Chapter 75 Bright
brIGHT
Bright felt like absolute shit.
There was no other word for it—nothing eloquent or poetic.
Just a raw, hollow ache that throbbed through his chest and wrapped around his ribs like barbed wire.
It had been days since Burn had spoken to him—days since he’d even acknowledged his calls.
Not even the Think-me connection worked anymore.
Every attempt to reach his best friend was met with silence.
The kind of silence that cut deeper than words ever could.
He lay sprawled on the wide, empty expanse of his sleeping platform, staring up at the ceiling of his lonely suite like it held the answers. But it didn’t. There was no clarity to be found in the smooth metal panels overhead—no comfort in the sterile air that hummed quietly around him.
He missed Burn. And he missed her…Gods, how he missed Noelle!
The memory of her soft curves, her bright eyes, the way she smiled—he ached for her with every breath. He wanted to see her…wanted desperately to go to her, to throw himself at her feet and beg her to love him again.
But he couldn’t.
Not alone.
Because loving Noelle wasn’t a one-sided thing—not for him.
He didn’t just want her for himself. He wanted to share her.
To complete the bond that had seemed possible for one brief, shining moment.
And the only male he wanted to share her with—the only one who’d ever fit—wouldn’t even look at him now.
“Oh, Burn,” he murmured, closing his eyes against the tight burn of emotion. “If only you could forgive me—if only you could forgive yourself…”
The silence around him pulsed gently, a soft ambient hum of the Mother Ship’s energy systems whispering through the air vents. Familiar…dull…oppressive.
And then—
“Warrior!”
A loud, commanding feminine voice rang in his ears with the resonance of a bell struck deep within his chest.
Bright shot upright so fast his vision swam. His heart jackknifed in his chest.
“Who’s there?” he demanded, scanning the room wildly. His pulse roared in his ears. But there was no one.
No one he could see, anyway. But he could feel a presence surrounding him and it was definitely female.
“You know who I am,” the voice said again, closer now, though still bodiless.
And Bright did know. He couldn’t explain how—he simply knew.
The air was suddenly warmer, softer. His skin prickled with golden heat and his heart began to pound for a different reason entirely.
“Goddess?” he whispered, breathless. “Why have you come to me?”
“To warn you,” she said, her voice a melodic blend of sorrow and power. “The woman you and your other half both love is in grave danger.”
His breath caught.
“Noelle?” he asked. “What’s happened? What—?”
“You must go to her at once—both of you!”
“But Burn won’t talk to me!” he protested, panic rising in his throat like bile. “He won’t listen—he won’t answer! I’ve tried everything!”
“I will see to that,” she said, her voice cool and certain. “Go to him—and then the both of you must get to Earth.”
“Earth?” Bright’s stomach dropped. “Noelle’s gone back to Earth?” he demanded, his heart thundering. “Why? What—?”
But there was no answer.
The warmth in the room faded, the golden light gone as if it had never existed. The divine presence evaporated like mist in the morning sun, leaving only the whisper of her words echoing in his ears.
The Goddess was gone.
But the urgency she left behind crackled through Bright’s nerves like lightning. His hands trembled as he swung his legs off the bed, already reaching for the Think-me.
He didn’t know how the Goddess was going to get through to Burn—but if she said it would happen, he believed her.
And he believed something else, too—Noelle was in danger and they had to save her. Together.
Hold on, Noelle, he thought as he bolted from the room. We’re coming.