Page 49 of Bonds of Starfall

He stared into her eyes, too close.

What could she say… what could she do… besides let him go?

The memory of their real kiss lingered, even as she said, "I love you."

Kit’s lips twitched with a small smile. "I love you, Vesperin Vox."

Then, he stood. Her fingers slipped from his as she watched him leave. At the door to her bedroom, he paused, staring back at her with the dark light of not-quite morning making everything feel surreal as it streamed through her curtains.

She caught the glint of a dog tag hanging around his neck. The medals on his coat shimmered, and his eyes were pools of regret.

Her own eyes burned.

There, at the precipice of her door, he smiled, turned, then left.

The air was colder without him.

Rin didn’t know how long she lay in her bed, but the sun had risen, its heat warring with the ceiling fan as it cast golden light onto her floor and across her duvet.

She hadn’t been able to fall back asleep, and as the hours passed, unease churned in her stomach. Like she had just made a grave mistake in letting him go.

Alone, her thoughts drifted to the file folder the Soul Searcher had left for her.

What could it mean?

She reached for her phone, flicking through her messages and finding well-wishes from other trainees on the Alpha Team.

But nothing else. No texts from Sabine or Talor. Nothing from Kit.

She glanced at the clock at the top of the screen.

10:02 AM.

It had been hours of her lying in bed—wishing, hoping.

He would be well into the Stars by now.

Rin locked her phone and threw it by her side, flopping back down onto her pillows. Her lids were heavy, and her body was still plagued with exhaustion from her episode. Maybe she could sleep a little longer…

The shrill sound of her phone ringing broke her from her uneasy rest. Rin blinked her bleary eyes open, reaching blindly for her phone and answering it before she even looked at who it was.

"Hello?" she mumbled, rubbing a hand over her eyes.

God, her head hurt, and the nightmare hadn’t helped. It had been awful. Something about death, explosions…? But with every breath she breathed, the images slipped through her fingers, fleeting.

"Is this Vesperin Vox?" a masculine voice said without inflection.

Her brows furrowed, and she held her phone away from her face, glaring at the number. Unknown.

She placed the phone back to her ear. "Yes. Who is this?" She grew more alert with every second that passed.

"This is Director Aeric Hart at the Fleet, Division 07." The man, Aeric, paused, and Rin felt every drop of blood inside her body pool to her feet. Division 07—that was… that was Kit’s. Herhands shook so hard the phone rattled, and she had to fix her grip so it wouldn’t slip from her fingers. "Vesperin, there’s no easy way to tell you this. Early this morning, the Fleet ship that disembarked Earth for Sibeth had a technical malfunction. The blasters misfired."

He gave no further explanation, and the air in her lungs was sucked out, making her chest seize as she struggled to draw in a breath.

"What are—what do you m-mean? What are you… telling me? Why are you calling me?" A sob bubbled up.

Please. Please no.