STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview

STARLIGHT UNBOUND

ready to snap.

Then it did.

The energy surged down his spine in a rushing wave, sharp and electric. It raced through his legs, pooling in his feet before shooting out with a force that made his whole body feel hollow, a shell.

In the confusion of Lucien’s mind he heard himself say. I’m leaving my body.

He felt it – the distinct sensation of something slipping free, of his essence being pulled outward like a thread unraveling from the fabric of his form.

For a brief, terrifying moment, he felt himself floating – not upward, but outward, as though he was being pulled into a space beyond the room, beyond the world.

As suddenly as it began, it all came rushing back.

The energy surged inward through the soles of his feet, shooting up his legs and back into his torso like a tidal wave reversing course. The force of it jolted his body, every nerve sparking with electricity, as though he had been struck by lightning.

His back arched under Lyra’s hand, a sharp gasp escaping his lips as the sensation overwhelmed him.

The rush of energy left him trembling, his body sinking back into the mattress as his breath came in uneven bursts. What ’s happening to me?

Lyra sat up, her hand still on his back, her voice sharp but steady.

“Lucien. Lucien! What the hell happened?”

Lucien turned his head, his vision blurry, his body still pulsing with the aftershocks of the experience. “I... I don’t know.”

Her hand moved to his shoulder, gripping him as she leaned closer. “Don’t give me that crap. You looked like you were being electrocuted, Lucien! Talk to me. What happened? ”

Lucien hesitated, then sat up as he tried to untangle the sensations and thoughts. He lowered his face into his hands, his elbows resting on his knees, his voice unsteady. “It started in my solar plexus, just below my ribcage. Like... like something was spinning inside me.”

He drew in a shaky breath, his other hand clutched the edge of the mattress. “Then it... rushed down my spine. I felt it shoot out through my feet, like... like I wasn ’t even in my body anymore.”

Lyra’s brows furrowed, her hand moving to his thigh. “What do you mean, ‘not in your body’? Where did you go?”

Lucien shook his head, his voice low and uncertain. “I don’t know. It was

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