Page 147 of Bonds of Starfall

They were quiet for some time, scared to move too soon or suddenly.

Rhyden was the first to speak. "Did that answer your questions?"

Rin’s eyes were wide, breaths far too loud in the quiet as she met his eyes. "No." The word scraped out of her like broken glass.

Auren’s hand tightened around hers, a warning and an anchor. His voice was low, careful. "Vesperin… that was?—"

She snapped her gaze to him, heart thrashing. Cyrus’s eyes were just as wide as hers. He’d seen the photos on her dresser. He knew, too.

"Blackfall. Sabine and Talor Blackfall." The words were dragged out of her, breath by breath. "My adoptive parents."

Auren was usedto the quiet, but the one that befell them all at the vampire’s dark, shadowed base nestled deep underground in Solar City was one that even he could not bear.

The base was small, tucked deep within the heart of a decrepit parking garage. When they’d first left for it, it had been Vesperin who questioned the vampire. The feared leader of Noctis had been silent as he drove the car into the parking garage, spiraling down, down, down, until it reached the lightless bottom, where he’d scanned his palm against a hidden keypad, revealing a door set in a wall.

A small, hidden base for the Noctis leader, there in Solar City, unbeknownst to them all.

And it was there that they went after witnessing Sabine and Talor Blackfall prove their guilt.

Vesperin was quiet, and as the car pulled into the garage, the headlights the only source of illumination as they ventured deeper below, she did not say a word. Even her breaths were tempered.

Rhyden exited the car first, Cyrus following, turning to hold a hand out for Vesperin. She didn’t seem to see it.

Auren gently nudged her, keeping his voice calm as one would when speaking to a cornered animal, as he said, "You cannot stay here in the dark car."

She turned to look at him, as if wanting to say she could, but instead, she took Cyrus’s hand and exited the vehicle. Auren followed, and together, they walked inside the small base.

It was akin to an open flat or bunker—a bed pushed against a far wall. Two large couches with pillows and rumpled blankets, where they’d rested for a few hours before their journey to Nova Zone 21 for the drop. Exposed beams and pipework in the ceilings, with a plain kitchen and a tiny bathroom.

But what made this truly different from a normal flat was the floor-to-ceiling display of weapons on the far wall.

With Cyrus leading her, she stumbled to the couch and sat, arms wrapped around herself.

The incubus crouched before her, his hands resting on her knees, red hair messy from the high winds outside. "What can I do, Ves?"

Her jaw clenched. She shook her head.

Auren felt useless. His scythe was a weight on his back, dragging him down.

Rhyden ignored them all, grabbing the laptop on the counter and opening it, clicking away as the screen made his red eyes appear tinted with blue.

"I need…" She scoffed. "I want Lucien. I think we should talk."

Cyrus’s hands moved to the pockets of her fitted coat, dipping inside. He tugged her phone out. "Then, I’ll make sure you have him, doll."

The incubus turned to meet Auren’s eyes, inclining his head to Vesperin. The Soul Searcher got the message, but he felt entirely out of his depth.

He meant nothing to her. To Vesperin, Auren was the newest interloper, claiming to belong. Her actions with the incubus spoke of familiarity. Cyrus seemed to get her, down to the smallest of things. Lucien loved her, had loved her, and kept her safe for years. Even Rhyden, she felt something for—hate was the bitter twin of love.

But he wanted to try. He could try. For her.

Their three lives had been short-lived—each one. This one, Auren vowed, would be long and beautiful.

He sat beside her on the couch, and Cyrus left, her phone in his hand.

Rhyden was sucked into whatever he studied on the screen before him. It was like it was only Auren and Vesperin. Just the two of them. As it had been those few instances in the woods.

He rested his scythe on the side of the couch, clasping his hands before him.