by J. M. Page
Celine sighed at that thought. Of her lost dreams of traveling. It didn’t seem there was any hope of her ever getting off the ground any more. She glanced over and saw the same expression of longing and loss on Ben’s face. He, too, looked up at the sky wistfully, a glimmer in his eyes.
She felt a camaraderie with him then. They were one in the same. Two people trapped, kept from the only thing they’d ever wanted. Before she knew it, the words were pouring forth.
“I’ve always wondered what it would be like. The sky, the stars…”
Somewhere in the background, Rufus whined and whimpered. Probably still trying to fend off the fearsome dog.
“Something about that great open space, all those millions of millions pricks of light, each one a star just like ours… It’s awe-inspiring.”
“Celine…” Rufus hissed, though she ignored him.
“I’d love to see it, to explore it. To travel to the stars and beyond. Of course you’ve already done all that and I’m just a…”
Her mouth snapped shut, her eyes going wide as she finally realized her error. Rufus still whined from the corner.
“I’m just…” she tried to come up with an ending to that sentence that would save her from her candid admission, but it was too late. One look at Ben showed that he’d heard plenty. A sly grin spread across his face and he looked all too satisfied with himself as he crossed his arms and leveled a serious look her way.
“You didn’t crash, did you?”
Celine thrust her hands in her pockets, one fist closing around the coin Rufus recovered from the wreck. Was now the time to come clean? Should she tell him the truth? The whole truth?
Slowly, she shook her head. “No, not exactly.”
She waited for the inevitable follow-up. The question or statement that would make her reveal herself as a modder. And possibly sign her death sentence. She braced herself for it, but it never came.
Finally, she looked back up at the smiling prince, after staring at her lap for far too long.
“What?” she asked, wondering if she should be worried by that expression.
“So you’ve never seen the stars?” he asked. “Not once?”
Celine paused before she answered with a simple shake of her head.
She wouldn’t have thought it possible, but Ben’s grin grew even wider. He took her by the wrist, pulling her hand from her pocket and clasping it in his own.
“Well then,” he said with an air of grandeur, “you’re in for a treat.”
Celine allowed herself to be pulled along by Ben, leaving Bora and Rufus alone together in her room. As they left, Rufus pleaded and protested about being left with that ‘rowdy mountain of drool.’
Ben led her down one hallway after another, each dimmed to near darkness in the late evening hour.
“Where are we going?” Celine asked after they turned down the fourth hallway.
Ben held a finger to his lips, urging her to be quiet. Then he whispered “You’ll like it, I promise.” As an afterthought he added “Trust me.”
Celine’s mouth snapped shut and she nodded, fluttery excitement rushing through her veins. She couldn’t say why, but she did trust him. More than could ever be considered reasonable. Ben instilled a sense of trust in her that Celine found almost alarming, if it weren’t for his calming nature.
He led her through a veritable maze of hallways, twisting and turning every direction. She was sure they’d back-tracked and looped around at least three times when he stopped.
The hallway came to an end, no doors on either side. It was wide enough that there could have been a third person with them and they could have all stood with their arms up and out at their sides and none of their fingers would touch. The ceiling stretched overhead, disappearing into the darkness.
And in the middle of the large empty hall, Celine and the Prince stood shoulder-to-shoulder. His presence next to her seemed to fill the space, it filled her senses with awareness of him. Of his warm masculine scent. She closed her eyes and just savored the moment. It may not have been flying, but it sure felt close.
When she opened her eyes, Celine focused on the end of the hallway. The massive wall was covered from one corner to the next with a magnificent tapestry.
She had to tilt her head back to see all of it, the glorious depiction of the solar system, stars dotting the background, a fleet of Terran ships in the foreground. It was rendered in such exquisite detail that Celine could hardly believe it wasn’t an actual window to space.
In short, it took her breath away and the longer she looked at it, the more she found to gape in wonder at. No wonder Ben was so excited to show this to her; it was spectacular.
Celine felt a tug and realized Ben had her by the hand again and he was pulling her forward. He looked confused as he urged her to follow him.
“Come on,” he said with another gentle tug.
“I was… just looking… beautiful tapestry,” she muttered, feeling flustered. Every time she seemed to have a handle on what was going on, she was wrong again.
Ben looked back over his shoulder at the object of her attention and seemed to see it for the first time. He shrugged, a little frown dimpling one corner of his mouth.
“I promise you can look at art later. There’s plenty of it,” he said, pulling again.
Celine followed him all the way to the corner of the tapestry. Ben pulled the edge up, and rather than solid wall like she expected, there was a slim opening leading to a narrow corridor.
Once they were both in the corridor, Ben let the tapestry drop and they were cloaked in complete darkness. Without thinking, Celine’s hand found his.
A moment later, Ben held a faint blue glow, enough to light their way.
The corridor they first entered branched off in many directions — another dizzying maze.
“I used to love exploring these passages when I was younger,” Ben said, a smile in his tone. “Once upon a time, they were for servants to move about unseen. Then, during the Beria Rebellion, there were clandestine meetings far away from separatists.”
Celine nodded like she understood everything he said. She understood parts of it, at least. It was hard to focus on what he said when they were in these narrow passageways, the walls brushing her shoulders with every step.
“I’ve heard there are even safe rooms, in case of an attack of coup, but if there are, I don’t think anyone knows where they are anymore.”
Celine nodded again, unable to contribute anything more to the conversation. The tunnels seemed to be closing in as they walked. She couldn’t help but feel like she was back home, underground, trapped again.
Thinking about those tunnels brought forth thoughts of her father, of Scorpia, and her new arm. Her father would never forgive her for giving up her old arm. And there was still the nagging question of what Scorpia wanted with it. She hadn’t given that nearly enough thought in the heat of the moment.
She wondered if her father was looking for her. Or if he assumed she ran off into the Wastelands, never to be seen again.
In the dim blue light, Ben’s eyes caught hers. “Celine?”
“Hm?” she managed, wondering how many times he’d said it.
“Are you okay?” She recognized the look in his eyes now; he was worried. About what? She tensed, wondering if there had been some sign of them being discovered she missed while off in thought.
He didn’t pull his gaze from her, though, and she nodded slowly. “Why?”
Ben relaxed just a fraction and looked down. “Because you’re crushing my hand.”
Celine looked down and saw her fingers wrapped around Ben’s, mashing them together, his fingertips purple with pooled blood. She snatched her new hand away as fast as if she were burned, muttering an apology over and over. Horror washed through her as he shook his hand, trying to restore blood flow.
Unable to stomach the fact that she’d nearly hurt him, Celine kept her disobedient hand hidden behind her back, keeping her distance fro
m Ben.
He flexed his hand a few times, making a fist and relaxing. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m fine, see?” he said, turning his hand over in front of her. “You don’t need to be so nervous.”
She nodded, feeling queasy. Was it her imagination, or was her hand misbehaving more and more?
Maybe she was just overthinking things. Maybe she just needed to relax and stop being so nervous, like Ben said.
After all, what was the worst that could happen?
He finds out you’re actually part robot and dissects you in front of the palace.
Not helpful, she chided herself.
“Come on, just a bit further,” Ben said, taking another corner.
He stopped at what appeared to be a plain patch of wall, no different from any other. He leaned forward, and pressed his palms to the stone.
With a nearly imperceptible movement, Ben slid the panel aside, just enough to look out to the space beyond.
“Come here,” he mouthed with a wave. There was no space on either side of him for Celine to see through the crack, so she crouched under him, his chest pressed to her back. The Prince’s warmth soaked into her and Celine resisted the urge to nestle in closer.
“See that guard?” he whispered, his lips pressed to her ear. Celine looked, then nodded.
“Wait for him to pass, and run as fast as you can in that direction.” He pointed, and Celine had to force herself to look. His warm breath on her neck made her want to close her eyes and lose herself to him.
Enough of that, focus.
“Don’t be seen,” he said. Celine turned, a sarcastic scowl plastered in place.
“Oh, really?”
He answered with a roguish smirk and a shrug. She clenched her teeth, trying to force herself to pay attention. She started to look around, mapping her route to stay hidden, when she realized they were looking at a spacecraft hangar. A massive one. Big enough to house the whole Terran Space Force, she’d wager.
“Is this…?”
Ben held his finger up to his lips again, giving her a silent ‘Shh’ with his nod.
Celine looked in awe at the hundreds, maybe thousands of crafts. Some small enough for only one man, others big enough for an army. The ships dwarfed some of the towering buildings she’d seen from her window and nothing had ever made her feel quite so insignificant.
“Over there,” Ben pointed to a row of smaller crafts in the far corner, “second from the wall, okay?”
Celine took a deep breath, getting a lungful of Ben’s earthy scent in the process. She nodded, emboldened by him. By the thrill and possibilities he promised.
“On my count… One…” He slid the panel open a little wider and Celine bounced on her toes. “Two…” Wider still, her pulse shot off like a rocket. She didn’t know what would happen if they were caught, but she was sure the punishment would be worse for her.
Still, the idea of going up there…
“Three!” he whispered, giving her an encouraging pat.
Celine took a deep breath and ran.
Chapter Eight
Ben
Ben held his breath until he was sure Celine was safely hidden in the shadow of his favorite ship. He waited for the next guard to cruise by before he made his break for it, sprinting with all his might to get to his ship. To get to Celine. It was hard to tell which was more appealing any more.
He kept to the darkness best he could, moving from one shadow to the next, just out of view of the guards. There had been restricted patrols since the grounding, but apparently his father doubled up on guards after Ben’s little stunt leaving the city.
Never mind. He could never regret it. Not when it had brought him here, now. His father could increase guards a hundred fold and he’d still find a way around them.
All he could think of was the way Celine looked at that stupid tapestry. He’d never even really noticed it before, but to her, it was the most incredible thing.
He got a lump in his throat just thinking he’d be there to witness her seeing the real thing for the first time. It was an honor that he got to be the one to show her. There was just something about her. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
Something about her coy smiles and sharp mind that made him feel whole in a way he hadn’t since the Grounding took effect. No person had ever made him feel as complete as flying did, but Celine was getting dangerously close.
They’d barely spent any time together at all and he was already having these thoughts about her. He shuddered to think the kind of thoughts he’d be having after another day in her company. How much deeper could she sink her claws into him?
Ben didn’t think he’d ever protest. The speed with which his feelings for her developed was alarming, for sure. Frightening even. But it was also altogether exciting and new, and Ben was never one to shy away from an adventure because of little thing like fear.
He was nearly there. One more sprint and he’d be at her side again. Within arm’s reach. Close enough to inhale her sweet citrus scent.
Ben ducked out of the shadow just as a sweep of light moved his direction. He jumped back, heart in his throat, and flattened himself against the wall. Though it went against everything he wanted, he took a few steps backwards, away from Celine. He prayed she could stay silent.
One of the khaki-clad guards stopped his circuitous route and doubled back to shine another light right where he’d been a moment earlier. Ben hated to imagine what would happen if he was caught in the hangar. If those men from lunch found out the Prince didn’t think the rules applied to him.
It could spell chaos for the whole walled city. And he was risking it all for what? A girl?
The guard passed again and Ben let out a long breath.
He didn’t waste any time rushing to her side and the moment he was safely obscured from sight, she flung her arms around him in a tight embrace.
“That was close,” she whispered, eyes shimmering with concern.
He gave her a squeeze of his own, reveling in the moment for as long as he’d let himself.
Yep, he was risking it all for a girl.
The access panel opened with a soft snick and Ben typed in his code to the keypad. The door of the craft opened with a hiss and the pair looked all around, waiting to see if anyone noticed.
After a moment passed, Ben ushered Celine through the door, following close behind. Once the door was closed and they were relatively safe, Ben let out a long sigh.
“Well, we got this far,” he said.
Celine looked around the small craft, eyes wide trying to soak everything in. She immediately ventured to the controls, running her fingers over the instruments, investigating different panels. Ben saw something in her eyes. A sharpness he hadn’t seen from many people before. She understood the workings of this machine though she’d never seen it or anything like it before.
“What do you say we take it for a spin?” he said, standing behind her in the cockpit.
The small craft could seat up to four people, but was made to be piloted solo without issue. It was fast, agile, and just plain fun to maneuver. Though Ben had sat at the controls of nearly every model in the Space Force, this was his favorite.
Celine snatched her hands back from the controls like she was afraid she’d done something wrong, and spun around to look at him.
“Are you crazy? What about the Grounding?” She might not have been around very long, but it seemed even Celine knew the severity of what he suggested.
He adopted a serious expression. “This is a special circumstance, I think. You’ve never seen the stars.”
Celine threw up her hands. “I’m sure there are thousands of people in this city that have never seen the stars.”
But only one of them saved my life, Ben thought, not quite ready to voice his suspicions out loud again. Every time he tried to broach the subject of where she’d come from, Celine backed away and shut down. He couldn’t risk that happening now. Not when he was so eager to see her reaction
to the heavens.
“Well then, consider yourself lucky,” he said, still trying — and failing — to keep up his neutral façade. A little grin broke through and Celine took in a sharp breath.
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “A Prince is always serious.”
She narrowed her eyes, and he cracked another smile for reassurance. Celine’s shoulders relaxed and she peered out through the windscreen of the craft.
“But how are you going to get out?” she asked, eyeing the guards that zipped around the hangars on patrol. Most were on pedestrian hoverboards for ease of covering ground, others were on foot, for thoroughness. All were on high alert.
Ben slouched down into the pilot’s seat, cracked his knuckles, and gave her a mischievous grin.
“I’m going to create a diversion, of course.”
Celine opened her mouth to say something, but the words never came. Ben pulled up the control panel, typed in a long string of characters and commands, and somewhere on the complete opposite side of the hangar, lights came on and an altogether different ship shuddered to life.
He looked over his shoulder to find Celine frowning in confusion.
“Remote control,” he said with mock self-importance, “one of the perks of being royalty.”
The other ship’s sudden activity was enough to draw the attention of the guards, who now all filed over toward the offending craft. They swarmed the decoy, shouting orders and barking commands at the person who dared defy the Grounding. Only, they were shouting at the wrong ship, Ben chuckled at the thought.
He was pretty satisfied with his plan already before he looked back at Celine again. This time, she smiled, not a full-blown smile, but a hesitant ‘I can’t believe this might actually work’ smile. And that was enough to make Ben feel like the luckiest guy on the whole planet.
The guards were so focused on the decoy ship that they failed to notice Ben bringing their craft to life and opening the bay doors overhead. The doors were silent, opening to a great expanse of cloudy rust-colored sky.
