I stood transfixed, staring at a sea of seemingly endless stars. In all my life, I had never imagined I’d see something so awe-inspiring as this, starlight reflected upon the sacred waters of Ecliptis.

I wasn’t the only one making the Pilgrimage tonight. All along the shore of the vast sea, small lights clustered periodically at the edge of the water announced the presence of other families looking to complete the ritual of baptism in this special place.

For our part, there were only the two of us, Ascella and I, standing along our stretch of the beach. Like many others, I was dressed in a sheer, silver gown that sparkled almost supernaturally in the dim starlight. As I stepped into the sea, the fabric became almost transparent as it floated ethereally around me.

The water was cool but not uncomfortable. I waded out until the water brushed the bottom of my breasts. Then, I slowly leaned back and brought my feet up to float weightlessly among the sea of stars. Closing my eyes, I cleared my mind as I had been taught to do for just this moment. I let the vastness of space, the feeling of cosmic energy, flow through me like the water all around me.

Slowly, the water began to warm. At first, I wasn’t sure if I had just adjusted to the temperature or if the water was growing warmer. Within minutes, however, the answer became apparent as the temperature continued to rise until it was like a warm bath enveloping my whole body, inside and out.

In my peripheral vision, I could see the water around me start to glow faintly. That light and heat seemed to soak into my body, and I could feel the markings of my tattoos grow hot as the light of Sagittarius blessed them and imbued them with power.

There was so much heat soaking into my body, yet it didn’t burn. It felt comforting, like I would never have to be cold again.

After what seemed like ages, the glow of the water faded and the temperature cooled once again, soothing my newly minted Zodian tattoos. As I emerged from the sea, I could see each tattoo glowing brightly beneath my sheer gown. As I looked around, however, something seemed off.

This is another dream, I thought to myself, or a memory. It felt odd to be aware that I was walking around in my own mind, in a memory stored deep within my subconscious. But it was different at this point. In real life, I had emerged from the sea to find Ascella waiting for me with a smile and open arms. The lights of thousands of other Zodians receiving the baptism should be gleaming all along the shore.

Yet, the beach was empty and dark, and I stood alone on the shores of Ecliptis. Looking back out over the water, I sensed there was something my subconscious was searching for, some answer that seemed to escape me in my waking hours. As I watched, the water’s surface rippled, and the stars reflected on its surface dispersed.

Suddenly, long inky black tendrils shot from beneath the waves to wrap themselves around my waist and neck. As they touched me, the glimmer of my tattoos stuttered and went dark and cold. The tendrils dragged me back toward the sacred waters, but this time they were roiling and angry, simmering in shades of black and purple like an old bruise as the dark arms pulled me beneath the surface.

* * *

I awoke with a start, covered in sweat and panting for breath. This dream had felt different. Maybe it was because I was aware of it, but I was able to wake up from it without screaming and shake off the unsettling feeling much faster.

Running a hand through my tangled and damp hair, I looked out at the city lights shining through the window, like artificial stars. Most of us had chosen some of the offices to convert into makeshift sleeping quarters. I had pushed one of the conference tables up against the wall near a bank of windows in my room and made a makeshift bed on top of it.

Groaning, I got to my feet. I needed a shower, not just to wash the sweat off but to wash away the residual malaise left by the dream. There were several bathrooms for relieving oneself, but only one that had a working shower and cleansing station. Most of the crew had either used it earlier or would be asleep by now, so I knew it would be free.

Thirty minutes later, I was standing under the shower stream, greedily letting the hot water warm my inner chill. Finishing my shower, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me. My clothes were done in the cleansing station, but I preferred to have them fresh for the next day.

I was just stepping out of the bathroom only to find a very sexy Dick waiting outside in the hallway, casually leaning against a wall. I instantly regretted my decision to wear just the towel back to my room.

Hoping to slide past him nonchalantly, I mumbled that the shower was free now as I passed by. Apparently, my efforts were in vain as it became obvious that he hadn’t been waiting for the shower but for me. He caught the tips of my fingers in his hand as I passed by and gently tugged me to a stop.

“I made an interesting discovery this morning before my fake flight,” he said.

“And you couldn’t wait to tell me about it until I’m fully clothed?” I asked.

Again, instant regret set in as mentioning my unclothed state only prompted him to lazily peruse my still damp body wrapped in the towel. I saw that tell-tale darkening of his eyes to stormy blue.

“Fine,” I said, eager to get the conversation over so I could run and hide in my room. Coward, my inner voice teased. “What was it you discovered?”

He cleared his throat and brought his eyes back to meet mine before answering.

“I stopped at the Communication Center on my way to the terminal today to check on my brother’s status,” he said, and I instantly knew where this conversation was going.

Clothes, Skye! Why the hell didn’t you put on clothes? You really need clothes for this conversation.

“Is he doing well?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

“Don’t even try it, Skye,” he said, though his tone stayed soft and low. “You know good and well what they told me. Some unknown benefactor decided to pay for my brother to be transferred into Stasis.”

The money Dick had inherited from his family hadn’t been enough to afford the highly effective Stasis treatment for his brother. He had only been able to pay for Cryo, which would still have let his brother’s condition slowly deteriorate, although at a vastly reduced rate. Stasis would make sure the disease didn’t progress any further. It was a costly endeavor, especially since most people were placed on it for years or decades awaiting a cure to be found for whatever ailed them.

“It wasn’t just me,” I said. “Vomero did the technical part, setting up the account and transferring everything into it. And we all pitched in what we could, even Gramps. Some of us may have had more to spare than others, but the effort was equal on everyone’s part.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“But it was your idea,” he said. “Nobody else knew about the Cryo; I never told anyone else.”

“Don’t,” I said. “Don’t act like I did something amazing nobody else in my position would have done. I’m the one who thought of it because I’m the only one who knew. None of the others even hesitated when I told them what we were up to.”

I searched his face carefully looking for signs that he might be upset.

“You know, I really can’t tell if you’re pissed because I overstepped, or glad I overstepped,” I said. “But if it you are upset, oh well. You can be mad. Ultimately, we did it for your brother more than you, so you don’t need to feel gratefu—”

I found my body suddenly pressed up tight against Dick’s hard muscles and my lips pressed against his impossibly soft lips as he silenced my rambling with a hot kiss. Okay, not just a hot kiss, the hottest kiss I could recall ever experiencing. Although, to be fair, my brain wasn’t working enough to recall my own name, much less every person I had ever kissed.

It’s about damn time, my inner voice shouted at me. Just shut up and enjoy it before you ruin it, Skye.

The kiss, his touch on my back, the hand cupping the back of my head, it all had the same strange effect as that custom drink AL had mixed for me. Starcaller.

I didn’t have to open my eyes to know my tattoos were glowing, shimmering in that way they sometimes did when my emotions were high. I could feel their familiar heat rippling through my skin, the pulse of cosmic energy thrumming in my veins. It was a comforting feeling I had carried with me since the day of my baptism.

I shivered involuntarily as the warmth of his touch melted away any lingering memories of the dream. The movement elicited a soft grunt from him as he cradled my body closer.

Time seemed slow. I lost track of just how long I had been standing there letting him hold and kiss me, was unaware of how my hands got tangled in the front of his shirt, forgot that they were supposed to be holding the ends of my towel together. At this point the only thing holding the flimsy piece of cloth up was the press of our bodies against each other.

Well, I guess I'll just have to keep standing here pressed up against him then, can’t let up or that towel will fall. Damn shame...Or would it be?

Someone moaned. I was pretty sure it was me, and I couldn’t help but slide my arms around his neck and pull myself tighter against him. Seemingly of its own volition, one of my legs snaked up onto his hip, and he pushed a knee forward until I was straddling it.

His hands had found their way underneath the towel at my back and cupped my bare butt to pull my hips snuggly against him. This left one of his hands free to wander from my backside toward the front and up to one of the breasts pressed tightly against his chest.

It’s now or never if you’re going to stop, Skye. You’re fast approaching the point of no return, my inner voice warned.

But I was done resisting. I was done coming up with reasons not to take what I wanted from this man, what I had been wanting almost from the moment we met. Every excuse I had put up like a wall between us had crumbled slowly one-by-one. Just when I thought I had him figured out, he surprised me, and another barrier came tumbling down.

The surprises, as it turns out, continued to thwart me, this time in the opposite direction.

Just as those achingly slow fingers reached my breast, Dick suddenly pulled his face away from mine and buried it in my neck. He went completely still, and I could feel him shaking with the effort it took him to keep his hands from moving along my body. His breath heaved, and mine joined it in a raspy heartbeat that echoed in the silence.

Slowly, I felt his body relax. Well, almost all of his body. There was one part of him pressed up against my leg that seemed very determined not to relax.

Carefully, he extracted his knee from its perch between my thighs and relocated his hands to the outside of my towel. I brought my now shaking hands down between us to secure the cloth in place as I took a wobbly step away from him.

Then he said the two words I was dreading the most.

“I’m sorry,” Dick whispered, “I didn’t mean for it go that far.”

I was tempted to avoid his gaze, but the heat still radiating through my body from his kiss and caresses made me bold.

“Well, I didn’t mean for it to stop so soon, but we can’t all get our way,” I said, affecting a glib tone I didn’t truly feel.

Looking him in the eyes, I saw uncertainty there and, worst of all, regret. Heaving a deep sigh, I ran a hand through my disheveled hair and backed away some more.

“Don’t look so forlorn,” I said. “I get it. You were just caught up in the moment about your brother.”

“That’s not—”

“Emotions were high, and you just acted on impulse,” I said, turning away from him and toward my room.

“Skye, it’s not like—”

“So, stop apologizing because I’m a grown woman who doesn’t do anything she doesn’t—”

“Goddammit, Skye! Will you just stop being so...tough...for a moment and listen to me?” he burst out suddenly, though he kept his voice low so as not to disturb any of the others sleeping in the nearby rooms.

I paused in my retreat to my own room, and he closed the distance between us again. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair as he tried to put into words whatever he was trying to say.

“Okay?” I prompted.

“It’s not that I don’t want...this,” he said, gesturing between us. “I have really wanted it from that moment you let me believe you were the bartender on the transport.”

His admission surprised me, and, if I was being honest with myself, it wasn’t too far off the mark from my own feelings about the matter.

“But it’s complicated?” I guessed.

That’s what I'd been telling myself the whole time, as well. I guess I couldn’t blame him if he hadn’t moved passed that feeling as quickly as I had.

“No, that part’s not complicated at all,” he said, his voice unconsciously dropping an octave lower.

He looked away from me for another moment, as if gathering his thoughts. When he turned back, he held my gaze with the sincerest expression I had ever seen on his face.

“We’re both adults, and I’m sure we’ve both had plenty of no-strings-attached sex along the way,” he said. I shrugged, then nodded in agreement.

“And as thoroughly satisfying as I think that would be with you,” he continued. “I can’t do it, Skye.”

He must have seen the confused look that no doubt crossed my face.

“I still don’t understand what you mean,” I said.

“I just don’t think I can have some casual sexual relationship with you and wave goodbye when this is all over without a second glance back,” he said.

As if he couldn’t stop himself, he stepped closer to me until we were only inches apart. His hands came up and lightly grasped my shoulders as he spoke.

“Somewhere inside of me, I know that if I gave in to what I want to do right now, took you into that room and made love to you, I couldn’t make it a one-time thing,” he whispered, and I felt my pulse start to race again. “I’d be tempted to do whatever it takes to have you again, and again, and again...”

I stared silently at him for the longest time, processing what he was telling me. Finally, I nodded as we drew a simultaneous shaky, deep breath and stepped away from each other.

“And I...” he started to say, trying to find the right words.

“Have obligations,” I finished for him, beginning to understand where he was coming from.

As I thought about it for a moment, I knew he was right. It was the reason I had resisted and put up barriers and made excuses for so long. Somewhere in the back of my mind, the way he made me feel felt different, addictive almost. It was a feeling I had immediately mistrusted because it was so antithetical to how I chose to live my life. It had felt too much like needing someone or something.

In the heat of the moment, I had told myself it wouldn’t really be that way. I had let the growing trust I held in him outweigh the misgivings I had about the feelings he invoked in me.

“You’ve got important things to finish,” I finally said. “People who are counting on you. And you can’t afford to let anything distract you from it.”

He nodded slowly.

“We both do,” he added.

“Another time, then,” I said, this time hearing the wistful sound of my own regret in the words.

This time, when he cupped my face and brought his lips to mine, it was softer, slower and much more reserved. It was as if he’d made up his mind but couldn’t resist one last taste. When he pulled away this time, he continued to hold my face in his hands and pressed his forehead against mine.

“Gods, I hope so,” he groaned, then took several steps away. “On the bright side, you were worried I’d be walking into a trap back home. I’ll take this as motivation not to go getting myself killed before that time comes.”

“See that you do.”

With that, I flipped open the sliding door to my room and stepped inside, letting it swish closed behind me.