Page 65 of Eclipse Bound
"Apparently, after the police questioned him for the unlawful alien parade he hosted, he's been playing up the whole I-was-abducted-by-the-government angle. It's been great for business." Poppy pulled out a newspaper and laid it on the table. "But here's the interesting part."
The front page featured a blurry photograph of what appeared to be a Milano facility, with the headline, "Tech Company Denies Government Contracts for Weapons Research."
Rowan scanned the article quickly. "Someone's investigating them."
"The reporter's name seemed familiar," Poppy said. "I thought maybe you'd know them?"
Rowan looked at the byline and felt a jolt of recognition. "Michaels. He was my mentor at the Phoenix paper." She looked up at Eclipse, excitement building. "This is perfect. He always believed my stories about Milano. If we could get our evidence to him?—"
"It would be extremely dangerous," Eclipse cautioned, his twilight form condensing slightly with concern.
"But worth considering," Poppy added. "Milano's been operating in the shadows for too long. If enough light gets shined on them..."
Rowan nodded, her journalistic instincts awakening after months of lying low. Excitement filled her. "We'd need to be careful. Anonymous drops, encrypted communications."
"We should discuss this thoroughly before taking action," Eclipse said, his diplomat's caution evident.
"Of course," Rowan agreed, reaching out to touch his twilight essence reassuringly. "We make decisions together, remember?"
His form brightened at her words, and Rowan felt that now-familiar surge of connection between them.
Poppy excused herself to check on her communication array, leaving them alone in the kitchen.
"You miss it," Eclipse observed once she'd gone. "Your function as a truth-seeker."
Rowan considered his words.
"I do," she admitted. "Being a journalist was more than just a job. It was about exposing what needed to be exposed, helping people understand what was happening in the world."
"Perhaps there is a way for you to resume this function while maintaining our security," Eclipse suggested. "A balanced approach."
His words reminded her of why she'd fallen for him in the first place. He had an ability to see multiple perspectives, to find harmony in seemingly conflicting goals.
"Maybe there is," she agreed. "We'll figure it out."
Eclipse's twilight form shifted closer to her, enveloping her in gentle warmth. "Together.”
Rowan leaned into his embrace, marveling at how natural it felt to be held by a being made of twilight energy. If someone had told her six months ago that she'd fall in love with an alien diplomat who existed in a state between light and shadow, she would have laughed them out of the room.
Yet here she was, completely at home in his otherworldly embrace.
Outside, the morning sun climbed higher in the sky, casting long shadows across the forest floor. Inside their small cabin, the light filtering through the curtains created the perfect balance of illumination, not too bright, not too dark. Twilight.
Rowan smiled at the symbolism. They existed in their own twilight zone, neither fully part of Eclipse's world nor entirely of Earth's. Creating something new in the space between.
"What are you thinking?" Eclipse asked, sensing her contemplative mood.
"That I never expected to find home in the in-between," she answered truthfully.
Eclipse's essence brightened with understanding. "The balance point has always been my place, but never before has it felt like where I truly belong."
Before Rowan could respond, a sudden commotion came from Poppy's room as equipment crashed onto the floor, and she gave a startled exclamation.
They rushed to investigate, finding Poppy staring wide-eyed at her communication array, which was emitting a series of distinct pulses.
"It's a signal," she whispered, hands trembling as she adjusted dials. "A pattern. Three short, three long, three short."
"S.O.S.," Rowan translated.
