Page 32 of Bonds of Starfall

Slowly, it retreated, pulling away from her, its pointed head lowering to the ground.

She couldn’t believe it.

With a sick thwacking sound, the gleaming blade of the Soul Searcher’s scythe cut right through it. Dead.

He appeared above her, light blonde hair disheveled and stray drops of blood on his pale cheeks. He held out a gloved hand. "Are you okay? Vesperin?" He sounded worried.

She tapped a weak hand against her chest. "I—no."

Her lids fluttered, and she was just aware enough to notice him kneeling by her side, bare hands pressing against her cheeks. "Vesperin." He shook her shoulders, making her groan. "Are you hurt anywhere?Please."

They weren’t safe. Far from it.

Behind him, with bleary eyes, Rin saw a flash of darkness as a Rogue charged. The Soul Searcher spun in a low arc, blade cutting right through the creature’s neck. More kept coming.

She was going to pass out.

She slapped a hand against the ground, drawing his attention to her. "Don’t worry… about me," she wheezed. "Kill… them." She could barely get a word out.

His eyes hardened, but he dipped his chin in a jerky nod, rising to face off the Rogues.

One fell, and then another, but more kept coming, and through the specks of darkness in her vision, she could see him start to tire, shouldering them alone.

Her heart slowed, then sped up, then slowed again. The Rogues ignored her, leaving a large, untouched circle around her.

It felt like her heart was trying to claw its way out of her chest, the infected organ too big and too dangerous to be contained within its cage of flesh and bone.

She whimpered, eyes squeezing shut.

Make it stop. Please.

It hurts.

She didn’t know who she was praying to.

The air grew charged, filled with a thousand tiny sparkles, like electricity reacting with the very air.

And from within her chest, a blazing white light rushed out, filling the air with unimaginable power.

5

DIAMONDS

Auren watched as Vesperin struggled to breathe on the ground, all while he struggled to keep the Rogues away from her—but it wasn’t hard.

They were almost… ignoring her.

That couldn’t be right. Could it?

He was torn away from staring at her as a Rogue charged toward him. He reacted before he even realized what he was doing, so used to fighting. It was ingrained in his very blood.

His scythe cut through the Rogue’s neck, severing the head completely. It fell on the dead grass with a heavy thump. More Rogues spilled out of the trees, drawn to them.

Auren must leave this place. He was tiring. His stamina was much greater than the average human as a Soul Searcher, but even he had his limits. And he found himself reaching them far too quickly for his liking.

He had been tailing Vesperin for days, watching the life she lived.Stalkingher. When he had seen her mount her motorcycle and head to this forest, he had grown angry—what was she doing back here? Did she have a death wish?

Nova Zone 21 was wicked. Shoved far on the fringes of Solar City for a reason. Yet, she kept coming back here.