Page 142 of Stardusted

“Shit,” I agreed.

I made a fist. It did a total of nothing since the light streamed out between my fingers. Giving up, I reached for the door with my other hand, ripped it open, and stumbled through.

“Sky!” I yelled before I’d even made it two steps.

The hallway shuddered.

My startled yelp snagged in my throat as I spun in a circle. The walls shook, raining down dust. Terrified shouts and cries rose through the din. The fire alarm activated, its shrieking horns joining the chorus of screams and pounding feet rounding the corner.

The fear that surged through me was slick and cold, forming a ball in my chest and stealing my breath.

I heard them before I saw them—pounding feet, panicked shouting. Coming from around the far corner. Before I could move, running, frightened people flooded the hallway. Someone clipped my shoulder, pushing me off to the side. I flattened myself against the wall and frantically searched the faces streaking past.

“Sky!”

A wide-eyed man grabbed me. “There’s a— I don’t even know, but you’ve got to run!”

Run. Running sounded great. But Sky was here somewhere.

Pushing free, I yelled his name again and gave the stranger a light shove back into the fray. He didn’t wait around, and I didn’t blame him. Especially as another ominous rumble shook the building.

I hesitated, every cell urging me to follow the crowd. But I was safer with Sky. And hehadto be here somewhere. He wouldn’t have left me.

…right?

Movement in my periphery stole my breath?—

And there he was.

Sky melted from the shadows, his outline solidifying between one blink and the next.

“Holycrap,” I whispered, staring. Forgetting, for a moment, the imminent doom bearing down on us.

That invisibility was a handy trick. He’d demonstrated it in my apartment, but it was wholly different now, with the adrenaline riding high in my veins and that battle-ready tension he radiated.

His chest heaved like he’d been running, and his eyes glinted every shade of blue in the white light pouring from my palm. His attention dropped to it before lurching back to my face.

“Did it light up before the power went out?”

“No,” I said, fisting my blazing hand. “Or wait—maybe around the same time.”

His hat was gone, and nothing hid his grim expression. He looked deadly serious, focused, andintense.

I’d never seen him like this. Even when he’d found me on the side of the road. Even when he’d shown up at my apartment. Gone was any of the softness leftover from when he’d asked me to trust him and tucked my hair behind my ear with gentle fingers.

Which was probably for the best because a second later he bit out, “The Enil are here. One of their mech-suits just assembled in the boiler room.”

Oh my God.

Terror rooted me in place until Sky grasped my shoulder, pulling me out from the path of more fleeing students. It was enough to jolt me from my shock. I abandoned my pride and threw my arms around his waist, clinging to him in a way I’d undoubtedly be embarrassed about later.

Had these people seen it? Was that why everyone was running and screaming? Evil, murderous robots would do that. Maybe this was finally the incident that couldn’t be explained away and lied about.

There was no way all these people would forget seeing a rampaging Enil in the halls. Especially without Sky to do his brain-zapping thing.

Which he wouldn’t be here to do because surely we werealsoabout to get the hell out of here.

But when Sky didn’t move, I eased my grip and leaned back, peering up at him. “Why aren’t we running, too?” I shouted over the screams and blaring alarm.