Page 64 of When the Universe Sings

Two hands wrapped around my waist, hauling me to my feet. My scream ripped at my throat and I clawed against his gloved hands. And the worst part was how he shushed me, tugging me tight against his chest, cheek pressed to my hood.

“You need to listen. You’ve got minutes left until that thing in your breastband renders you into something unrecognizable.”I shook my head, twisting my shoulders to try to wrench myself free, but he only tightened his arms around my chest. “I’ve seen it, June—what that kind of power can to do someone who isn’t ready for it.”

Another cry, but this time of agony as my body curled in on itself, a twisting pain writhing beneath my skin like a creature trying to crawl its way out. But I couldn’t let it go, not when he would take it and sell it to the highest bidder. Not when giving up the stone meant I would have to face what I’d done, to come back into this body and never hear the song of the universe again.

“I’m not going to sell it.”

Even through the pain I barked a laugh, wondering how he could think me so stupid. But one of his arms released me, hand moving to his face to tug off his glove with his teeth. Asher spun me until I could look into his eyes, swarming with emotion I couldn’t understand or put a name to. But it almost looked like heartbreak as he pulled off his other glove and threw them to the ground. “You have to trust me.”

I shook my head. I couldn’t trust him, couldn’t trust anyone. This life had taught me that. I was nothing, barely even a number on a list in the registry of Ebyd III. Just another faceless prisoner whose body they could dispose of while the Federation boasted of its healthy long-lived workforce. Asher was the last person I could trust after what I’d seen these last few weeks. He was smooth-talking Captain Ruciyah, he was brooding Asher of theKuxatana, he was?—

Bare hands cupped my face and my eyes widened. A torrent of emotions and images cascaded into me. There was relief, like a weight lifted off my chest. Heartache. Bitterness. Grief. But more than anything there was a soul-deep longing—for me. And I couldn’t have said how I knew, only that I did. All this time I’d thought of him as a Quinzyr mercenary desperate to completehis job for a faceless master. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Asher was…

Warmth slipped from my nose and I vomited blood at his feet.

CHAPTER

FORTY-FOUR

Juniper stumbled into my arms.

“Better get her inside.” Xabhat tugged a modified blaster from the inside of his cloak and pointed it at the sky. “Party’s about to start.”

Dust swirled higher around us, not only from the sudden storm but also from the fighter ships appearing overhead, gunning it toward the ground. Xabhat let out an ear-piercing wail and an answering cry from those around him filled the air. Before I could take a step, the fighters above us opened fire, plasma bolts sending sand and dirt flying over our heads as their weaponry systems tried to aim in the storm. I dropped to a knee, covering Juniper with my body to shield her from the spraying debris. Xabhat’s blaster whined as he twisted the knob behind the trigger, a thunderingboomechoing from the barrel before the side of one fighter exploded, sending the ship careening to the ground in a fiery explosion.

Juniper pushed out from beneath me, the arrival of the Federation soldiers appearing to jolt her from whatever pain wracked her body. Her hands flew into the air, fingers spread wide, and I swore I could smell the power wafting off her as it shot forward, one of the fighters exploding into pieces. Another swooped close and she flipped a palm toward it and froze the ship in midair.

Around us more Wuaxians ran from their shelters, all wielding modified Federation weapons lifted from officers and soldiers over the cycles. More shots rained down around us andI eyed Juniper as I shot my own bolt of power toward a fast-approaching fighter, sending it careening into the ground. Her body shook while she held the ship in place and, when her shoulders slumped, I pressed my back to her chest, reaching my arms up beside hers. My fingers spread wide, energy pulsing out of my hand and toward the closest ship. It crumpled in on itself like a piece of parchment, falling to the ground in a fiery crash.

“Maker!” Xabhat laughed, his deep voice barely audible over the din. “You both are some wild motherfuckers.”

Juniper spasmed in my arms, knees buckling. I caught her before she could hit the dirt. Blood continued to pour from her nose and the corner of her mouth. Her body gave another jerk before I pressed a bare hand to her forehead. She was choking on the blood pooling in her lungs.

“Xab,” I roared.

My old friend looked over as the final fighter exploded in the sky, his face falling from the joy only killing Federation soldiers brought. I turned June onto her side, prying open her jaw as streams of blood ran onto the ground. One weathered hand touched the back of her head and he nodded.

“Bring her inside.”

…

Hours later I still knelt beside the small cot nestled behind Xab’s desk, dabbing sweat off Juniper’s brow with a damp cloth. Her breathing had evened out but she wouldn’t wake for a while, not with the amount ofnefalynin her system to help repair the damage. It wasn’t enough to completely heal her, but it was enough to ensure she wouldn’t die.

But there had been a few terrifying moments when I’d felt her begin to slip away before we could find a vein. One ofXabhat’s men had had to hold me back and I’d let them, even as I roared, clutching at my hair and screaming her name. Our bond was set, save for the bite, and should she die, I would follow soon after.

Faint footsteps pounded across sand, barely audible through the din of another dust storm. My shoulders sagged with relief when I looked up to find Xabhat leading Rhiaon and Greabes into the small hangar. Rhiaon had a pack slung over one shoulder, their attention immediately falling to Juniper’s pale face.

“What happened?” Rhiaon dropped the bag and rummaged through it before placing a monitor over her chest for her vitals.

I explained about the stone while they worked over her, replacing Xab’s makeshift IV with one of ours and handing the bag to Greabes, who lifted it higher. The male’s face was fixed on Juniper’s, mouth set in a grim line, eyes a little glassier than normal.

“How could she have held the stone? I thought she was from Selhveina,” Greabes rumbled.

I smoothed back her hair after Rhiaon affixed the tubing around her nose to help her breathe. The acrid taste of thenefalynbloomed on the back of my tongue as our skin touched and my limbs went heavy with her medicated sleep before I pushed it back. “Zoleka said sometimes there are those who are strong enough to wield the stone for small periods. She must have been one of them.”

Zoleka had never said anything of the sort, but I knew they would never ask her. I’d spent the last few hours thinking up a reasonable explanation as to why Juniper hadn’t died the moment she grabbed the stone.