Page 54 of Eclipse Bound
But Eclipse was already flowing into the air circulation system, carrying Rowan like air with him. She felt simultaneously solid and insubstantial, her physical form partially merged with his energy field. It should have been terrifying, but instead it felt right, as if this was how they were always meant to be.
They traveled through the narrow ducts at impossible speed, Eclipse's twilight essence adapting to each twist and turn. Rowan could sense his thoughts, fragmented but determined.
"Surface. Freedom. Together."
Ahead, light filtered through a vent grating. Eclipse's energy surged toward it, breaking through the metal barrier and erupting into the open desert air. They emerged on the facility's roof, momentarily free but far from safe.
Eclipse reformed into a more humanoid shape, still holding Rowan close within his energy field. She could see the facility mobilizing beneath them. The security personnel poured out of the doors, starting up vehicles as weapons were being deployed.
"We need to run," she urged.
"Can't run. Too weak. But can fly."
Eclipse's form expanded again, becoming less defined, more like the twilight sky itself. Rowan felt herself growing lighter as her body harmonized further with his essence.
"Eclipse, what are you?—"
"Trust me."
How could she not? Their connection had transcended physical boundaries from the first moment they'd touched. Now, Eclipse was taking that connection to its logical conclusion… a complete harmonic convergence.
Chapter
Fifteen
Eclipse had never attempted anything like this before. As his twilight essence expanded around Rowan, he felt her consciousness merging with his own, not completely, but enough that their energies resonated in perfect synchronicity. Her human form remained distinct within his twilight field, yet they moved as one entity, flowing through air ducts and rising above the Milano facility into the clear desert sky.
Below them, chaos erupted. Security personnel poured from the building, weapons aimed upward. Energy pulses flashed through the air, but Eclipse twisted his essence around Rowan, shielding her from harm. Each pulse that struck him sent ripples of pain through his already weakened form, but he maintained cohesion through sheer determination.
Must protect Rowan. Must escape.
The thought reverberated through their shared consciousness. Eclipse felt Rowan's response, not in words, but in emotions. At the core of them, she felt concern for his condition, and something deeper that resonated with his own feelings for her.
Humans had a word for it. Love.
"They're coming after us," Rowan's voice reached him, both through conventional sound and through their connection. She gestured toward black helicopters lifting off from a hidden hangar on the far side of the facility.
Eclipse focused his remaining strength, pushing them higher and faster across the desert landscape. He had never traveled this way on Zorveya. Twilight energy was meant for balance and mediation, not rapid movement. But necessity had taught him much during his time on Earth, expanding his understanding of his own abilities.
"Mesa... to the west... cover..."
His thoughts were becoming fragmented, his energy reserves dangerously low after days of containment. The effort of maintaining their flight while protecting Rowan threatened to deplete him entirely.
"I see it," Rowan replied, somehow understanding his broken communication. "That outcropping. Can you make it?"
Eclipse surged forward, his twilight field streaming behind them like the aurora of Earth's polar regions. He sensed Rowan's wonder at the experience of semi-corporeal flight.
The helicopters gained ground, equipped with spotlights that swept the terrain. One beam caught them momentarily, and Eclipse felt the distinctive signature of an energy scanner as it activated. He twisted sharply, diving toward a narrow ravine that cut through the desert floor.
The sudden maneuver sent fresh pain cascading through his essence, and Eclipse felt his cohesion wavering. Rowan sensed it immediately.
"You're hurting. You need to set us down."
"Not... safe yet..."
"Eclipse, please," she begged. "You're burning yourself out. I can feel it."
She was right. The rescue and flight had depleted his already diminished reserves. However, the Milano pursuit was relentless, with the helicopters closing in despite his evasive maneuvers.
