Twenty minutes later I was clean, my hair was dry, and I was dressed in street clothes. The sneakers actually fit pretty well, which surprised me. Whe... I was done, Dr. Cummings was in my room with Evan."Ah, look at you! Ready to get out of here?" Yes, please."He looked at my neck and gave Evan instructions on how to pull the stitches out in a few days. After Dr. Cummings took care of signing my release papers, he told us where to go for processing and gave me a brief hug goodbye."You take care,. He knew what to do.Both of them started watching some movie while sitting in the bed. Angad drank his wine and then made some calls. For some time, he acted as if Swati wasn’t even there sitting with him. Swati was surprised to see him behave so casually. Nevertheless, it gave her the time to calm down.She, too, started browsing her phone while watching the movie. It went on for some more time. After a few minutes, Swati was engrossed in the movie. The job, Angad, her fear, her doubts she had. “Just wait until I pay the tab,”, she said. “Maybe I’ll give you something you can quote. Maybe something better than a quote.”I eased back down in my chair and waited anxiously while she paid the bill. She said, “Now, it’s up to you, but I’m driving home and inviting you to ride with me. It’s a very short drive.”And it was. She parked in her apartment complex’s general parking area and we walked to her apartment. We had talked about the basketball game we’d both been at. I wanted to ask what. “I’m okay. I’m still mourning, I suppose, but I’m trying not to feel guilty about how Duncan died. I miss him, Riordan.”He sighed. “As do I. You should not feel guilty, Sierra. Knowing what he would be facing, had he survived ... well, I think I envy him, to be honest.”I touched Riordan’s arm, shocked and saddened. “Riordan...”“I was not meant to survive the battle. You said so yourself. Now, instead of a death that means something, trying to end the Blight, I will be forced to take my Calling.