Chapter 3: Secrets Among the Stars
The air around us was thick with tension, a charged silence stretching between the three of us. The woman’s eyes were locked on the stone in my hand, as if it was the only thing in the universe that mattered. I could feel the weight of her gaze, sharp and unrelenting, but it was the man beside me that held my attention. His body was tense, poised, like he was ready to fight.
I swallowed, glancing down at the glowing stone in my palm. Whatever this was—whatever I had—was clearly something powerful. And dangerous.
The woman took another step forward, her cloak swirling like liquid starlight around her. “You don’t understand what you’re holding,” she said, her voice as cold and distant as the void between galaxies. “That stone doesn’t belong to you.”
I clenched my fingers tighter around it, a wave of defensiveness rising in my chest. “Then why did he give it to me?” I shot back, nodding toward the man beside me. “Why did you pull me into this?”
The woman’s lips curved into a humorless smile. “He didn’t give it to you. It chose you. And now you’re bound to it.”
“Bound?” I echoed, feeling a chill run down my spine.
Before I could ask what she meant, the man beside me stepped forward, his hand brushing against mine in a subtle, protective gesture. “We don’t have time for this,” he said, his voice low, urgent. “If she stays here any longer, we’re all at risk.”
The woman’s eyes narrowed. “Risk? She’s already tipped the balance. Every second she holds that stone, the more unstable things become.”
I could feel the tension between them like a tangible thing, thick and suffocating. There was history here—something neither of them was saying, but I could sense it in the way they looked at each other, in the careful words they chose. And somehow, I had ended up in the middle of it.
My pulse quickened, the weight of the situation pressing down on me from all sides. I didn’t know who to trust, didn’t know what was happening or why. But one thing was clear—I wasn’t getting out of this without making some kind of choice.
“Why does she want it?” I whispered, turning toward the man, my voice low enough that the woman wouldn’t hear.
He glanced at me, his expression unreadable. “Because it’s the key to time itself.”
The words sent a jolt through me, and for a moment, the world seemed to tilt on its axis. The key to time? Was that even possible?
The stone pulsed in my hand, as if answering the question for me.
The woman, growing impatient, held out her hand. “Give it to me,” she demanded again, her voice hardening.
But before I could even think about what to do, the man grabbed my hand, pulling me close. “We’re leaving. Now.”
I barely had time to react before the world around us seemed to dissolve, the shadows of the alley collapsing in on themselves as the ground gave way beneath our feet. My stomach lurched, and for a moment, it felt like we were falling through an endless void, spinning out of control.
But then, just as quickly, the sensation stopped.
I blinked, disoriented, trying to make sense of what had just happened. When my vision cleared, I realized we were no longer in the alley.
We were somewhere else entirely.
I gasped, my breath catching in my throat as I took in the scene around me. Stars. Endless stars, stretching out in every direction, glittering like diamonds against the inky blackness of space. We were standing on a platform—floating in the middle of the cosmos. Below us, a swirling nebula glowed in shades of purple and blue, its light casting an ethereal glow over everything.
“What is this place?” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
He released my hand, taking a step back to look out over the expanse of stars. “This is the space between worlds,” he said quietly, his voice tinged with something like regret. “A place where time doesn’t move like it does in your world.”
I stared at him, the enormity of what he was saying slowly sinking in. The space between worlds? Time itself didn’t move here? The questions tumbled over each other in my mind, but before I could ask any of them, he turned to face me, his expression serious.
“You need to understand something, Elara,” he said, his voice soft but firm. “That stone—what you’re holding—it’s not just an artifact. It’s alive. And it’s tied to you now.”
My breath hitched. “Tied to me?”
He nodded. “It’s a part of you, whether you like it or not. And as long as you hold it, you’ll be able to move through time. But…” He paused, his eyes darkening. “That power comes with consequences. You can’t change things without there being a cost.”
I stared at him, my mind spinning. The idea that I could move through time—that I had that kind of power—was overwhelming. But it was his warning that sent a shiver down my spine. A cost. Of course there would be a cost.
“And what about her?” I asked, glancing back toward where the woman had been. “Why does she want it?”
“She’s part of a group that believes time should remain untouched,” he explained, his voice tightening with barely contained anger. “That no one has the right to alter it. But they don’t understand that time is fluid—it changes whether we want it to or not.”
I felt his frustration, but something still didn’t add up. “Then why did you pull me into this? Why me?”
He hesitated, and for the first time since we met, I saw uncertainty in his eyes. “Because the stone chose you,” he said, his voice quieter now. “I didn’t plan for this. But now… I can’t let them have you.”
The weight of his words settled over me, and for a moment, the vastness of the stars around us felt suffocating. I was trapped in something I didn’t understand, bound to a fate I hadn’t chosen. And yet, standing here with him—lost in the middle of the stars—I couldn’t deny the pull I felt toward him. Something about this man, this stranger who had pulled me into a world of danger and mystery, made my heart race in ways I couldn’t explain.
As if sensing my turmoil, he stepped closer, his eyes softening. “I’m sorry, Elara,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want this for you.”
His apology took me by surprise, and for a moment, I didn’t know how to respond. But then, before I could think too much about it, I reached out, taking his hand. The warmth of his skin against mine was grounding, and as I stood there, our hands intertwined, I felt a flicker of something between us—something deeper than just circumstance.
“I don’t know what any of this means,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “But I don’t want to do this alone.”
His grip tightened around my hand, his eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that sent a shiver down my spine. “You won’t have to,” he promised, his voice low and steady. “Not as long as I’m here.”
For a long moment, we stood there, suspended in the quiet between the stars, the vastness of the universe around us fading into the background. There was something about him, something that made me feel safe even in the middle of all this chaos.
But then, as if the universe itself sensed the calm between us, a tremor rippled through the platform beneath our feet. The stars seemed to shudder, their light flickering like dying embers. I stumbled, grabbing onto him for support.
“What’s happening?” I asked, panic rising in my chest.
He glanced around, his expression darkening. “We’re not safe here. They’re coming.”
Before I could ask who “they” were, the space around us seemed to fracture, cracks of light splintering through the air. From the darkness, shadowy figures began to emerge—figures cloaked in the same shimmering light as the woman from before.
“They’ve found us,” he said, his voice tight with urgency.
My heart pounded in my chest as the shadowy figures closed in, their movements swift and unnatural.
And then, just as they reached the edge of the platform, the man turned to me, his eyes filled with a mix of regret and resolve.
“I’m sorry, Elara,” he whispered. “But there’s only one way to keep you safe.”
Before I could ask what he meant, he pulled me close, his lips brushing against mine in a fleeting, desperate kiss. It was over too quickly, leaving me breathless and reeling.
And then, without another word, he pushed me—hard—into the void.
***
I tumbled backward, the stars disappearing as I fell through the darkness. His face—the last thing I saw—faded into the distance, and the only sound that reached me was his final whisper, echoing in my mind.
“I’ll find you.”
Then, everything went black.