Page 94 of Shadow & Stars
I downed the tepid liquid in seconds, my body thankful for the moisture.
Now I just need a steak and chips…
Xavier offered his back to me. “Climb on.”
I did, beyond elated to have him under me. “What about the towers?”
“Don’t worry about me.” He turned to plant a kiss on my cheek.
I wriggled against him, dying to climb inside his sexy skin.
Later…
“Get somewhere safe,” I told the others. “Find shelter.”
How could I leave them to a falling sky?
“I’m coming with you,” Darcy countered.
“You—”
“Don’t argue with me. I’m coming. And before you say I can’t keep up with your boyfriend’s speed, I’m well aware.”
“But—”
“Don’t worry about me. Just go. I’ll follow shortly.”
Grandma blew me a kiss.
I resisted a rising wish, returning her kiss instead.
Young Me took her hand. “Come on. We can’t stay here.”
“Look after her,” I told him.
“Always.”
With that, Xavier charged out of the house, his speed exhilarating, his solidity the best security blanket in the world. I’d wrap myself in it forever, embracing every inch of him, every breath, every beat of his hearts.
He loved me, and I loved him.
Wow.
The pixels brightened overhead, invisible talons gouging slices out of the sky. I held my breath, dismissing the dark imagery forming in my brain. I’d seen enough death in my time, I didn’t need to conjure more of it.
Sky collapses… Sky crushes that house and the ones you love…
Fuck off!
I concentrated on the blurring city around me, working with the rush of air in my face to empty my mind. No wishes, no imagining, I crushed everything down into one compact ball thatI’d toss into the glass house of Ismael’s bullshit on the other side of the time door. Bring it all crashing down.
Thunder boomed directly above us, the pixels blinking like crazy. A jagged chunk of sky slid out of the sky, not quite ready to fall. Pixelated threads clung to it, straining under its weight. Flecks of golden dust fell through the cracks, landing on the rooftops of the houses around us.
Houses on an occupied street.
Oh, shit.
Xavier sped up, making a beeline for my grandma’s street. I saw the lights of the ADU, the blockade closing off the north entrance to it.
