Page 8 of Shadows of Stardust

The rest of the guards seem as lazy and distracted as the worst Sol Alliance recruits. They barely have their eyes on their surroundings, most of them more interested in shooting the shit with each other or ogling the contestants.

But this one?

This one is going to be a problem.

I knew it from the moment I caught his eye standing on the landing strip with his deep black eyes fixed solely on me.

A guilty spotlight, that focused gaze.

Like he could see every calculation I was making about the guards, the crew, the show’s defenses. Like he knew with one single look that I’m not just here for love or fame.

“Are you alright?” he asks, his voice translated into my ear in a deep, warm rumble that carries the hint of an unfamiliar accent.

“I’m fine.”

I pull my arm from his grasp and take a step back, steadying myself before I meet his eyes again.

They have no pupil, no white, just… darkness. Eyes as black and endless as the vast emptiness of deep space, though the longer I look, I realize they’re not entirely devoid of light.

All that depthless black is threaded through with silver. A galaxy shifting and shimmering as he takes me in.

I can’t read a single thought in those unsettling eyes, can’t decipher the expression on his rough-hewn face as I take one step back, then another.

He tracks each inch of my retreat, something that might almost be a smirk turning up the corner of his lips just before I turn to catch up with the rest of the group.

“Good. I would hate to see you get into any trouble while you’re here.”

A drowning wave of panic washes down my spine. I take another step.

I’m a little tin soldier who’s been wound up and set on my path, walking unthinkingly forward as I follow the tail end of the crowd toward the beach.

There’s a prickling static hum in my brain, a warning pulsing with each beat of my heart.

I don’t know who this male is, where he came from, or what he’s doing on this crew of amateurs, but I am certain of one thing.

In no universe do I want his attention on me.

I don’t want to be on his radar, not for a single second, but some part of me knows it’s already too late for that.

A chill settles itself into my bones, and I swear I can feel that fathomless black gaze follow me from the landing strip to the beach beyond. Even in the warmth of Eritin’s burning sun and in sight of its spectacular sea, I can’t shake it.

A soft touch on my shoulder nearly makes me jump out of my skin, and I whip around to find Juni watching me with a tight, concerned expression.

“You alright? I saw what Ansalla pulled back there.”

“I’m fine,” I mutter.

“And that guard? Spirits save me, he’s one to look at, isn’t he?” She cranes her neck back toward the landing strip, but I keep my eyes fixed forward.

At least until she touches my shoulder again. My skin itches as Juni’s fingers edge a little too close to my shoulder blade and the marks I keep hidden there, but I force myself to relax.

It’s probably not in my best interest to bug out and scare off the only friend I might find here.

“You sure you’re alright?”

Swallowing around more of that sickly sour coating my mouth, I nod.

“Alright,” she says with a brief squeeze before she drops her hand. “Then I should probably let you know I’m coming over to get ready with you for the welcome dinner.”

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