Free The Fallen Stars (A Star Child Novel) by Stephanie Keyes

they were his own.
    We sat in silence as the plane taxied down the runway to the gate. After an interminable amount of time passed, during which no one spoke, Kellen finally broke the silence. “Where are we staying in Boston?” Kellen directed the question at Gabriel, though Gabriel didn’t look at him. The plane came to a stop and a light when off. People unbuckled immediately and stood up in their seats.
    “We’re not.” Gabriel got up from his seat as we waited for the passengers in the many rows in front of us to disembark. Then he looked down at me, meeting my eye. “We’ve only just started.”
    “Let’s hope we make it to wherever we’re going alive,” Kellen said.
    Kellen’s eyes locked onto mine for a moment before I looked back up to Gabriel. By the way Gabriel met my gaze, we clearly shared the same fear.
     

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER THIRTEEN
    KELLEN— DISCLOSURE
     
     
    We arrived in Boston exhausted, but otherwise safe. Gabe’s shoulders hunched as the airline herded us off the plane and down a hallway. The gray carpet on the floor had probably once looked trendy and new, but now had the worn look that resulted from the countless footsteps of the many thousands of passengers that had walked this way before.
    Despite our safe landing, I couldn’t help but look around as we walked. Were they here? They obviously knew we’d gotten on the plane. However, nothing out of the ordinary seemed to present itself. It looked like any airport would have at night. Vendors shutting down, weary business travelers hauling laptops with overnight bags. Forcing the worries from my head, I tried to focus on the present. “Where are we going?” I asked Gabe. “Did you rent a car or something?”
    “Let me handle it,” he said without turning around.
    I’d had about enough of this not sharing where we were going. “You know, it would be nice if you told us where we were going,” I grumbled.
    “It would have been nice if you’d told me about all of this freaky stuff that you brought down on my head in the first place,” Gabe said, continuing to walk.
    Cali touched my arm before I could respond. She didn’t need to say anything; I knew I wouldn’t find the underlying cause of Gabe’s anger at the airport. The annoyance stayed with me, but I tried to ignore it. I looked down at Cali. She seemed sleepy, but none the worse for wear. I’d noticed how wilted her dress was, not to mention wrecked where I’d torn it earlier. If she’d realized this herself, she didn’t say anything.
    She deserved so much more. The bride who never had the chance to be a bride…
    We walked toward customs and I plastered a smile on my face, trying not to look too shady as we went through security. My nerves still jangled. Would there be a problem with our passports? Would we be able to make it through without being stopped?
    Surprisingly, there were no issues in customs. We were traveling as a family and we were waved through as a group. We’d almost made it out of security entirely before Cali got stuck in a turnstile. Cali stared at it as if trying to find a way to go around or over it. When she began to lift her leg up and over, I intervened.
    “This way, babe,” I said, pushing down on the handle and moving it forward, allowing her to pass through.
    She glanced back at the offending turnstile and then accorded me the same angry stare.
    My face broke into a smile but upon seeing her eyes narrow, I immediately wiped the smile from my face. “It could have happened to anyone,” I said, deliberately adding a solemn note to my voice. Gabe looked in the opposite direction. Though I thought I’d seen a ghost of a smile on his face from my position on the other side of Cali.
    Other than the turnstile incident, we made it through without any problem. Gabe led the way, consulting signs as he navigated the airport. He kept himself ahead of us, never meeting my eye or interacting. We bypassed baggage claim; none of us had