STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview

STARLIGHT UNBOUND

the progress they’d clawed from the jaws of control.

But his mind was somewhere else. Something was building inside.

The golden expanse. The infinite stillness. The electric pulse of something unnamed—not a force, but a presence.

Then, the faces. Rushing forward. Desperate. Hopeful.

And behind it all—AstroSYS.

Not the Order’s control over it, but the bones of what it could be. A tool, stripped of its authority, wielded by the people it was meant to serve.

An idea crystallized in his mind.

Lyra, noticing him shift, touched his arm. “Lucien?”

He looked up, meeting her eyes.

A breath. A decision.

“There’s something else we need to discuss.”

The room stopped.

All eyes turned to him.

Lucien froze. The relief in the room had been fragile, fleeting —and now, his own thoughts threatened to shatter it.

It had been growing inside him for days. That pull. That whisper.

At first, he had ignored it. Then, he had tried to reason with it. To push it aside.

Now, it was too loud to ignore.

Say it.

His logical mind recoiled. This wasn ’t part of the plan. This wasn’t what the others wanted.

Say it.

He felt Lyra ’s gaze on him.

He looked up, meeting her eyes—sharp, concerned, waiting.

And before he could stop himself, the words tumbled out.

“We still want access to AstroSYS.”

***

Lyra froze, her hand still on his arm, her eyes wide with shock.

Corin, who had been halfway to standing, sank back into his chair, his expression thunderous. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Harun blinked, leaning back with an almost amused look, though disbelief edged his tone. “Lucien, buddy, I think you’ve been breathing too much fresh air. Care to elaborate?”

209