She didn’t respond, and his stomach churned with unease. He could see it now: The tethers seconds from running out, and Rake lets go to save him. She waves goodbye and wishes him luck and tells him to take care of Griffith and Jackin as she floats back into the Divide. Fucking typical.
“Rake, I can handle it,” he said seriously. “Promise me you’ll hold on.” He craned his neck until he could see through the side of his visor and into hers.
Her eyes were cast down, sweat beading on her forehead, cheeks flushed.
“Or I’m never building a star for you again,” he threatened.
The muscles in her jaw flexed a few times before she responded. “Yeah, okay. I promise.”
Cavalon looked up as the tethers drew straighter, then summoned his Imprints to strengthen his grip and protect his stomach. He locked his arms around Rake’s back, and she closed hers tightly around his torso.
And that hurt, sure. Sent lances of pain throughout his whole body. Yet it was nothing compared to what came next.
The tethers snapped taut and the harness yanked hard on his midsection as their full weight tugged back against it. Every muscle in his torso seized in reaction, clamping down on his internal organs in a surge of agonizing torment. As his stomach drew forward, the momentum flung Rake, slinging her around on his back. She managed to keep hold of him, arms locked around his chest.
The pain quickly proved too much. His head swam, thick and murky. A bile-heavy lump grew in his throat and his vision faltered. The star-strewn inward view smeared into muddy gray as his eyes welled with hot tears.
He could barely make out the hull lights of the SGL rounding the side of the station before he passed out.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Adequin laid Cavalon’s unconscious body on the floor just inside the doors of the bronze-sphere chamber. She knelt beside him, then tore off her helmet and tossed it aside. A rush of heat baked her clammy, chilled skin.
She pulled his helmet off and pressed her fingers under his jaw, searching for a pulse. Her suit’s HUD had begun to function again on their short jaunt back on the SGL, and it’d promised her he was fine. Breathing steady, pulse strong, so she told herself he would be okay. He had to be. He was tougher than he thought he was.
But he looked downright awful—his pallid skin slick with sweat, the color gone from his cheeks. Dark bags hung below his eyes and, even unconscious, he looked utterly exhausted.
Adequin, on the other hand, felt strangely … great. Her heart beat fast but light. Refreshed, invigorated. Every part of her throbbed horribly, but her chest felt airy, like she could finally take a breath again after being underwater for so long. A weight had been lifted that she hadn’t realized was crushing her. She’d met the edge of the universe head-on and survived. They’d mounted a defense, the enemy had retreated, and they’d won the day.
Puck knelt on the other side of Cavalon. “What happened?”
“He just passed out from pain.” Adequin breathed a groan as she stood. “He should be fine.”
Jackin handed Puck a biotool, and the circitor injected it into Cavalon’s neck. Moments later, his eyes slid open. He tried to sit up, but Puck laid a hand on his chest to stop him.
“You did it, boss,” Jackin said quietly, gripping Adequin’s shoulder. She leveled a flat look at him, and he raised his hands in submission. “Sorry. We did it.”
“What did we do, exactly?” she asked. “Did you check the atlas?”
“Yeah, it’s better than we thought. It not only stopped it from getting closer, but pushed back. Seems to have settled about five hundred thousand kilometers outward. Other sections are still moving inward, but they’ve slowed. They won’t get nearly as far as quickly now that this one’s active.”