Chapter 11
Chapter Eleven
Lunar remained silent as they drove, scanning their surroundings for threats. Poppy guided the jeep down the final slope, branches scraping against the sides as they navigated the overgrown track.
"There," she said, pointing to a weathered structure that seemed to grow from the red rock itself.
The cabin's log walls had aged to match the surrounding sandstone, camouflaged by decades of desert patina.
"Mack built this forty years ago when he first started his geological surveys.
No electricity, no running water, but it's got a well and a wood stove. No people around for at least three miles in any direction.”
The cabin was exactly what they needed, a forgotten relic, hidden so deep in the canyon that even seasoned locals would struggle to find it.
She watched Lunar extend his shadow senses, scanning for threats. "The isolation is advantageous."
"That's the idea," Poppy said, cutting the engine. The sudden silence was profound. There were no helicopters, no pursuit vehicles, just the whisper of wind through the juniper branches.
She took a deep breath, as if to steady herself before turning her attention to her friend.
Rowan climbed out first, her movements stiff with exhaustion. "How long can we stay here?"
"As long as we need to," Poppy replied, retrieving supplies from the back of the jeep. "Mack only comes up here during his quarterly surveys. We've got at least two months before he's due back. Even then, he won’t care if we’re here."
`They entered the cabin, dust motes dancing in the shaft of moonlight that slanted through a single window.
The interior was sparse but functional with a wood stove in one corner, a rough table with two chairs, and a narrow cot against the far wall.
The shelves lined with canned goods and water jugs reinforced that Mack had maintained plenty of emergency supplies.
"I'll get a fire going," Poppy said, moving toward the stove. "The nights get cold out here."
Lunar watched her work, noting how she navigated the dark cabin without hesitation. Her shadow compatibility continued to manifest in subtle ways.
Rowan walked with a hand sweeping through the darkness. Her leg bumped a cot and she sank onto it, cradling something against her chest. Lunar recognized the distinctive glow of Eclipse's energy stone that Dani had recovered from their suite at the retreat.
"He's still alive," Rowan whispered, her fingers tightening around the stone. "I know he is. I can feel him. Faint, but he’s out there."
"Milano would keep him alive," Lunar confirmed. When he saw Rowan’s expression, he tried to keep his doubts about Eclipse's condition to himself. "His diplomatic status and unique physiology make him valuable for study."
The word study made Rowan flinch, but she nodded, drawing strength from even this cold comfort.
“He’ll be all right,” Poppy reassured her. “Eclipse is smart.”
Lunar stared between the two women, noting the way they comforted each other and softened their words. It was a strange human phenomenon.
Poppy had the fire crackling to life, warm light pushing back the shadows. She turned to Lunar with a slight frown. She pointed at the countertop. "Your skin-suit was in my bag, but it looks completely deteriorated.”
Lunar studied the useless garment. It would no longer help to hide him.
"I am optimal in darkness," Lunar said. The star patterns within his shadow essence emanated more brightly here, away from the harsh lights of civilization. "This environment suits my needs."
Poppy's expression softened, that particular look she got when observing his true nature. Part wonder, part attraction, part something deeper he couldn't quite categorize.
"We should establish a watch rotation," Lunar continued, forcing himself to focus on necessities. "Their search pattern will expand once they lose our trail."
"I'll take first watch," Rowan said immediately. "I won't be able to sleep anyway."
Lunar started to say that the humans should rest first, but Poppy caught his eye and shook her head slightly.
She came close, touching his arm as she said quietly, “Rowan needs the distraction. Even if she could fall asleep, it would bring only nightmares of what would happen to Eclipse if Milano captures him. If it were us, I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing you were out there. ”
"I will patrol the perimeter," Lunar offered.
Poppy's hand on his arm stopped him from moving toward the door. Even through his shadow form, her touch created those familiar ripples of sensation.
"Be careful," she said softly. "Milano might have infrared scanners or other tech we don't know about. Assume nothing is safe."
"I will return within the Earth hour," he assured her, allowing his fingers to briefly intertwine with hers. The connection sent star patterns swirling through his form, a reaction he no longer tried to suppress. He liked the way her eyes followed them.
Outside, the desert night embraced him, and he felt like he was home.
Though Earth's darkness lacked the absolute quality of the Lunaris Zone, it offered sufficient shadow for his needs.
He moved through the canyon like flowing ink, checking approach routes and noting defensive positions.
In the freedom of night, he found himself drifting, his mind straying from his purpose as his thoughts turned back to Poppy.
Poppy.
He had never encountered a being so… Poppy.
There were no adequate human words to describe her.
The earthlings had not mastered a language that could encompass everything she represented.
Poppy was like the perfect blend of shadows shifting across the distant landscape, an endless night of beauty.
She was the dot of stars, steady and fixed in the night sky to guide him where he needed to go.
The humans seemed to grasp a concept better than his kind. They called it love. But even that word didn’t seem big enough to carry the full weight of what it defined.
Poppy.
Love.
He wanted to get back to her, to be in her orbit.
His shadow senses detected no immediate threats, but the situation remained precarious. Milano had demonstrated resources beyond standard Earth military capabilities. They would not abandon their hunt easily.
As he circled back toward the cabin, Lunar found himself considering futures he'd never imagined. His mission parameters had become irrelevant the moment Poppy had seen through his shadow concealment.
The shadow territories needed his intelligence about Earth.
The brewing conflict on Zorveya demanded every tactical advantage.
Yet standing here in Earth's darkness, sensing Poppy's warm presence in the cabin ahead, Lunar felt the certainties of his existence fragmenting.
Earth no longer felt like a place to be used.
It was no longer a distant objective. These humans deserved more than to be a military advantage for a distant planet.
When he returned to the cabin, he found Rowan positioned by the window. Eclipse's stone still glowed faintly in her open hand, like she was trying to decipher messages from it. Poppy had made a meal out of Mack's supplies.
"Anything?" Poppy asked as he entered. She gestured to the table where a bowl of food waited.
"No immediate threats," Lunar reported. "But we should not become complacent.”
Flowing through the night had greatly increased his energy levels, and he did not require the food for substance, but still, he came to sit beside her.
“Rowan, if you’re hungry…” Poppy called to her friend.
They ate in relative silence. Rowan picked at her food, her attention clearly elsewhere. The weight of unspoken fears filled the small space. Poppy kept glancing at Lunar, questions evident in her expression but unvoiced.
"I need some air." Rowan stood abruptly, moving toward the door. "I'll maintain watch from outside."
"The temperature is dropping," Poppy cautioned. "At least take the blanket from the cot."
Rowan accepted the advice with a grateful nod and slipped outside, Eclipse's stone clutched against her chest like a talisman.
Alone with Poppy, Lunar felt the atmosphere shift. The pretense of tactical discussion fell away, leaving only the connection that hummed between them like a living thing.
"We have to find out what happened to him. She won't survive losing him," Poppy said quietly, staring at the closed door. "The way she holds that stone... It's like that is the only thing keeping her together."
"Eclipse is resourceful," Lunar replied, though the words felt hollow. "If anyone can survive Milano's interrogation, it would be him."
“So you think Milano has him for sure?” Poppy asked. “Maybe he’s hiding in the cave?”
Lunar reached out to take her hand. “He would have come to us if he could have. He would have followed my signature. The more time that passes, the more likely it is that he was captured. I can’t feel him in the night.”
Poppy turned to face him fully, firelight dancing across her features. "And if Galaxy Brides comes back for you? What then? Will you go home with Solar?"
That was the very question he'd been avoiding. It hung between them like a physical presence. Lunar found himself moving closer, drawn by forces that had nothing to do with shadow manipulation or tactical advantage.
"My mission parameters have become complicated," he admitted.
"Because of me?" Poppy asked, though her tone suggested she already knew the answer.
"Because of what you represent," Lunar clarified, reaching out to trace the curve of her cheek with shadowy fingers. "A possibility I had not considered. A future that diverges from everything I was created to be."
Damn these Earth words. He couldn’t find the right ones to explain.
Poppy leaned into his touch, her warmth creating those familiar patterns where their energies met. "You were created to be a shadow operative. But maybe you can choose to be something more."