Page 6 of Bonds of Starfall

"I can’t believe it." Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at the letter.

A presence before her alerted her to Kit as his strong arms enveloped her. The medals on his uniform pressed into her cheek, but she didn’t care, wrapping her arms around his waist as he held her.

She sighed against him, mumbling, "I’m going to be a Hunter."

He ran a hand down the back of her white hair. "You are."

Pulling away from him, Rin’s eyes ran over the rest of the letter. It didn’t tell her anything that wasn’t in the email. Her scores were terrific, in all except her Stella, ranking as a level one. But just the fact of being an Aetherborn was enough.

Aether was the rarest of all the Stella. Coupled with her scholarship letter—everyone loved a sob story—her admission to the Hunter’s Guild Academy had been a foregone conclusion.

Kit pulled away from her, and she tried to hide her frown. He was always doing that… distancing himself.

She clutched the letter to her chest. "Youwillgo to the Admittance Ceremony with me tomorrow, right?"

Kit stared at her for a few moments before he said, "You could never keep me away."

"Welcome,recruits of the Hunter’s Guild Academy."

The President of the Hunter’s Guild stood on the stage, a microphone before him, projecting his voice. He was a powerful man, grey at his temples and muscles straining against his uniform, decorated in so many medals that they overlapped on his chest, vying for space.

Rin stood among the other recruits in the auditorium crowd. On the stage behind the speaker stood five highly decorated Hunters, each the representative leader of their team. There were five teams, each specifically designed for individuals with certain skill sets. There was only one Rin had her sights dead seton—Alpha Team. It was the top team of the Hunter’s Guild. The best of the best.

And Rin’s only chance of being accepted was the fact that she was an Aetherborn. The Alpha Team had no other Aetherborns, and she prayed that her Stella would work in her favor.

It was dimly lit in the auditorium, but she found her eyes drifting to the seats above, searching for the one face she wanted to see above all the others.

Kit.

Among the faceless crowd of family and friends, he stood out to her like a beacon. His pilot’s cap held against his chest, and his medals gleaming in the low light. He found her eyes, pride shining in them.

"Pay attention," he mouthed, jerking his head toward the stage.

She bit her lip to hide her smile, looking back toward the President of the Hunter’s Guild as he made his speech. It was a story everyone knew…

"Since the dawn of planet Earth, Rogues have plagued our lands—Souls who have been corrupted by Nova and turned on us, desperate to make us one of their own so we will not be allowed to journey back to the Stars and await our rebirth. But we will not stand for it! It is the prerogative of the Hunter’s Guild to protect each citizen of planet Earth, and in the rare event that duty calls and Rogues escape our planet, we will protect those in our solar system. Each of you has been handpicked based on your Stella rankings, combat skills, and intellect. But it is not over yet." The President’s boots shone as he walked, heel to toe, along the length of the stage. "Your journey is just beginning. Each of you will be assigned as a trainee to one of our five teams. Alpha, Beta, Omega, Gamma, Delta. These teams will welcome you with open arms and act as your guides as you begin your journey of becoming a full-fledged Hunter."

He stopped and stared out at the crowd, pausing as his eyes fell to Rin before he jerked his gaze away. "Rogues emit Nova, which is deadly with exposure."

Though he was not looking at her, the words felt targeted. Rin’s fingers twitched with the desire to rub a hand over her chest, but she kept her arms firmly by her sides.

Nova.

The same thing that was infused in Rin’s heart and flowed through her veins—ever since she was seventeen and her whole world ended.

Almost like her body knew what the topic at hand was, she felt her heart give a painful clench, heating up inside her chest. She swallowed a few times, trying to shove the feeling away.

Not now.

She focused on her breaths, counting them.

One… two… three…

Repeat.

Measured inhales and equally measured exhales. Anything to stop the episode that threatened to drag her into darkness. Blackness weighed in the corners of her eyes, and she curled her hands into fists at her side, fingernails cutting into her palm. The pain steadied her.

Rin focused on the President’s words, jaw aching from how hard she gritted her teeth.