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“Well—” Tahiri hesitated. “Jacen told me that it was. That I was taking a risk that might change the fate of the galaxy if we weren’t careful. I’ve since learned that that isn’t true. Things can be changed slightly, yes, but the pattern of the Force flows so that the true path is restored.”

“But he forced you to rely upon him, while lying to you, by making you think you were doing something dangerous when he knew for a certainty all would be well?”

“That’s correct, yes.”

“Objection!”

Eramuth slightly flattened his ears in amusement and turned a calm visage toward the judge. “May it please the court,” he said. “With respect, Your Honor, every one of those words is a fact.”

There was a slight rippling of amusement throughout the courtroom at the comment. The Falleen’s eyes narrowed, but she sighed.

“Overruled. Counsel may continue with questioning.”

“Thank you, Your Honor.” Eramuth returned his attention to Tahiri. “Help me understand why you went back more than once. It sounds as though you accomplished your goal on your very first trip. To give Anakin Solo the kiss you had withheld before he sacrificed his life.”

Tahiri lowered her head slightly, uncomfortable with the personal nature of the questioning. But she had to trust Eramuth.

“I uh … Jacen always managed to make it feel as if there were something else. Something left unfinished. And—it was hard not to want to go back.”

Eramuth’s voice was gentle. “To see the face of someone you loved one more time. I think everyone in this court would understand how compelling such an opportunity would be. Did you ever try to change things? Anything of lasting significance? For instance, it must have been extremely tempting to want to save Anakin Solo—not just for yourself, but for the good he would have done the galaxy.”

And despite all that had transpired, despite the years and the horrors that had crowded upon Tahiri since that terrible day so long ago, it was as if it had just happened. She saw again Anakin in her mind’s eye. She could feel his cheek beneath her hand, smell him, taste his kiss again on her lips. He was her first and only love, her best friend, and he had been ripped from her far, far too soon. Learning from Han and Leia that even in death, Anakin still thought of her and loved her had gone a long way toward helping her heal in some respects, but in others, it only made the pain worse.

She took a sip of water before she spoke, giving herself a minute to regain her composure. “It was. I had wanted to see Anakin again to give myself closure, but … how it happened, how Jacen always managed to drag me away before I was ready to go—it was as if the wound were reopened, rather than healed. And yes, more than once, I wanted to fight alongside him. To save him, somehow.”

“But you never did,” pressed Eramuth. “As strong as the temptation—as the pain—was.”

Tahiri bit her lip. “No,” she said, quietly. “I never did. I couldn’t jeopardize the future, and Jacen had me convinced that I would do so.”

“The future might have been the better for your intervention. Did you not think of that?” His tone was light, conversational.

Tahiri frowned. “There was no way that I could take that risk. I could never make that kind of a judgment call. It’s a violation of everything I believe as a Jedi!”

He smiled, gently, his eyes crinkling. “As a Jedi,” he repeated, giving each of the words weight. “And yet there are some in this courtroom who would hold that you are a Sith. Do you consider yourself a Sith, Tahiri Veila?”

Tahiri, her throat closed with emotion, shook her head mutely. She didn’t know if she considered herself a Jedi, but she knew—just as Ben Skywalker had known, even when he was suffering at her hands—that she was no Sith.

“But you are convinced that Jacen Solo was by this point?”

She nodded. “I saw—” She cleared her throat. “I saw his eyes turn yellow.”

“What sort of things do Sith do to people who cross their paths?” Eramuth now moved away, limping only slightly, his eyes on the jury but his ears swiveled back to