STARLIGHT UNBOUND by Deus Ex Machina - HTML preview

STARLIGHT UNBOUND

leaving."

The words landed like a blow—not because they surprised him, but because she said them with certainty, like she had already known.

His hesitated trying to find the words. "I don ’t want to leave you," he admitted, voice raw. "But... I don ’t think I have a choice."

Lyra sat up fully, pulling the blanket around her shoulders. "You think you can go without me? That I’d stay behind and play house while you’re out there chasing whatever this is?"

Her tone was sharp, but beneath it, he heard something else—hurt.

"Lyra..."

"Don’t," she cut him off, her voice softer now. "I’m not your possession, Lucien. You don ’t get to make this decision for me."

He looked away. "This isn ’t about that," he said. "It’s about what’s right for you. You have a life here —a purpose. These people need you. They trust you."

"And what about what I need?" she shot back.

Lucien met her gaze, and his chest ached. He wanted to tell her that he needed her, that the thought of leaving her behind felt like tearing himself in half. But the pull—the strange, relentless force calling him—was stronger than anything he had ever known.

"I don ’t know what’s waiting for me out there," he said after a long pause. "But I know I can ’t ignore it. And I can’t ask you to give up everything you’ve built here to follow me into the unknown. It ’s not fair."

Lyra’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t look away. "You don’t get to decide what’s fair for me, Lucien. If you’re going, then I’m coming with you. That’s all there is to it."

He knew Lyra —knew the resolve in her voice, knew there was no arguing with her once she ’d made up her mind.

"You’re stubborn," he muttered. A tired smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"And you’re an idiot," she shot back. "But you’re my idiot. So whatever this is —whatever’s pulling you—I’ll face it with you."

Lucien let out a shaky breath, something between relief and dread curling through him. "This isn ’t going to be easy."

Lyra leaned forward, pressing her forehead against his. "It never is."

They stayed like that, the silence big but not empty.

Lucien closed his eyes, the echo of the stars still pulsing in his veins. He didn ’t know what lay ahead. But for the first time that night, he felt steady.

Not because the uncertainty had weakened.

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