Page 42 of Lunar Bound
"But we can't just let her go alone." She desperately wanted to make him understand. “This is not how we do things on Earth.”
"It appears to be how Rowan does things. She made a tactical choice," Lunar stated, though Poppy could hear the strain in his voice. "By going alone, she maintains optimal stealth parameters. My presence would only endanger them both."
“You said that already.” Poppy frowned. He was right, damn him.
“I was not sure you heard it,” he answered. “You seem panicked, and I wish to stop that.”
There were so many things she liked about Lunar, but his constant calmness and logic weren’t always one of them.
Poppy sank onto the empty cot. "So we just, what? Wait?"
She didn’t want to wait. They’d been in the cabin for days. It felt like all they were doing was waiting.
"For now," Lunar confirmed. His shadow essence enveloped her shoulders in comfort. "Rowan has proven remarkably capable. And if Eclipse is communicating through the stone, he will guide her. We must trust them."
Outside, the sun began to rise over the canyon rim, painting the rocks in shades of blood and fire. It felt like a bad omen. Somewhere out there, her friend raced toward danger, following the call of an alien energy stone.
"I can't believe she just left." Poppy paced the small cabin. Three days of waiting had clearly been too much for Rowan. "She could have at least woken me up. Told me she was leaving."
"She knew you would try to stop her," Lunar observed. "Or insist on going with her."
He was right. Of course, he was right. Poppy would have never let Rowan go alone into danger.
The morning dragged by with agonizing slowness. She felt Lunar watching her, and his essence touched her when she neared the shadows. Poppy tried to keep busy, stoking the fire, checking their dwindling supplies, and watching the road through gaps in the curtains. But her mind stayed on Rowan. Was she okay? Had she found Eclipse? Had Milano captured her too?
"You're projecting anxiety," Lunar said, interrupting her umpteenth pace around the cabin. "It disrupts the shadow frequencies."
"Sorry, my concern is inconvenient," Poppy snapped, then immediately regretted it. "I just... I hate this. Sitting here. Waiting. Not knowing."
“I understand.” Lunar's form rippled. "Rowan is intelligent. She will avoid main routes. Does this comfort you?"
Poppy arched a brow and took a deep breath. At least he was trying. “Yeah, thanks, Lunar.”
Lunar melted into the shadows. She felt him but didn't see him. Another hour crawled by, or at least it felt like an hour. She couldn't be sure. She concentrated on the sound of her feet in the silence.
"Do you think..." she started, then hesitated.
"Yes?" Lunar answered from the darkness.
"Do you think they really have a connection where they can feel each other over the distance? Eclipse and Rowan?"
"Yes."
"And Solar and Dani?"
"I would assume. Solarians’ communication is much louder, but they do have the ability to connect."
Poppy buried a small laugh at the dig against Solar. "Do you think some kind of cosmic fate brought you three here to find us? I mean, when I think of the odds…”
Lunar was quiet for a long moment. "Shadow operatives do not typically believe in fate. But I have observed that the resonance between human and Zorveyan energy signatures defies statistical probability."
Poppy smiled despite her worry. Trust Lunar to turn cosmic destiny into a math problem.
The smile faded as the sound of helicopters drifted down from above.
"They're getting closer," she said, hurrying to the window.
“That craft sounds different than the ones Milano sent before. Don’t worry, the mineral composition of Mack’s cabin roof continues to shield us," Lunar assured her. "They cannot detect my presence from above."
