Setting Fire to the Stars (a MM Sci-Fi Romance)

Chapter 29: Plans

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Peter
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"Afternoon, sir." A brown-haired soldier standing guard by a large tent saluted Gael. His oily gaze slid to me before widening in recognition.

I held his stare as Gael waved the guy off and pushed aside the rough canvas leading into a large tent. Wells's influence appeared to span across the entire compound, every passing soldier posted with their hands firmly on their weapons, murmuring to their fellow watchmen when we passed by. My palms broke out in cold sweat at their watchful eyes. Did they think me some kind of rabid dog that could attack them at any given moment?

Casting a final glance outside, I followed after Gael. The first thing to catch my eye were the countless papers strewn across a large wooden table near the center. Below the stacks, there sat a detailed map of the entire country. Multi-colored push pins stuck out of the parchment in several spots, a plethora of yellow sticky notes haphazardly taped over random states. The muted sunlight streamed through the flap, the inside smelling like aged leather, parchment, and damp earth. Lauren's father confidently strode under the swooping beige canopy like he owned the place, circling the table. What I had thought were Gael's private lodgings turned out to be a war room.

Peering over at my guide, I grazed my knuckles against the sore area of jaw. "So, uh. . . what exactly is it that you do here?"

"I'm afraid that's classified information. Please, have a seat." Rousing a pile of documents from the table, Lauren's dad didn't spare me a glance before he pulled up a chair and began studying the sheets. "I realize that I never caught your name."

Shoving down any sarcastic response, I grasped the metal backrest of the fold-out chair. "Peter Ducane."

Lauren's father dropped the parchment onto the table, his eyes flashing like a couple of silver dollars. "Right. So then, how exactly is it that you know my son?"

I cracked my neck before I plopped down into the offered seat. "Which one?"

"Both, I suppose."

Something about his mannerisms made me feel like a bug under a microscope. To my annoyance, I just couldn't get a read on Lauren's father. The guy seemed nice, but the vibe he was giving off was kinda strange. Just who exactly was Gael Everhart? Wiping my sweaty palms on my dark-washed jeans, I forced a half-grin. "Lauren and I are—were—seniors at Winchester. We were together when this all started. If I'm being honest, I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for him."

A smile softened his features. "He always did have a brave heart. Just like his mother in that regard." The glimmer soon died out, the mask of indifference sliding back into place. Gael's chair creaked as he reclined on the back legs. "You mentioned something about saving him?"

A fresh stab of despair hit me at the reminder of Lauren's absence. It was constant, like a thorn buried deep in my side. "He was taken. I wasn't with him when it happened, but I know who took him."

Walking him through the ambush in both the woods and Elyria, I couldn't stop my knee from bouncing incessantly underneath the table. Anxiety gnawed in my gut the longer I spoke, the chilling grasp of dread consuming my veins like a deadly poison. Tobias had warned me against revealing his brother's capture and powers, but this was his father. Didn't he have the right to know?