STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview

STARLIGHT UNBOUND

the shadows. “I don’t trust it. Feels like the calm before the storm.”

Lucien smirked, though there was little humor in it. “You always this optimistic?”

Lyra let out a quiet laugh. “You’ve known me long enough to know the answer to that.”

They fell into silence again, but it wasn ’t uncomfortable.

Lucien ’s thoughts drifted. To the dream. The checkpoint. The golden light. The rush of people breaking free. He shook his head, trying to push the images away.

Lyra ’s voice pierced through his thoughts. “You know what’s strange?”

He glanced at her. “What?”

She took another drag, staring at the empty street. “This. Right here.”

She gestured vaguely with her cigarette. “Standing here, smoking, no drones, no Stewards. It feels… normal. Like how things should be. But it’s not. It’s the exception, not the rule.”

Lucien studied her, the glow of her cigarette lighting her face.

For the first time, she looked … wistful.

A crack in the armor. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be.”

She turned to him, brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”

Lucien hesitated, staring at the smoldering tip of his cigarette. “I mean… this. The quiet. The freedom. Maybe it’s not impossible. Maybe we can make it the rule.”

Lyra searched his face, the enormity of the fight seemed to lessen.

She smiled. A small, almost reluctant curve of her lips. “You’ve got that look again.”

Lucien raised an eyebrow. “What look?”

“Like you’re thinking ten steps ahead of the rest of us. Like you’ve seen something we haven ’t yet.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Who me? I’m just thinking about what’s possible. That’s all.”

Lyra ’s studied him before she took another drag. “You’re a mystery, Lucien.”

He turned toward her. “Oh yea….”

She held up a hand. “No, wait. You’re a mystery wrapped in an enigma.”

Lucien smirked. “Should I take that as a compliment?”

Lyra ’s lips twitched. “I’ll let you figure that one out. You seem to like puzzles. ”

“I thought being mysterious was your thing.”

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