Page 149 of Eclipse Sector

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I kept reading.

And reading.

Until I could swear hours had passed. Everyone else in the room had fallen silent, all of us engrossed in Ashlyn’s cryptic words.

I rubbed my temples but kept pushing.

Dear Oracle,

We’re close.

I miss my dreams.

Ashlyn

I glancedat the doodle beneath it, counting the circles.Seventeen. Okay.

The next page had twenty-seven circles.

And the one after had two.

Is it a pattern?I wondered, writing the numbers down on a blank sheet beside me.

The next page had seven.

Seventeen. Twenty-seven. Two. Seven.

Frowning, I flipped to the next entry and started counting, only to blink at the first line.

Dear Oracle of the Stars.

Starshad a circle around it.

But that wasn’t why it caught my eye.

Shuffling a few papers back, I started reading the headings of everything leading up to this.

Dear Oracle.

Dear Oracle.

Dear Oracle.

I grabbed another notebook to glance through several entries. All of them started withDear Oracle. NeverDear Oracle of the Stars.

My frown deepened.

I wroteDear Starsin my journals, something Ashlyn knew because she had a problem understanding personal space and had watched me pen one of my entries on the plane.

A coincidence or something else entirely?I wondered, returning to her entry.

Dear Oracle of the Stars,I read again.If you’re reading this, then it’s time to understand some of my choices. Some of my visions. Some of my… No. Don’t react. Don’t let them know what you’ve found. Do you understand?

I blinked and glanced around, my brow furrowing. She couldn’t possibly be talking to me. That… This…

I cleared my throat.

This is Ashlyn. Anything’s possible.

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