Page 127 of Shadows of Stardust

More than likely, I’ll never see any of the contestants again, and maybe that’s making me feel a bit nostalgic, too. A little less inclined to let my generally salty feelings about Mate Match keep me from enjoying my last night here.

“Hey, you.”

Juni extends one of the two fizzy, fruity drinks she’s holding to me as she approaches. I take it with another little pang to the center of my chest. She’ll be off on her quest for stardom after she faces the Choosing with her paramours tomorrow, and I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again, either.

“Hey,” I say, trying to cover those thoughts with a smile. “Ready for tomorrow?”

“Absolutely. Although, is it weird of me to say I’ll miss this place?”

“A little,” I tell her with a laugh. “But I’m sure you guys will make a splash wherever you end up.”

“Oh, you know it.”

Juni, Tev, Serril and Nelle are all but guaranteed to leave here together tomorrow. They’ve already started making plans for launching their post-show endeavors, capitalizing on the fame they’ve more than earned as breakout stars on this season.

“Ready to begin your plan for Seventh Sector domination?”

Juni’s smile widens. “We’ll start there, then move on to the rest of the universe.”

“And you didn’t need my help at all,” I tease, wrapping an arm around her waist while she slings one around my shoulders. “I, on the other hand, would have been lost without you.”

Together, we walk to the side of the pavilion. Looking out on the night—the stars shining brilliantly above, two moons full and luminous, a few bioluminescent nightflies fluttering by—we’re some of the last still hanging around the beach.

All throughout the evening, the crowd of contestants has thinned.

Like a bar closing down at the end of the night, you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here—as the old human saying goes.

Whether they’re headed to the shuttle that’ll be taking the broken up couples off-world tonight, or off to their bungalows for one last night of passion before the Choosing tomorrow, they drift away from the pavilion as the night grows later.

“I beg to differ.” She bumps her hip playfully against mine. “And you won’t be a stranger after this, yeah? Anytime you and Zan want to come join in the insanity and grab a little limelight, you’re more than welcome.”

My stomach plummets, but I make myself shrug. “Yeah, maybe. Things are a little… up in the air, you know?”

Juni freezes, gaze darting side to side as she makes sure there are no hovers close enough to pick up our conversation.

“No, I actually don’t know. What do you mean ‘up in the air?’ With the Choosing? The two of you aren’t going to—”

“Whoa,” I interrupt her very serious, very un-Juni-like interrogation. “It’s not that big a deal.”

“Ros.” She unwinds her arm from around my shoulders and rests both her hands on them instead, turning me to face her. “What the hell are you talking about?”

It’s my turn to dart a nervous gaze around the pavilion, stomach sinking even lower when I see a cam headed straight for us like a shark seeking prey.

“Hovercam,” I mutter, and she releases her hold and puts her jaunty Juni mask back in place, though it can’t quite cover the worry in her eyes. “I should get going. We’re still getting ready together tomorrow, right?”

She hesitates, like she’s not ready to let the conversation drop, but as the camera fixes its inhuman eyes on us, offers me a smile.

“Yeah, of course. Have a good night, Ros.”

I nod, then slip away, walking through the pavilion until I find the Revexoran I’m looking for.

The Revexoran I’ve always been looking for.

Since that very first day.

And sure, I wasn’t always looking for him for the reasons I am now, but the idea of looking and not finding, the idea that after tomorrow I might never see that stoic, handsome face of his again, hits me like a sledgehammer to the chest.

His eyes find mine, and that sledgehammer strikes again. A direct hit as those silver threads light up and a smile tugs at his lips like he’s just been waiting for me to find him.

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