Page 192 of Star Bringer
“You wanna talk about it?” Max says as we make our way back to the bridge.
“Not if you want to keep your head attached to your body.”
He laughs. “So the talk went well then, hmm?”
“I’m glad you think this is funny.”
“Falling in love at the worst possible time with the worst possible woman?” Max’s snort doesn’t have a lot of humor in it. “Yeah, I don’t think there’s a lot that’s funny about that.”
“Who said anything about love?” I snarl.
Now he laughs, a full-blown belly laugh that makes me want to punch him in his smug face. But that would just mean we both had a headache later.
I don’t wait around for his answer, mostly because I know what it’s going to be. Instead, I speed up so that I swing into the bridge several steps in front of Max and Kali. “What’s wrong?” I demand of Beckett, who’s staring at her console like it holds the secrets to the damn universe.
“TheStarlightis heading in the wrong direction,” she answers. “And I think it’s because of this,” she adds, popping a graphic up on the main screen.
“Now that’s something you don’t see very often,” Max mutters from behind me.
“What is it?” I demand. “A black blob?”
“By not very often, I assume you mean never,” Merrick says.
“Never say never,” Gage singsongs as even he sits up to watch what’s happening.
“Never minus one?” Rain says quietly, and I realize it’s the first time she’s spoken in a long time. I shoot her a quick look, just to make sure she’s okay, but she’s sitting up like everyone else, her attention completely focused on what’s directly in front of us.
Namely, a huge, dark orb.
It’s the heptosphere.
It’s nearly pitch-black, like the first time I set eyes on it. And it’s currently being towed behind two ships like a broken-down satellite. Only much, much bigger.
Kali suddenly moves all the way to the nose end of the bridge as she reaches a hand out as if she can actually touch the thing. As she stands there, transfixed by the ancient artifact, I can’t help thinking that Merrick is right.
Kali might really be the Star Bringer.
And we need to tell her the truth.
“What are they doing with it?” Rain asks.
“They’re taking it down to the palace,” Kali answers. “They planned on me destroying a few planets in the morning.”
“So you know?” I ask.
“That I can activate the heptosphere? Yeah, Dr. Veragelen was pretty adamant,” Kali says. I glance over at Rain, who gives a small, sad head shake. We’ll get to the rest of it—the Star Bringer, all the deception, her role as the true high priestess—later.
“But why are we here, watching it?” I ask, since it seems pretty clear to me that this is what has the ship going off course. “What does theStarlightwant with the heptosphere?”
The others shrug and shake their heads.
“I’m assuming we’re about to find out.” Max moves to wrap a comforting arm around Kali’s shoulders. When she sags against him, I wonder if maybe she’s okay with me after all. That maybe I really did misread the situation between us. It wouldn’t be the first time.
TheStarlightslows to a stop—right in the path of the two shuttles towing the heptosphere. On the plus side, they’re short-range passenger shuttles with no weapons.
“What’s she doing?” Gage asks, and he doesn’t sound impressed.
“I don’t—” I break off as, with absolutely no warning, two beams blast out from theStarlight.
