"By the darkness, stars are revealed."
~Evette Carter
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My hands and knees hit the cold, hard floor of a spaceship, and before I could gather my wits, hands were pulling me up and into a chair. At first, I panicked, thinking the Malkans had somehow grabbed me before Shane could Shadow-travel us onto Caleb's ship. However, when someone gently cupped my face, and my dizziness subsided, I saw Caleb's green eyes piercing mine.

"Lilly, are you hurt?" he asked, brushing a piece of hair out of my face.

"No, no, I'm, uh, I'm fine," I stammered, unable to get the image of the gun barrel pointing at my face out of my head. "Where is everyone? Did they all make it through?"

"They're all here," Shane said, coming into view, "sadly."

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God."

"Why is one of them dead?" Dylan inquired skeptically from behind me. I turned around to see what was going on. The people we'd rescued sat against the walls of the Skywalker, catching their breath and finally relaxing now that they were safely away from the Malkans.

"He was planning on murdering Lilly, so I snapped his neck," Shane answered, taking my hand and kissing the back of it. "I couldn't let that happen."

"You," Chad snarled, grabbing his brother's shoulder and yanking him back. "What the hell were you thinking?"

Shane appeared wholly unbothered. "I thought I'd take out the core. Lilly joining me was not planned for, but I did enjoy her company."

Chad skewered me with a sideways glance. "Be that as it may, you shouldn't have gone in the first place! Of all the reckless, stupid-"

"We rescued Vasileians with only one casualty, and my recklessness did turn up some results." Small tendrils of darkness erupted from Chad's fists. Catching Shane's attention, I flicked my gaze towards his brother's hands, and Shane caught my gist. "Brother, now is not the time to cause a scene. I suggest reining in your temper before things get ugly."

Chad's nostrils flared, and I started to wonder if he would ignore his brother. However, Vivienne came into view, and Chad suddenly whirled around strode off to the cockpit. Shane winked at me. Meanwhile, Vivienne replaced Caleb and started doing a check-up on me.

"Are you hurt?" she asked worriedly.

"No, just exhausted. Go help the others. They need it more than I do," I said. "I just need a few minutes of rest."

Reluctantly, Vivienne moved away. I slumped back into my chair, rubbing my throbbing temples in a futile attempt to rid the migraine. I'd overdone it using my powers, but being in a life or death situation, you couldn't really gauge what was too much. All you could think about was surviving and keeping your comrades alive.

I killed people. I thought, a shudder running through my body. I know they were trying to kill me, but I didn't hesitate. Why did I not feel worse about it when it happened? I was so nonchalant about the whole thing. What's wrong with me?

A pair of strong hands rested themselves on my shoulders, gently massaging them. Looking up, I found Shane standing behind me. He said, "Nothing is wrong with you. It was the heat of the moment."

"How did you-"

"Well, when Esmeralda decided she didn't want me invading peoples' minds, I had to learn to read them the old-fashioned way. I'm quite good at it. Also, you were muttering very quietly to yourself, and I overhead."

I groaned. "Damn it..."

"While I know that's in response to me overhearing you-" Shane leaned next to my ear- "I'm still going to take it as a compliment in response to my masseuse skills."

I couldn't help but chuckle. "I could stab you, and you'd take it as a compliment."

"You're right. I would. You'd be paying attention to me, and that's always a compliment." Shane moved his hands to the base of my neck, massaging the large tension knot which had formed there. Then, in a more serious tone, Shane said, "Don't let anyone know what you're thinking, Lilly, no matter how much you trust them. There are people around you that mean you harm, and even I would struggle to go up against them without the proper backup."

I turned around to face him, resting my chin on the back of the chair. Shane bent down to be at eye level as I said, "You realize everyone on Vasileia is telling me the same thing about you? That you're the last person I should trust?"

"I do, but I think you know by now that I'm one of the few you can."

"Whether I do or not, I'm not telling you."

Shane smirked. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you. There's one other you can trust, and luckily for you, he's your-"

"Sorry to interrupt," Caleb said, his eyes flicking between us, "but we've arrived back in Vasileia. I thought you might like to get on solid ground."

I peered out the window, not having ever realized the ship had landed, let alone moved away from the battle scene. I pushed myself up. "Are you coming?"

"I'm heading to the briefing room to prep for the impending meeting with Esmeralda."

"Oh, okay." For the first time since I'd met Caleb, awkwardness settled between us. I couldn't place why. I wanted to join him, but I didn't feel comfortable asking him. Maybe it was because embarrassment started to cement itself in my bones. I'd just done an incredibly foolish thing, and Caleb had had to save my life because of it. It wasn't something I took lightly, but saying 'thank you' hardly seemed to suffice for the severity of the situation.

"Lilly, I'm going to make myself scarce. I have a feeling people are pretty pissed off at me, and as much as I enjoy drama, I don't want to be the center of it," Shane said, garnering my attention. "Why don't you go with Caleb to the briefing room? You don't mind Lilly joining you, do you, Caleb?"

"Not at all," he replied, uncharacteristically stoic. It didn't make me feel any better about the situation.

"Wonderful. I shall see you later." Kissing me on the cheek, Shane disappeared from view, Shadow-traveling to a place unknown.

"I'll, uh, I'll stay here and help out with the rescued Vasileians," I said, pulling my sleeves over my fists. "I know you're really busy, and I don't want to bother you."

Caleb shook his head. "You never bother me."

"You sure? Because you look like someone or something is."

"It is," he admitted, giving me a soft smile, "but I promise it's not you. Come on. Let's get away from the chaos."

Falling into step with Caleb, the two of us walked in silence to the briefing room. I'd never actually been, and I was in awe at the technology inside it. A massive table resided in the middle, emitting a holographic scene that took up the room's entirety. Before me played out the real-time battle in the space above. I watched as dozens of Vasileian fighters attacked the MMAX Destroyer.

"This is just like Star Wars," I said, unable to help myself as I marveled at the technology before me. "I don't know why I'm surprised, but to see this in person... it's just amazing."

Caleb came up beside me, watching the scene unfold. "They'll be retreating in a few moments now that you're back safe and sound. It was just a diversion to find a way to get you and Shane off the ship."

"I'm sorry to have caused so much trouble," I said, my voice barely above a whisper. My gaze briefly flicked over at Caleb before returning to the holographic stars. "I didn't mean to end up on the ship. I just remember realizing what Shane was about to do, and when I tried to stop him-"

"You don't have to explain to me, Stargazer." Caleb bumped me with his shoulder. I looked up at him, and he wore a soft smile. "I'm just really glad you're back."

"Me, too. I-"

The doors flung open, and Chad strode in, visibly seething. Vivienne hurried on his heels, watching him warily. My eyes drifted towards his hands, and once more, tiny tendrils of darkness erupted around his clenched fists.

"You-" Chad said through gritted teeth, pointing an accusatory finger at me- "are by far the stupidest Earthling to have ever descended upon our planet! What in the absolute fuck were you thinking joining my brother on his suicide mission?"

"I was trying to stop him," I said as calmly as possible, not wanting to anger him further despite the insults he hurled at me. "I forgot he could Shadow-travel, and by the time I realized it, we were already on the Malkan ship."

"I told you to stay away from my brother, and what do you do? You made him your damn bodyguard!"

"Yes, to sabotage my candidacy to the throne." I held up my hands peacefully, but instead, it seemed to irate him further, and in the blink of an eye, a shadow tendril shot out straight towards my neck.