I jerked awake and recoiled at the combination of bright sunlight and notification overlays that assaulted my eyes. I blinked my Lens off, squinting out the window into the dazzling daylight cast by a high sun. What time was it?

Humming carried from the kitchen—Dad butchering some classic pop song. I slid out of bed and took a moment to get my balance and my bearings before heading out toward the off-key tune.

"You're awake!" Dad slung an arm around me as I drifted into kitchen. "I thought I was going to have to leave without saying goodbye."

"You're leaving?" I stifled a yawn into my fist and blinked at him. "But I thought this was our weekend?"

He let out a long exhale through his nose. "I know kiddo, I'm sorry. There's one urgent thing I need to tie up at work today. But I've booked the whole day off with you tomorrow. I have an early birthday present planned for you."

I bit the inside of my cheek and nodded, turning away to the beverage dispenser before he could see my fallen expression. "Sounds great."

"I didn't know that outfit doubled as pyjamas." Dad shot a dorky pair of finger guns in my direction, trying to lighten the mood.

I looked down at my crumpled and slept-in variation of last night's gala clothes and shrugged. I had been too exhausted and sick to change when we'd gotten home last night.

"Hey." Dad turned me toward him and studied my face, his brow wrinkling. "We'll have a great day tomorrow, I promise. Plus, there are some things I want to talk to you about when we have time."

I assumed he meant the whole Fabia thing. Last night I found out they had been dating for six months and hadn't thought to mention it to me until I'd seen them together.

"I know Dad. It's fine, really. I think Celeste wants to meet up later anyway."

He brightened, setting his attention to gathering up a messy pile of work gear from the counter. "That's great honey. I'll be riding in one of the work cars today, so if you want to take mine, it's all yours." He kissed me on the forehead and smiled. "You and Celeste have fun and look after each other. I'll see you later tonight."

"Bye." I waited for the door to swing shut behind him before letting out a disappointed huff. Now there was definitely no getting out of Celeste's double date.

I fiddled with the frayed edge of a rip in my jeans as Dad's hov-car sped us through the inter-territory tunnels toward the Japanese Territory.

"Why would you ever catch the bullet when you can use this?" Celeste asked as she sank back into the pleather of her seat and checked her make-up in a pull-down mirror.

"The bullet's quicker and less... showy." I gazed out the windows as grey concrete tunnel walls slipped by, occasionally broken by the odd colourful burst of graffiti. The truth was actually that the auto-drive scared me. The first time I had borrowed Dad's car, he had taught me how to disable the auto-driving features, saying it was a precaution in case of malfunction—which was rare, but not unheard of. After that, the knowledge that a few lines of coding were all that kept us from careening into a wall made me a twitchy passenger.

Celeste misread my nerves as before-date jitters and put a warm hand on my arm. "Ty's a great guy. You'll get along—I know it."

I feigned a smile, still a little too exhausted and pre-occupied to set her straight. I tried to push everything from last night out of my mind—the night-long headache and possible concussion, Dad and Fabia...

Zaphron.

I swallowed and swayed with the car as we took the exit for the Japanese Territory and followed the exit ramp back above ground.

"They guys are already there. Remi said they'll meet us by the gate." Celeste blinked and started tapping a reply in the air that only she could see. Her cheeks had turned a shade of pink that nearly rivalled her hair and I wondered what else Remi must have said.

A combination of sunlight and neon from the streets streamed in through the windows as we surfaced, dousing us in an array of bright colours. After a few moments in the bright light, our car slowed to a stop on the outskirts of a massive car-park that surrounded Kawaii Sekai theme park.

Celeste peered out her window. "Why is it dropping us off here?"

"I programmed it to stop just outside the lot," I said over my shoulder as I slid out the door. "I didn't want the guys to see us arriving in an armoured hov-car."

Celeste followed me out, the door closing behind her. "Yeah, still don't get that."

We trekked through the lot toward the gates. Ahead, the twisting metal tracks of roller-coasters cut dramatic silhouettes against the pale blue sky—and below them, just outside the gates, as promised, were Remi and Ty.

Remi spread his arms wide when he caught sight of us and Celeste jogged straight into his embrace. I followed behind, smiling at Ty as I came to a stop beside him.

"You came." He grinned, ruffling his pale brown hair and looking me up and down as if to make sure I wasn't a hologram. "You look great, I like your shirt."

"Thanks." It was my favourite top, almost sheer black fabric embroidered with tiny silver stars and planets—like the elusive night sky. Dad's guilt-gift necklace hung low on my chest, its star a golden highlight amongst the silver.

I glanced back up and caught Ty still watching me. Something about his gaze felt warm rather than scrutinising and I didn't mind. "You don't scrub up so bad yourself," I said after taking in his outfit. His dark green polo clung to his chest and arms accentuating muscles I'd never noticed under the unflattering cut of our academy uniforms.

"Right," Remi announced, picking Celeste up and playfully hoisting her over his shoulder. She screamed, then giggled like mad. "Let's eat!" He started through the gates, Celeste's upside down, face beaming at us as she swayed along behind him.

The sushi burger bar was so packed, it took half an hour to get seats. I sat beside Ty, opposite Celeste in our booth. Conversation between the four of us had actually been pretty easy, no awkward silences had come over the table until Remi had wound his arm around Celeste and started whispering in her ear. I was caught between wanting to give them some privacy and being nosy about their conversation.

I tore my eyes away from them and focused on Ty, who was just finishing his wasabi fries. "Don't know how keen I am to go on any rides after that." He pushed his plate away. "I'm so full."

"Yeah, it might have been wiser to eat after the roller-coasters," I said, sitting back in my seat.

"I don't think everyone is interested in roller-coasters anyway." Ty chuckled, throwing a brief glance at Celeste and Remi who were making out, their hands slipping under each other's clothes.

"That was quick," I muttered.

Ty barked a laugh that passed unnoticed by the other two. "Understatement."

I tried to keep myself from staring at the confronting display in front of me, but it was tough. "Do you want to do a lap of the park? Walk off the food?"

Ty was out of his seat and pulling me out the door in a flash. "Yep."

The afternoon sky was a light shade of purple, fading into a pink horizon as the sun began to vanish below the city skyline. We took a path that led to the eastern perimeter of the park, watching glowing neon lights spring to life on the roller-coasters and blur into colourful lines as carts shot along tracks.

Ty grabbed my hand as we wove though the hordes of people waiting for rides. He kept hold of it even after the crowd had thinned and the path widened, only letting go briefly when I bumped into a serious looking bald man in front of a souvenir kiosk.

"Do you know where we're going?" I asked once Ty had reclaimed my hand, pulling me still further east.

He grinned down at me and changed his grip so that his fingers were laced with mine. "There's a section of the park that's Steampunk themed. It's amazing."

I returned his grin and was about to tell him how great it sounded, when I heard my name.

"Astrid Wyatt? Are you Astrid Wyatt?" The bald man I had bumped into a moment ago was following us, his right hand tucked suspiciously behind his back. There was something predatory about the way he was stalking over—it sent a chill through me.

Ty stopped and turned. His brows drawing together. "You know this guy?"

I shook my head and pulled at Ty's hand, a knot forming in my gut. "Let's just keep going."

"Who's asking?" Ty called back to the stranger, ignoring my attempts to keep him moving.

The man didn't answer. He just kept striding toward us, his eyes set intently on me. I let go of Ty's hand and stumbled backwards. "Ty, let's get out of here."

"I said, who's asking?" Ty squared up to the guy, stopping him with a solid hand on his chest before he could come any closer. "What's your problem man?"

In a second, the stranger had pulled a laser gun from behind his back and pressed it to Ty's chest. I was close enough to hear the whirring of the charge as he pulled the trigger. Blinding light and heat exploded through Ty's torso.

A scream lodged in my throat, stuck under the ache of tears that were too terrified to leave my eyes. I couldn't move—couldn't breathe. My gaze was stuck on Ty's slumped body at my feet.