The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

Chapter 703: [SERENDIPITOUS SUMMER] (IV)

JACE ran toward the cove, the storm making every step a fight. The wind shoved against him like an invisible wall, and the rain blurred everything into gray shapes. His clothes stuck to his skin, heavy with water, and his boots slipped on the wet rocks.

When he reached the cove, the waves were already crashing high up the shore, swallowing the sand theyʼd walked on just days before. He wiped rainwater from his eyes, squinting through the downpour. The cove was half-hidden behind sheets of rain, the rocks slick and dark.

Then he saw her.

A figure stood near the waterʼs edge, too close—close enough that the waves could grab her if they surged higher. Even through the storm, he recognized the slope of her shoulders, the way she stood perfectly still while the world raged around her.

”ABBY!”

His voice tore through the wind, raw and desperate.

Abby didnʼt turn at the sound of his voice. Instead, she took another step forward. Then another.

The waves crashed higher, white foam licking at her ankles.

Jaceʼs chest tightened. She wasnʼt stopping. She wasnʼt even reacting.

Then the water surged—a dark, rolling wave rushing up the shore. It wrapped around Abbyʼs calves, pulling as it dragged back toward the ocean.

Jace ran.

Not thinking, not hesitating—just pure, desperate motion. His boots splashed through the shallow flood, arms pumping against the wind. The storm tried to shove him back, but he pushed harder, lungs burning.

”ABBY!”

He didnʼt know if she heard him. He just knew he had to reach her before the next wave did.

***

Abby stood at the edge of the cove, staring at the dark ocean. She had come here after leaving the café earlier, needing to clear her head. The past three days without seeing Jace had left her feeling strangely hollow, and she thought reading by the water might help. She brought her book—the same one sheʼd been carrying when they first met—but then the rain started.

At first, it was just a light drizzle. She ignored it, flipping another page. But then the wind picked up, and the drops grew heavier, pelting the surrounding sand. By the time she realized this wasnʼt just passing weather, the storm had already rolled in.

Her chest tightened. She needed to leave—now.

She shoved the book into her bag and ran, but the rain made everything slippery. Her foot caught on a jagged rock, and she stumbled hard. The book flew from her grip, skidding across the wet stone. Her Terminal clattered against the rocks, but she barely noticed it.

Her breath came too fast. The wind howled, the waves roared, and the rain stung her skin like needles. She scrambled to her feet, turning—

And then she saw him.

A figure stood near the water, his outline blurred by the storm. But she knew that posture, that way he tilted his head just slightly.

Her brother.

The same way he had looked the last time she saw him, years ago, before the sea took him.

Her legs locked in place. The crashing waves, the screaming wind—it all faded into silence.

The figure turned away from her, stepping deeper into the waves.

Abbyʼs chest locked tight. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps. Her hands trembled. She knew it wasnʼt real. It couldnʼt be real. But the sight of him, standing there just like that day, sent a jolt of raw terror through her.

She couldnʼt move.

Then the figure took another step, the water rising to his chest.

No.

Her legs moved before her mind could catch up. She stumbled forward, the wind and rain slamming against her. The waves crashed higher, icy water soaking her shoes, then her ankles.

”Wait—!”

Her voice broke. The figure didnʼt turn.

A wall of water surged, dark and frothing. It hit her like a punch, knocking her off her feet. Salt filled her mouth. The current dragged her under, spinning her blindly in the churning dark.

The last thing she saw before the sea swallowed her was the faint outline of her brother, still walking away.

***

Eight years ago...

The afternoon sun made the sand glow warm under Abbyʼs feet as she dug her toes in, giggling. Danny crouched beside her, his hands busy building a lopsided sandcastle. At eighteen, he was practically a giant to her—tall enough to carry her on his shoulders, strong enough to lift her clear out of the waves when they got too rough.

”Yours looks like a melted cow,” Abby said, poking at his crumbling sand tower.

Danny gasped, pretending to be offended. ”Excuse you, this is a palace.” He flicked seawater at her. ”And youʼre a terrible little critic.”

Abby squealed and tackled him, sending them both tumbling into the shallows. Danny laughed, the sound bright and easy, just like always.

Then the sky darkened.

Not the gradual dimming of evening, but a sudden, sickly green dark that made the hairs on Abbyʼs arms stand up. The water around their ankles seemed to pull away strangely, rushing backward farther than Abby had ever seen.

Dannyʼs smile disappeared. ”Abby, we need to go. Now.”

His voice had changed - gone was the playful tone, replaced by something that made Abbyʼs stomach clench. He lifted her onto his back without another word and began moving.

The wind hit them first, howling across the suddenly exposed seabed. Then Abby saw it - a dark line on the horizon, growing taller.

”Danny...?” Her voice trembled against his shoulder.

”Hold on tight.”

He broke into a run just as the warning sirens started wailing from town. The water that had retreated now came roaring back, the wave building with terrifying speed.

Abby watched over Dannyʼs shoulder as the dark wall of water swallowed the pier whole, the wooden structure splintering like twigs. The sound reached them next - a deafening roar that shook the ground beneath them.

Dannyʼs breath came in ragged gasps as he spotted the lifeguard tower. ”Abby, listen to me!” He pulled her from his back, his hands shaking but his voice firm. ”Climb this ladder and donʼt let go, no matter what!”

The water hit before her feet even touched the ground.

Dannyʼs arms wrapped around her, slamming them both into the metal ladder. The force knocked the breath from Abbyʼs lungs as freezing water swallowed them whole. She could feel Dannyʼs body taking the brunt of the impact, his grip like iron around her.

When they surfaced, gasping, the world had become chaos. Debris swirled in the churning water around them. Dannyʼs face was pale, a dark red stain spreading across his shirt where something had struck him.

”Keep... climbing...” he grunted, boosting her up the ladder.

Abby reached the platform and turned, stretching her hands down. ”Danny, grab my hand!”

For one terrible moment, their fingers brushed. Then Abby saw the bloodied piece of wood jutting from his side, saw the way his face twisted in pain as the current pulled at him.

His hands slipped from hers.

”Danny! DANNY!”

He looked up at her, his expression strangely calm despite the pain. ”Itʼs okay, Abby,” he said, so softly she almost didnʼt hear it over the storm. ”Hold on tight.”

Then the next wave came, and he was gone.