Page 123 of Bound By Stars

“We have to go.” Jupiter pulls me back toward the pod.

“Wait,” I plead.

He releases me, standing in the pod’s doorway, searching my eyes.

“Get in, Jupe.” Curran takes a seat.

“What’s the holdup? Let’s move.” Skye leans forward to see around Jupiter, holding the harness and waiting for someone to latch in with her.

I pull him into a hug, staring at her over his shoulder and making my silent plea.

“I know it’s tight, but it’ll be okay. It’s just for a little while.” He pets my hair, trying to ease my fear.

Skye narrows her eyes and shakes her head.

Please, I mouth, squeezing Jupiter’s shoulders tighter.

Skye closes her eyes, letting go of the belt in her hand and rising.

I pull away. “I can’t just leave him.”

“Then we both stay.”

He’s still looking at me like I’m the center of the universe, the way he did hovering over me on my bed. It feels so long ago, but it’s only been hours since we were interrupted. His unfinished declaration replays in my mind.I think I’m falling in—

“Jupiter,” I whisper, “I’m falling, too.”

I grip the front of his shirt, pressing my lips to his before I shove him back.

Skye catches him, pulling him into the pod as I hit the release control. The door seals and the pod disembarks.

I step up to the window as they drift away from the ship.

“No!” Jupiter’s mouth forms the word lost in the vacuum of space between us. His perfect face, twisted with pain as he wrestles against Skye and Curran’s grip, tears me in half.

Throwing them off, he presses his hands to the glass. His eyes meet mine, one last time.

Chapter Forty-Five

Weslie

Five days to Mars

ILSA switches her face screen to bright mode, lighting the dark halls. The flashing red lights grow dimmer until they stop altogether.

I run alongside her until we get to aTin the passageway. “Which way did he go?”

ILSA scans her perimeter and turns left, cutting me off. “He is this way.”

The ship jerks and my feet slip out from under me. I tumble over, slamming my shoulder into the wall. “Any idea how much longer we have, ILSA?”

“My best estimate would be approximately sixty minutes.”

I shove off the wall and keep running. Ahead there’s a golden glow from around the bend. We come to a sudden halt as we round the corner.

Reve stands in the middle of the hallway, fire blocking his path.

“Possibly less,” ILSA amends her estimation.

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