Two weeks had passed since Sebastian had left Brie behind on Juno. Two weeks since Rowan's second funeral. Since they'd left the inventor and Thomas and Alyssa. It was just himself, Kenan, and Lyra, ambling past planets and meteors in silence. They had nothing to say to him, and with no word from Brie, he had nothing that needed to be said. Space held no allure for him now. It was just emptiness. Cold and lonely. And there was no one to blame but himself.

  Sebastian leaned back in his chair on the bridge, running his hands over his face in exhaustion, when a red blip popped up on their screen. Lyra frowned and tapped it, pulling up their map. “Lyra?”

  “It is a distress signal.” She peered at the little red light as if hoping she could discern it from such a great distance.

  “Location?” He felt the familiar thrill shoot through him, eager for some sort of distraction. She didn’t reply. Her red eyes widened in surprise as she brought up the coordinates. Kenan leaned over and had the same reaction. Neither seemed prepared to speak. “Location?” He demanded, turning to them.

  “Nibiru.” Kenan finally said, looking up. “It’s coming from Nibiru.”

  The thrill of excitement turned to ice in his veins. “No. Ignore it.” He said.

  “We can’t.”

  “We can. It’s not our jobs to go and respond to every distress signal in the universe. We’re pirates. Let’s go find something to pillage.”

  “What if it is Brie?” Lyra asked, her melodic voice sending thrums of guilt coursing through the captain who sank farther into his chair.

  “She can handle herself.”

  “Sebastian.” Kenan admonished. “She’s family.”

  “She wouldn’t be there.” But the doubt remained, and he was already steering the ship towards the signal. He hadn’t been back since he’d scavenged Neo’s body from the dust of that planet, not since he’d failed to protect the one person who deserved it the most. The one person who’d been waiting, hopefully, for him to come back day after day while all he did was run away. The same person he’d let down again.

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  “Leave him in pieces.”

  He squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to remember. Why couldn’t the past just stay in the past?

  The red planet came into view just as the distress signal faded to nothingness. The Chimera descended into the atmosphere but hovered a good ways from the ground, wary of both danger and the past sneaking up on them. It was dark, the stars twinkling in the night sky. With the light of two moons casting shadows against the far away trees, Sebastian remembered the last thing he’d ever said to Neo before he’d started this journey.

  “I’ll come back. I swear I will.”

  Another promise he couldn’t keep.

  He was just about to tell his crew to turn the ship back around when the first flare shot across the sky, a blinding blue against the darkness. He jerked to his feet, eyes wide, as more followed the first, a dazzling meteor shower burning against the night sky.

  “Take us down.” He choked.

  “Of course, Captain.” Kenan took over, carefully guiding the Chimera down into the flares, over quiet buildings and to the edge of a large meadow. Sunflowers waved in the breeze as Sebastian tore out of the ship the second it touched the ground, his heart racing.

  The smell of sulfur filled the air, the smoke choking him, as he ran through the long grass. Sparks burned against his skin as he ducked under the flares, the glaring blue blinding him before he finally saw him. A lone figure standing amidst the smoke. Blue eyes, as blue as the flares, gleamed as they found him.

  “Neo.” He choked.

  “I could be anywhere in the universe right now.” Neo said, his voice sounding just as it did in his memories. Soft and sweet.

  “Why aren’t you? I set you free.”

  “Oh, you idiot,” Neo breathed as he came closer, “I never wanted to be set free.”

  “I left you to die back on Juno. I left you to die here.”

  “Did you?” He tilted his head with a small smile. “Because I distinctly remember being told you crossed galaxies to save me, and you knew Brie would stay behind on Juno. Stop punishing yourself for not being here.”

  “I should have never left.”

  Neo pursed his lips and looked away. “You love space. You love the travel and adventures. I won’t take that from you.”

  Sebastian reached for Neo’s hands and pulled him in. “I don’t want any of that anymore. I’m tired of running. We can go anywhere in the universe, settle down with a house and a garden, maybe even a dog or two. Anywhere you want to go. Anything you want. I just want you.”

  “Could we stay here?” Neo’s eyes held a challenge, one Sebastian readily met.

  “Absolutely.”