Page 28 of Galactic Sentinels: Vol. 1
I’m stunned. Ileana… cheated? And now she’s suspected of murder?
Isaac looks genuinely sorry, like he’s mourning the whole situation. And I want to believe him. But the truth is—I barely know her. I spent maybe a minute in her presence. And yet, I can’t shake the feeling that something’s not right.
Am I cursed? Why would the Waves tie me to someone like her? Is this some kind of punishment—for turning my back on my people back on Asgarne?
“Stop stressing out like that!” Wingo scolds me. “You don’t know the whole story yet. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
I nod slightly, then turn back to Isaac. “So?” I ask, urging him to continue.
“Well, Ileana—that’s her name—had a younger lover. A guard who often helped her care for her sick sister. But two nights ago, she found out he was alsohaving an affair… with her sister. She snapped. Killed them both. Then ran off into the forest.”
I stop in my tracks, staring at him, stunned.
“You’re telling me she killed her sister?”
“Yes. It’s a terrible tragedy. Completely incomprehensible. Like I said—she lost her mind. Love makes people do crazy things,” he concludes, shaking his head.
“If you ask me, it’s bullshit,” Wingo mutters.
“You always give it to me straight, whether I want it or not,”I reply. “But yeah… I agree with you on this one. I just don’t believe she’d do something like that. I hope she wouldn’t.”
Isaac leads us through a large wooden archway. Beyond it stands a tall composite building—classic Confederation architecture.
As Isaac moves his hand toward the scanner to open the door, I stop him.
“Isaac? You said this woman killed two people… but where is she now?”
“No one knows. She ran when the governor caught her with a weapon. Took off into the wilderness—an area that’s still untamed. With the nighttime temperatures out there, it’s unlikely she’ll survive. Honestly, it might be for the best. Can you imagine what the governor would do if she were found? The poor guy’s already a wreck. I can’t imagine how he’d handle having to decide the fate of the woman he loves.”
My heart sinks. My Soulmate is out there, alone, in the wild. And she’s not trained for survival.
Wingo, who’s clearly picked up on my rising anxiety, speaks up in my mind.
“We’ll find her. ASAP!”
Following Isaac, I step into a fairly spacious room with a wide view of vibrant, colorful gardens. A woman in her forties sits at a console, which she quickly powers down the moment she sees me enter.
“You must be Pherebos,” she says, rising to her feet. “I’m Hilda, the governor’s assistant.”
She looks… composed. Her brown hair is pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck, and her large, luminous blue eyes soften her otherwise sharp features.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Pherebos,” I reply. “And this is Wingo—my partner in space exploration.”
“Yes, I read that,” she says, without even glancing at him. “What species is he?”
“Well, Wingo is… a Wingo,” I say, gesturing toward him. Not that she seems to care.
“I don’t like her,” Wingo mutters, clearly unimpressed by being ignored.
Rhoo… not this again.
“I know you hate being invisible, but remember—it’s our secret weapon.”
“Still don’t like it.”
“Got it.”
“Hey, I see here you’re listed as some kind of envoy for Akifumi?” my conversation partner says, eyes still glued to her tablet.
