could react, Aimee shoved the crate aside, knocking over a stack of books andscattering the carefully sorted piles. Then she plopped herself down,right in front of her,grabbing Taly’s hands before she could pull away.

“Hey—” Taly started to protest.

“Just shut up and do what I tell you.” Aimee’s voice was firm, brooking no argument.

Taly tried to pull back, but Aimee tightened her grip, flattening their palms together. “Justfollow.”

She clapped their hands together—once, firm—then dragged Taly’s palm down her own until their fingertips brushed.

“Despite what you and Aiden seem to think, I also happen to know a thing or two about biology.” Next, she tapped their knuckles together before nudging Taly’s fingers outward with her own. One more clap, then the final move involved catching the other’s wrist. “The brain is not the only place the body stores memory.”

She did it again.

Clap. Slide. Tap. Clap. Catch.

“Do something enough times,” Aimee said, forcing Taly’s hands into another sharp clap. “And it stops being a thought. Just becomes… movement.”

Clap. Slide. Tap. Clap. Catch.

“This is stupid,” Taly muttered.

“Then you shouldn’t have any trouble with that big brain of yours.”

Clap. Slide. Tap. Clap—Taly caught Aimee’s wrist.

She didn’t think to do it. Her hand just moved, like a ghost lived in her bones.

Aimee’s grin was smug, though there was a flicker of something else behind it—relief, maybe? “Knew you had it in there somewhere.”

Taly stared down at their joined hands. She felt… disconnected, like she was standing a step outside her own body. The basement, the boxes, Aimee… everything seemed distant, unreal.

“I…,” she began, but the words wouldn’t come.

She yanked her hands free, a sudden, desperate need for space, forair, rising within her. “I have to go.”

She wasn’t fleeing, not exactly, but she also didn’t waste any time scrambling to her feet and running up the stairs, leaving Aimee alone amidst the scattered remnants of the past.