Lost Planet 02 - The Stolen Moon by Rachel Searles Read Free Book Online

several inches over the past three months, as if the atmosphere aboard the Kuyddestor encouraged growth. For him at least—not for Chase, who had already been shorter than Parker and now felt positively dwarfed.
    â€œCheers to you, Chase,” said Vidal, who sat in the corner with her friend Lieutenant Chiao. “How old are you now?”
    â€œFourteen,” said Chase. The same age as Parker—at least for a few months.
    A flat little voice rang across the room. “No, you’re not.”
    Everyone turned to look at Lilli, who sat perched on the arm of a chair, balancing a plate with an untouched piece of cake on her knees. It was rare that she spent time in the officers’ lounge, and rarer still that she spoke. She looked at everyone defensively, shrinking back into herself.
    Please don’t vanish, please don’t vanish , thought Chase. “What do you mean?” he asked.
    She stared at him for a moment. “You’re thirteen.”
    â€œNo, I was thirteen. Now I’m fourteen.”
    Lilli shook her head. “You were twelve. Now you’re thirteen.” Chase began to say no again, certain she was wrong, but she interrupted him, reciting facts rapid-fire. “We celebrated your twelfth birthday last year. Mom surprised you with a blackberry tart instead of a cake. We packed up our dinner and ate a picnic at the lake. I remember this.”
    Heat rushed over Chase’s face. Why had he thought he was thirteen? Because Parker had guessed that was his age, and he’d never even questioned that assumption. It wasn’t like he’d ever had a reason to talk to anyone about his age. He looked around the room and saw pity on everyone’s faces. They didn’t know everything about him, but they knew enough to feel bad for the boy with no memory. A boy who couldn’t remember his last birthday.
    Slowly he set his half-eaten cake on the table. When he raised his gaze, the first thing he saw was Maurus’s dark eyes locked on him. The second thing he saw was that Lilli was no longer sitting on the chair. She was no longer in the room at all, but no one had noticed that she’d vanished.
    He felt like he was going to explode.
    Maurus stood up quickly, setting his empty plate down. “Chase, will you come with me?” Without waiting for a response, he guided Chase out of the quiet lounge and into the hallway, where they walked a while without speaking, their footsteps ringing on the metal floors.
    â€œYou’ve had a harder time adjusting to the ship than Parker has,” Maurus finally said.
    Chase said nothing at first, placing his hands briefly against his burning cheeks. “He’s got all these friends already, and interests.… I just—I don’t know what to do. What am I supposed to be doing now?”
    Maurus hesitated. “Adjusting to your new life. Getting reacquainted with your sister. Building new memories for yourself.”
    â€œHow do I do that? Am I supposed to forget about everything that happened to me? Stuff like this always happens and gets thrown back in my face.”
    â€œIt will always be a part of who you are. But as time passes and you learn more and grow more, hopefully the experiences you have will fill you up and make your amnesia seem like a smaller and smaller part of you.” Maurus looked ahead. “On Lyolia, belief in fate is a very strong part of our culture. I think you have a very special fate, and the unique events of your life will bring you closer and closer to it.”
    It was strange to hear Maurus sharing this deeper, philosophical side of himself. Chase tried to think of something to lighten the conversation and move away from the topic of fate. “Yeah, I’m definitely special. I’m the only person I know who has a birthday and gets a year younger.”
    Maurus smiled and squeezed Chase around the shoulders with one arm. “Do you want to go back to the