Page 87 of Ecliptic

“So this is how you do it?” he asked in awe, his fingers hovering over the threads.

“Yeah. Don’t you?”

He huffed a laugh, his angular brown eyes lit with stardust. “Not even close. I just feel where I want to go, and I go there. This is way cooler, though. Like stepping into another dimension.”

I grinned, pride welling inside me, and with Maddock’s hand in mine, we traveled through the stars, the world around us shifting and swirling.

I had never traveled with anyone before. The feeling was unsettling, yet the shared experience blossomed into something unspoken between us.

But what happens on the astral field stays on the astral field.

I found the thread to the crater and pulled, clutching Maddock’s hand. And as slowly as disintegrating light, we traveled to the Ever-burn star.

We appeared within the massive depression of the earth, standing at the foot of the Ever-burn star.

I dropped Madds’ hand and gazed at the meteorite.

Why it had flickered out was still a mystery. I just hoped Maddock and I had enough strength to charge such a massive rock.

I placed my hands on the meteor, and Madds followed suit.

The smooth surface was cold beneath my palms, and deep within the rock, like a song muffled through the ocean, I felt the Alcreon Light. “The Light is in there,” I said, excitement coursing through me. “It has just retreated.”

His eyes widened. “I feel it, too.”

“On the count of three,” I said, looking at him over my shoulder. His gaze met mine with a steely determination, and he nodded. “One, two, three.”

In perfect unison, we unleashed our Light, coaxing the retreated glow to burn bright once again. When we had tried this in the weapons room, our wills had been clashing and fighting against each other. Here and now, our Light harmonized as one, working together to infuse the Ever-burn back to her rightful glory.

Light blinded me as I poured my strength, willpower, and Light into the dormant star, rekindling what had dimmed.

Sweat dripped from my brow as we worked to awaken the Ever-burn star. “Keep pushing,” I ground out, straining against the resistance. The Light had retreated deep within the meteor, and I focused on channeling everything I had to resuscitate the star. It was resisting, protecting itself from the darkness that engulfed this world. But I pushed harder, feeling a timid flicker of trust.

“Youkeep pushing,” Maddock gritted through his teeth. He mirrored my effort, fierce and focused. Seeing him care so much about a plight that wasn’t even his made my chest burn, urging me to dig deeper.

The stronger my resolve, the brighter it glowed, and suddenly, the meteor blazed to life, flooding the night in a radiant shower of Light.

Suddenly, everything was aglow. I could barely see, but then my eyes adjusted and I could only make out Maddock’s face, smiling. I returned the smile, realizing what we had accomplished. Together.

Without warning, Madds wrapped me in a hug, tight enough for me to lose my breath. His arm slid firmly around me, one palm resting on my lower back as the other swept up my neck,his fingers tangling in my hair. For a heartbeat, I leaned in and actually let myself be held by the man I hated. I might have even hugged him back.

Feeling me give in, he squeezed tighter.

When he didn’t put me down, I pulled away and cleared my throat.

Madds held my closed palm and tugged me a little closer. His breath washed over my face and hit my flushed skin like a cool cloud. I hated that my body and bond betrayed me.

“Good job,” I said curtly.

“Thanks. You too.”

I swayed on my feet. “I’m exhausted. I think I need a minute.”

“Me too,” he replied, and we sat with our backs against the glowing Ever-burn star.

“So,” I said after a while with my elbows on my knees. “I know you wish you could leave, and that the bond is keeping you here, but do you miss Earth? Will you go back once . . . once we figure out how to give me my bond back?”

He rested his head against the meteor and tilted his eyes to the swirling galaxies above. “After seeing a sky like this, who could ever go back?”

---