STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview

STARLIGHT UNBOUND

***

Lucien collapsed against the tunnel wall, his lungs heaving as if he ’d run for miles. His legs felt boneless, his hands trembling with the fading remnants of adrenaline. The world around him was suffocating, the contrasting stillness broken only by their ragged breathing.

Harun leaned against the opposite wall, wiping sweat from his brow with the back of his sleeve. His grin was sharp, but it didn ’t quite reach his eyes. “Well. That could’ve gone worse.”

Lyra stood near the sealed panel, staring at it as if willing it to hold. “They’ll know where we’ve been.” Her voice was low, steady, but charged with urgency. “We don’t have much time before they lock the city down.”

Lucien swallowed hard and nodded, but he wasn ’t sure if he could move yet. His muscles screamed in protest. We did it. Somehow, we actually did it. But the thought offered no relief—the gnawing realization that this was far from over.

The tunnel stretched out ahead of them.

Lucien pushed off the wall, wobbling slightly, his legs like lead beneath him. Harun was already checking the data drive, running his thumb over its surface as if he needed the reassurance that it was still there.

Lyra pulled her comm device from her belt, tapping into their encrypted channel. Lucien could see it in her posture —the wheels turning in her head, already planning their next move.

A burst of static crackled through the comm before Corin ’s voice cut in, sharp and tense. “What the hell happened? You’re late. I’ve been sitting here waiting to hear something —anything—for the last twenty minutes.”

Lyra’s response was calm but clipped, betraying the strain in her voice. “We had a close call. Stewards found us at the terminal. ”

“Are you all alright?”

Harun didn’t even look up from the drive, flashing a lopsided grin. “More or less. I mean, I ’m still breathing, so I’m counting it as a win.”

Corin wasn’t amused. His voice came back colder. “You’d better keep breathing, because the city ’s losing its damn mind right now. Every sector’s on high alert. They know something ’s up, even if they don’t know it’s you yet. Patrols are doubling in the outer districts, and the Spire went into full lockdown.”

Lucien ’s stomach clenched, a wave of nausea threatening to overtake him.

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