Page 99 of Stardusted

I believed him about that, at least. He looked borderline distraught. Breaking that Creed of his reallywasbothering him. I wouldn’t have pegged Sky for such a rules stickler. It’d be cute if my life didn’t hinge on whatever part of this he was keeping to himself.

With that same, defeated expression, he elaborated, “Technically, no, I didn’t kill the Enil. But I neutralized the one you saw at the lab. And I haven’t picked up any more activity in the area since. For now, at least.”

Well. That was good to know. On one hand, glad they weren’t lurking around every corner.

On the other,he’d taken out a killer robot.

So Sky wasn’t just an alien. He was an alien badass.

He chose that moment to step closer, and I stiffened before I could stop it. He halted a few feet from me, face tightening. Tension arced between us, thick with words—spoken and otherwise—the revelations of the night. All he’d dumped on me.

Everything had changed, including how I saw Sky. That’d never go back to normal. The version of the man I’d pined over for the better part of a year was gone. Maybe I’d mourn it if I wasn’t so overwhelmed.

And yet when he took another step, I froze, stuck somewhere between backing away and staying right there, waiting for him. The simultaneous urges tangled up my insides. Just like my thoughts, I couldn’t begin to pick apart the mess of confusing feelings when it came tothisSky.

He seemed to know, too. Or maybe he was feeling just as tangled. Hard to tell. His hands twitched at his sides like he wanted to reach for me, but I was glad he didn’t. My nerves were strung tighter than harp wire. I couldn’t guarantee I wouldn’tsnatch up the pepper spray and blast him in the face. I was holding on by a thread.

It was either that or kiss him. Maybe vent all this wound-up tension intothatinstead. At the thought, my stomach flipped.

…alien, Rae. He’s an alien.

“This is a long, convoluted explanation for what happened today,” he murmured. That fatigue was back, tugging at the skin around his eyes. “It’s complicated, and I’m sorry I can’t tell you more. I would if I could. Believe me. But I’m telling you the truth when it comes to those marks.”

He tipped his chin toward my palm. I tugged my cardigan sleeve down over it, self-conscious for some reason.

His dark eyes found mine again. “You need to lie low until I figure out what’s going on here. With the markings. With the Enil. Most importantly, how to fix the signal you’re emitting and whatever else the halix’s done.”

Another denial tried to surface, and I clicked my tongue in protest, but he didn’t let me get a word in.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but I need you to stay out of sight. Stay here, if that’s what you’d prefer. Where I can keep you safe.”

Even though I felt a floaty little flutter at the protectiveness, I shook my head. “Out of sight isn’t possible. I have work. School. Alife.I’ve got midterms this week. I can’t just skip those.”

“Tell them you’re sick. Figure something out. I told you, the Enil are tracking the halix,” he said, his pointed gaze dropping to my palm before rising slowly to mine. “Itsenergy, Rae.”

Oh.Oh.

Oh no.

I took a step back, like I could outrun what he was suggesting. I was almost embarrassed it’d taken so long to catch on. “You think the Enil can trackmenow.”

“Yes.” Sky’s throat worked in a heavy swallow. The blood drained out of my head so fast, I swayed. He caught it, judgingby the apologetic tilt of his full mouth. “I’m sorry, Rae. But yes, that’s exactly what I think. And I know you don’t want to hear this, but that energy pulse at Oasis was strong enough to scramble my synth-skin. Something I didn’t even know was possible. I have no idea what the range is on the Enil scanners, but…”

I’d seen my own handglow.I’d seen his alien form. I couldn’t deny something had happened, and it’d happened the moment I touched him with my marked palm. Too much of a coincidence to argue against the correlation.

Which meant, as much as I hated it, I couldn’t refute his assertion that something hadchanged. That didn’t mean I was ready to agree I was a Google Drive for an alien info cache. But my handhadshone like a star. Something was up.

As if reading my grudging acceptance, Sky nodded slowly. “I know this is your life we’re talking about. I know you’re overwhelmed, and I’m asking a lot. And I really am sorry this happened. I never wanted you of all people to get dragged into this.”

I wanted to ask what exactly he meant by that, but he wasn’t done. His voice hardened.

“But you don’t know the Enil. You don’t know what they’re capable of.” He stepped even closer until I had to tilt my head back to meet his intense gaze. “They won’t hesitate to kill you to get what they want. They’ll tear you apart to extract whatever has changed inside you. Even if it breaks you. Even if itkillsyou. They won’t care.”

I shuddered. Sky stared down at me, a muscle tightening in his cheek God, he painted a vivid, horrifying picture. Vivid enough, my insides pitched and rolled. If he was hoping to scare me, he was doing a great job.

Not that it took much. I could imagine all too well what the Enil could do. Those clawed hands. That iron grip. Thevisceral fear while being hunted by a mechanical monster—it all slammed back. The bruises on my arm were nothing compared to what it could’ve done. This part, at least, I had no trouble believing. I could believe they weren’t burdened by pesky things like a conscience.

A darker thought crept in.Skywas an alien, too. How was I to knowhefelt things like I did? Mouth dry, I took him in with newfound trepidation.