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Back Dark Stars Save as PDF
Chapters (51)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Part One
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. Part Two
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
  20. 16
  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
  24. Part Three
  25. 20
  26. 21
  27. 22
  28. 23
  29. 24
  30. 25
  31. 26
  32. 27
  33. 28
  34. 29
  35. 30
  36. Part Four
  37. 31
  38. 32
  39. 33
  40. 34
  41. 35
  42. 36
  43. 37
  44. 38
  45. Part Five
  46. 39
  47. Acknowledgments
  48. About the Author
  49. Books by Danielle Rollins
  50. Back Ad
  51. About the Publisher

If I can get back home, that is.

13

NOVEMBER 6, 2077

The prememories slammed into Dorothy’s head, coming so fast and hard they left her dizzy—

There was the black sky of a ruined world, ashes and dust floating through the air around her. Roman was there. She heard a gunshot, and then a bullet slammed into his chest, jerking him back—

Then she was on a boat surrounded by black water. Ash was standing before her, his face lit up by the ever-changing lights of the anil.

“It doesn’t have to end like this,” he said.

Adrenaline surged within her as she curled her fingers around a dagger—

And now she was in the church on the day of her wedding, racing up the aisle, Avery standing before her—

No. She wasn’t in the church at all, she was running through an empty hallway, following a dark figure. Through the door, into a stairwell.

“Professor?” she shouted—

And then she was out of the anil, the Black Crow skidding wildly across the surface of the Puget Sound. She was going to crash.

She yanked back on the yoke, pulling the ship to a hard stop, waves and wind slamming up against the windows around her. The ship shook for a moment and then went still.

Breathless, Dorothy collapsed back against her seat, breathing hard. It took a long time for her mind to stop spinning. She tried to grasp hold of the images that had been flying through her head, to make sense of them, but they dissolved like sugar in coffee, leaving her feeling light-headed and sick to her stomach. Groaning, she opened her eyes.

The world on the other side of her windshield looked very much like the one she’d just left behind. Black waves lapping against the sides of half-submerged buildings, ghostly white trees growing straight out of the water, like weeds. In the distance, she could make out the dark shape of her city, a labyrinth of complicated bridges and docks weaving between open windows and rooftops. With effort, she pushed the last of the prememories from her mind and focused on getting the Black Crow airborne again. Wing flaps up, throttle back up to 2,000 RPMs. She hovered low over the waters, sending ripples over the surface, and squinted through the windshield.

This city was quiet tonight, she saw, with little light to illuminate the darkness. No boats on the water, no people on the docks. A prickle of excitement went through her as she remembered why.

Of course. Tonight, everyone in the city would be at the ball.