All the Stars Left Behind by Ashley Graham

Author:Ashley Graham [Graham, Ashley]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: forbidden love, fated mates, secret weapon, destiny, hidden power, conspiracy
Publisher: Entangled Publishing, LLC
Published: 2017-06-06T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

Roar sat in one of Equinox’s two common rooms staring out the window, watching space scroll by in strips of black and white and bursts of color too bright to register. Beside him, curled up on the padded bench seat spanning the length of the wall, Leda had fallen asleep with her head on his thigh.

After she’d spoken alone with her grandmother, Roar had taken her here, away from everyone else. The rest of the crew handled the ship without him, no complaints. Even Stein was content with the added responsibility. Weird. Stein wasn’t the kind of person to work for free, which technically, they all were. They might get some recognition when they made it back and stopped the Woede, and even sponsorships to live off of, but until then, no one was getting any payment. Aurelis was a democratic society but capitalism ran rampant and the divide between upper and lower class had grown over the years. In that, Earth and Aurelis shared a common thread.

Every time he shut his eyes, he saw the way Leda had bent in agony when Rika had pushed on her spine. Rika’s words echoed in his mind, a constant loop, gouging out pieces of his heart. Another thing he was responsible for: waking the creature. Rika and Arne both determined that it was most likely dormant. Until he touched her. He wanted to tear that thing, whatever it was, from her body and toss it out the first available airlock. He wanted to keep Leda to himself, screw responsibility—he kept having those thoughts, those needs, and hating himself for it. Roar’s purpose was to locate and deliver the weapon, not crave her attention, her touch, her affection.

Enjoy the moment. Didn’t he at least deserve that much? If he’d been born on Earth, Roar’s childhood would’ve been the complete opposite. He would have grown up playing sports, watching movies, listening to music, maybe he’d have had a girlfriend. Maybe his parents would still be alive. Maybe, maybe, maybe. Looking back on his disastrous upbringing, it made sense in a screwed-up kind of way that he’d fallen for the one girl who could upend everything he knew.

Leda stirred and stretched. Her fists brushed his abs and she let out a breathless sigh. A flicker of warmth curled in Roar’s belly at the sound. He brushed a lock of hair from her brow with his knuckles. When her eyes opened, she smiled up at him, a smile brighter than the brightest stars. Moments like this made him question not just his purpose, but whether he would ever have a life beyond it.

Those are dangerous questions.

The Elders would tell him the answer was obvious. And easy. And necessary.

“Hey,” she said. “How long was I out for?”

“Not long at all.” The urge to run away from obligations and explore the universe with Leda gnawed at his insides, growing more insistent. He pushed it down, instead focusing on her face. She’d regained some of her color while she slept.

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