Page 57 of Lunar Bound
"Listen," she urged, adjusting the volume so the faint signal became audible.
Eclipse's form went absolutely still, his twilight essence contracting with what might have been shock. "That is a Zorveyan distress protocol."
"Is it—" Poppy couldn't finish the question, afraid of both possible answers.
"The energy signature is shadow-based," Eclipse confirmed, moving closer to the equipment. "It is similar to Lunar's pattern, though distorted by distance."
Poppy's legs gave out, and she sank onto the chair, her hands shaking. "He's alive. He's trying to reach us."
"It appears so," Eclipse agreed, his normally measured tone carrying a hint of excitement. "The transmission is coming from Zorveyan space, but it has been modified to penetrate Earth's atmosphere. Most interesting."
"Can we respond? Can we let him know we received it?"
Eclipse considered the array's capabilities, his essence pulsing as he calculated. "Perhaps. With modifications to boost the return signal."
Rowan appeared in the doorway, drawn by the commotion. "What's happening?"
"It's Lunar," Poppy said, unable to keep the tremor from her voice. "He's sending a signal."
The next hours passed in a blur of activity. Eclipse guided Poppy through modifications to the array while Rowan gathered additional power sources to boost their transmission. They worked with frantic purpose, afraid the faint connection might vanish as suddenly as it had appeared.
When they were ready, Poppy's hands hovered over the transmitter, suddenly uncertain. What if it wasn't him? What if they were giving away their location to Milano or some other threat?
"The energy signature matches," Eclipse reassured her, sensing her hesitation. "And the transmission pattern is one only Lunar would know to use."
She nodded, took a deep breath, and sent their reply. It was the same pattern, followed by a series of pulses that Eclipse said would register as an Earth coordinate signature.
Then they waited.
Minutes stretched into an hour with no response. Poppy's initial elation began to fade into doubt. Had they imagined it? Had the connection been lost?
Just as she was about to give up, the static cleared for two seconds, and through the speakers came a single word, distorted but unmistakable:
"Coming."
Poppy stared at the array in shock, tears filling her eyes. "Did you hear that?"
Rowan squeezed her shoulder. "We heard it."
"He's coming back," Poppy whispered, as if saying it too loudly might make it untrue. "He's actually coming back."
Eclipse's twilight essence pulsed with cautious optimism. "It would appear so, though the logistics of such a journey are extraordinarily complex. The council would not easily permit his return."
"But he found a way," Poppy insisted, clinging to the single word like a lifeline. "He promised he would, and he found a way."
That night, Poppy lay on her cot staring at the ceiling, sleep impossible despite her exhaustion. One word played through her mind on endless repeat.
Coming.
She reached for the shadow stone beside her bed, clutching it to her chest. For the first time in thirty-seven days, the hollow feeling beneath her ribs had eased slightly. The missing piece hadn't returned, but now there was something else in its place.
Hope.
Outside her window, the night shadows seemed to pulse with new life, as if responding to her changed emotional state. Poppy watched them, imagining Lunar moving through them, his star patterns swirling as he found his way back to her across impossible distances.
"I'm waiting," she whispered to the darkness. "However long it takes, I'll be here."
The shadow stone in her hand seemed to grow warmer, though she knew it was probably just her own body heat. Still, she liked to imagine it was responding to her words, carrying them across the void to where Lunar might somehow hear them.
