FALLEN STAR | OLD VERSION | BL ✔

CHAPTER 13 | activate the shields

KILO'S POV

Castyr and I sit quietly and simply watch. Miren's hands flow around her guns as she cleans and reloads her weapons.

"I could have saved him," Miren mumbles to herself as she pops bullets into a newly-cleaned rifle stored in the Flisea. "Who does he think he is? To have me dragged away."

"It's not your fault," Castyr says sweetly.

"Huh?" Miren looks up from her gun.

"Devyn doesn't blame you. Do you think he'd want you to blame yourself?"

She looks back down. "No...he wouldn't."

"How long until our next stop?" I inquire as Miren goes back to cleaning her gun.

"Two days if we're lucky. Sometimes migrating meteor fields can be a nuisance and cause us to take a detour. It's rare that a meteor field shifts hundreds of light spans, but it does happen. So we'll just have to be on the look out for those. Other than that, it should be smooth sailing."

Miren's words are comforting, but an uneasy feeling has been growing in my gut. Small sounds from the back of the ship draw my attention. I catch Castyr fumbling around the containers and compartments.

He gives a small huff as he reaches into a big compartment in the side of the ship and drags out a long blanket. I cannot help but smile at the small star dragging the blanket back to his chair.

"I thought it'd be better to find a blanket than take your coat again," Castyr smiles at me.

I watch as he wraps himself in the blanket and scoots back into his chair. He is still used to his warm residence in Heaven, so he is trying to get as warm as possible. Castyr shifts in his seat, unsatisfied with his positions.

He finally huffs a breath of air and slides out of the chair. He takes the blanket and walks over to me. I watch as the star climbs into my lap and leans against my chest. Castyr finally settles down after he slings the blanket over us.

The star snuggles into me, and I find myself leaning my head down and brushing the tip of my nose against the top of his head. I breathe in his warm, airy scent, and my whole body relaxes. I move my arms under the blanket and wrap them around Castyr. The star sighs sweetly as he falls asleep.

Miren has already turned to face the front of the ship. A lump forms in my throat as the uneasy feeling grows. What is going on? Were we followed? That does not make sense. I checked to make sure no ships followed us out of Borum's atmosphere.

The worry grows as I look at the sleeping star in my arms. I have to protect him. I hold Castyr tighter as I peer out the ship's windows.

Nebulae pass by motionless in space. All is silent except for the quiet hum of the Flisea. What am I worried about? I shake my head and calm myself down. I am probably just overreacting.

I rest my head on the back of the chair and close my eyes. Letting out a breath, I focus on relaxing when beeping sounds from the control center. Miren sits up straight and checks the radar. Castyr stirs in response to my jolt.

"Three unidentified crafts have been detected," Miren informs me.

I gently lift Castyr and stand to my feet. After setting the star on the chair, I walk over to the cock pit.