Page 94 of Shadows of Stardust

I never could have imagined what it would be like to see the mighty, unflappable, ever-cocky Zandrel caught off-guard, but damn am I glad to be here to witness it first-hand.

He clears his throat and picks his jaw up off the deck’s weathered wooden planks. “How’d you get Riddik’s ear for this?”

“I have my ways.” Marva’s eyes twinkle as she toys absently with the heavy black stone ring she wears.

I expect Zan to push her a little more, demand to see additional proof, but he only offers her a quick nod as he hands the comms device back.

“Is there anything else you need from us?”

Marva shakes her head. “Not at the moment. Just keep… well, doing what you’re doing, and you’ll have our entire viewership eating out of the palms of your hands by the time this is all over.”

Zan nods again, all business, but my stomach tightens at the reminder.

The time this is all over.

Because it will be over, sooner rather than later. And with the reminder of that ticking clock, the same restless aching in my gut kicks up again. The need to get moving, to get out and search for Savvie, to forget about the damn show anddo something.

But we’ve still got a lie to sell, and after Marva takes her leave and Zan and I are alone, I sink back down against his chest.

I probably don’t have to.

The cameras have floated off to capture other things, and it’s probably just about time for us to go engage with the rest of the cast and deal with whatever drama’s on offer today. So it wouldn’t be unreasonable to get my ass up and finish getting ready for the day.

Instead, I keep myself right where I am, breath whooshing out in a long sigh.

“I know,” he teases. “I’m not Marva’s biggest fan, either.”

“It’s not that. It’s just… what she said. About all of this ending. And what that means for… well, you know.”

“I was going to talk to you about that.” His tone turns serious, and he glances up and down the beach before swiping his fingers over the cuff on his wrist to keep any errant cameras away. “We’ll travel outside the filming zone the day after tomorrow.”

My heart jumps into my throat. The day after tomorrow.

I’m going to see Savvie again the day after tomorrow.

“And you were going to mention thiswhen?”

“I was planning to tell you before we left the bungalow this morning. I checked the production schedule while you were in the bathroom, and there’s an upcoming contestant challenge day that looks promising, plus a forecasted storm front that should give us some additional cover.”

He gives me the rundown in quiet, efficient terms. Not all that different from my original plan to hot-wire a hover and take it into the Eritin jungle, but with a few added layers of protection that I absolutely wouldn’t have without him.

“Alright,” I murmur when he’s finished, and again, the word is like jumping off a cliff. “Let’s do it.”

“What will you do if you find her?”

“I…” I trail off, thinking for a moment.

I’ve imagined our meeting a thousand times, with a thousand different potential outcomes. Now that it’s here, it’s hard to actually picture how the conversation will go if I really get to see her.

It’s been over three years since I last laid eyes on Savvie. She came to see me off at the end of my last leave, and watching her out the departing ship’s window nearly broke my heart.

Not only because I had no idea when I’d see her again, but because I knew something was off. Her light had been dimmer during that visit, the circles under her eyes darker, everythingabout her a little more world-worn since the last time I’d seen her.

But when I pressed, she brushed me off, and I let it go because I didn’t want to ruin the limited time I had with her.

Now, though, I wish I would have tried harder to find out what was going on. I wish she would have felt like she could tell me.

Maybe none of this would have happened if I’d just tried a little harder.

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