Page 39 of Fated to the Hunter
The rumbling started from his chest like distant thunder. A wicked grin was all the warning I got, and his mouth was on mine.
I kissed him back, because of course I did. His lips were warm, and his hand cradled my jaw like I was something precious. The world narrowed to just us, just this moment.
Then I pulled back, breathless. “We can’t.”
He blinked, confused. “Can’t what? Kiss? Because I was about to upgrade that to ravish.”
I laughed, pressing a finger to his lips. “We have to go. Clues, remember? The whole reason we’re stuck in this place?”
He groaned dramatically, flopping back onto the pillow like I was ruining the best morning of his life.
“You’ll survive,” I said, already climbing out of the blankets. “And if you’re good, maybe I’ll let you kiss me again after we find something useful.”
He watched me with a lazy smile. “I’m always good.”
I shot him a look over my shoulder. “That’s debatable.”
He puffed out his chest. “I am the best fighter in my contingent.”
I let him have that even though I was pretty sure that Connie had said that title belonged to Jorg’k.
We made our way up to the library, and Bael’k paused briefly in the foyer to look out the windows. It was still quite early in the morning, but there were flyers out already. Last night, it had taken almost until sunset for them to clear out.
“I don’t like this.” His lips settled in a thin line.
“What do you see?” I asked as we stepped into the library.
“There are more of them today. And there are scuttlers lining the fences. They were not there yesterday.”
“Do you think they suspect something?”
“Perhaps.”
I didn’t like the way he said that, like he really wanted to say yes, but didn’t want to worry me.
Grabbing an emergency food bar from my pack, I ate breakfast while perusing the shelves. There were so many books here that I was starting to doubt I could ever find the answer. Yesterday, I’d gone through most of the scientific and philosophical texts, since that was where my brain urged me to look first. I’d looked for loose sheets of notes tucked into the pages and skimmed through the contents.
But I really hadn’t known what I was looking for. And the sun had set with us not a single step closer to solving the riddle.
“Point to the stars with a question, and there you will find the answer.” I couldn’t help repeating the riddle over and over.
Deciding on a different approach today, I went through the entire collection shelf by shelf, reading each title out loud if it was in English, just in case it was something else. Whoever had curated this collection had been a man of many hobbies and interests, from history, art, and philosophy to music, maths, and sciences; he had books on everything.
He even had a section on how to repair vacuum cleaners and sewing machines, and any appliance you could think of. I pulled out a bunch of booklets, their spines too narrow for titles. They were user manuals for all sorts of equipment.
The clue probably wasn’t in there.
I was putting them back when one of the manuals caught my eye. For a second, I forgot how to breathe, or blink, or anything. Just stared at the black and blue booklet, my heart kicking against my ribs as realization hit.
Another clue!
The wordsWilliam Optics Pleiades 111 Manualstared back at me from the cover. I picked up the manual, hands shaking. Oneof the pages was dog-eared, and I flipped to it. There was a note written in ink.
Let this be your passport to the universe. May it bring you closer to the galaxies you’ve always dreamed of.
Your friend
P.S. While you’re lost in the stars, don’t forget to search deep inside for your heart’s desire.
