Rachel blinked, her mouth dropping open in pure shock. She turned to Athan, the empty liquor bottle swaying slightly in her grip.
"Why on earth did you yell that?"
Athan didn't look angry anymore. Instead, a readable, intensely amused expression softened his usually icy features. He looked down at her, the corner of his lips pulling up into a sharp smirk.
"Not bad," he murmured, his deep voice carrying a dark ripple of satisfaction.
Rachel opened her mouth to shoot back a defensive reply, but before the words could leave her lips, a sudden movement in the night sky caught her eye.
She looked up, her complaints vanishing instantly. The mountain air had cleared the clouds entirely, leaving a pristine, pitch-black canvas of endless space. Right across the center of the dark expanse, a
