Page 2 of The Infinite Light of Dust

Phillips’s lips turned into a smile, and he shrugged his shoulders back in a slow movement, like he was trying to control himself. Was he always this volatile? How could Elodie be married to someone like him? My judgment was fast and harsh, but something was seriously off with him.

“Is something going on here?” Phillips turned to Kael, and the blood rose to the surface of my skin.

“Other than you showing up here without warning and getting pissed off at the wrong people, no.”

Kael’s response made Phillips step back a little. His shoulders slumped, and he didn’t seem as threatening anymore, even though he had to be almost six feet tall. In my mind, soldiers always carry a certain level of strength and intimidation no matter their physical appearance. But Phillips’s bearing didn’t feel like someone who was fresh from a war zone. He was only an inch or so shorter than Kael but a lot less built. He was much thinner than I’d imagined, but I had only really seen photos of him in his uniform, which always makes people look bigger than they are.

Phillips raised his hand and rubbed his forehead. “Sorry, it’s been a hell of a week and I flew twenty hours. Bad first impression, huh?”

He looked up at me on the porch and his expression changed to one of innocence. I tried to rationalize his emotions and see his side, but it was harder than it should have been. He was deployed until a day ago; I should have way more sympathy for him.

“It’s not a great one, but understandable. Do you want something to eat? I made some sausage gravy and biscuits. Or a shower? I might have some beer?” I didn’t know why I was offering such a moody man alcohol so early in the morning, and I could tell by Kael’s expression that he didn’t either.

“We should go to my place. You probably don’t even have clothes on you,” Kael suggested. Again, my pulse raced. Did Kael not realize that Austin and Elodie had to be at his place right now?

Phillips shook his head. “I have a change of clothes, and a beer and shower sounds fucking amazing right now.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught my neighbor Bradley watching the three of us. I had practically spied on Bradley many times, but for some reason I felt like he was seeing something he shouldn’t. I was also trying to avoid looking at Kael because he was looking at me like I’d suggested we murder someone. I really wished I had my phone on me so I could at least check my brother’s location and give him a heads-up that Elodie’s husband had literally shown up on my doorstep.

“All right then, let’s go inside?” I rocked back on my heels awkwardly.

Again, I could feel Kael telepathically cursing me out, but he stayed quiet as he led Phillips into my house.

Chapter Two

Karina

“What the hell are you thinking?” Kael whispered the moment we heard the water in the bathroom turn on.

We were in my room, standing near the window. The sun had completely filled the sky, bringing the heat with it, and Kael’s stare burned a hole through me.

“What was I supposed to do? Have a picnic in the yard? Why the hell is he here? And what are we going to do about Austin and Elodie? Where the hell are they? They must have stayed together at your place.”

I pressed my fingers against my temples and paced the room. Thank god my room was close to the bathroom so we could hear the shower turn on and off. I hoped that Phillips took his time, and didn’t take two-minute showers like most soldiers, Kael included.

“Youaren’t going to do or say anything about Elodie and your brother,” Kael said pointedly.

He caught my arm as I paced by him and pulled me closer. “Seriously, Karina. You have to stay out of it. Whatever the fuck it even is. I was trying to get him away from you so you could get a hold of Elodie or your brother and have them get their asses back here.”

“Don’t tell me what to do, Kael,” I whispered forcefully. “This is really not good, and it involves the two people I care about the most in the world.” I glared at him, yanking my arm away from his gentle grasp. “Two of the three, I mean.”

Kael sat down on the edge of my bed and put his head between his knees without saying a word. The last thing either of us needed was to turn on one another right now. I moved forward to comfort him, touching his head; the freshly shaven strands gently poked at my palm.

“He doesn’t seem to have any clue that anything is amiss, so as long as we both stay calm, it will be fine. For now, at least,” Kael said.

“I’m going to grab my phone before he gets out and see where the hell they are and tell Elodie to come back, now.”

He nodded under my touch, and I walked as fast as I could to the living room to get my phone. The screen normally lit up when touched but it stayed black, so I tapped it—still black. No fucking way was my phone dead right now. I heard the water stop running and more panic set in. I rushed back into my room and asked Kael for his phone.

“This isn’t not getting involved, Karina.” He groaned but placed the phone in my hand anyway.

I called my brother first and couldn’t manage to stand still as it rang and rang. His annoying voice came through on his voicemail, and I wanted to break Kael’s phone and my brother’s neck at the same time. I scrolled and found Elodie’s name and tried her.

After two rings her voice chimed in my ear. “Hi, birthday girl!”

“Elodie, where the heck are you guys? You never came back last night.” I tried to be as quiet as possible, knowing my walls were paper-thin.

“We’re pulling onto the street now. Sorry, we ended up staying at Kael’s. I was so tired, and it was nice and quiet, so I asked Austin if I could stay over. Sorry if you were worried,” she said. “Is something wrong?” she asked, knowing me well enough to catch on to my tone.

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