Novel & Cerita A Thousand Splendid Suns

With the heat beating down on me I'm sure I'll get a sunburn. Dragging my attention away from the bright sun, a black truck pulls up. "Take my gun Temperance."

This was how it worked. Kensy obeyed, her red-painted nails dragging over Deverell's skin, her body pressing just slightly closer. Luna kept clicking the shutter. “Deverell, bring your hand to her waist. Just barely touch.” He complied, but something in the movement felt a bit off. His gaze travelling, ghosting on Luna's body in a strange way. Luna swallowed, stepping back, blinking away the strange heat creeping along her spine. This was work. Just work.

Joseph felt the wind knocked out of him as he heard the whistle followed by the loudest sound he's ever heard in all his 16 years under the Tau Ceti sun. A whiz and BOOM. Whiz and BOOM. Explosion after explosion came pummeling down onto them. An unending barrage of terrifying heat and sound and fireball crashed all around them. Joseph covered his face as clods of disturbed earth pelted and rained down on him. His screams were drowned out by the loud thunders. It went on forever. Until it didn't. Then it stopped. He heard nothing afterwards except the constant ringing in his ear.

The sun, pale as it was, hit the mirrors. The light didn't just reflect, it intensified. A beam of pure, blinding white light slammed into the center of our procession. It hit Killian directly. He let out a sound I never thought I’d hear from him. A high, agonized scream. His shadow wolf, the massive black beast that lived beneath his skin, recoiled. The Northern Sun-poisoning was a mixture of concentrated UV light and atomized silver dust being shaken from the cliffs above. "Killian!" I lunged for him as he fell from the sled, his skin beginning to smoke.

The girl was weak, just as he had expected. In the golden grandeur of his celestial chambers, Helios reveled in the satisfaction of his manipulation. His home in the heavens was a palace of pure radiance, walls forged from the first rays of sunlight, casting a perpetual glow that would blind any mortal who dared to look upon it. Tall, arching windows opened to the sky, allowing beams of sunlight to pour in, reflecting off the gilded surfaces of the room. His throne, an elaborate seat of blazing gold, was set atop a dais, encrusted with sunstones that shimmered with every step he took.

“Still… so bossy… my sun.” His hand found my stomach. “Protect her,” he rasped. “Promise me.” “You’re not dying!” I screamed, pressing my hands to the wound. Golden light my light poured from my palms. The wound began to close. Valerian’s eyes widened. “Impossible.” Far above us, in the throne hall, the eternal night sky cracked open for the first time in a thousand years. Real sunlight speared down in a single beam. And in that light stood Solaris alive, unharmed, crowned in dawn.

My eyes closed and breathed heavily. I want to feel the freshness of the air brought by these plants and the vitamins that the sun is showering on me. Might as well, get some tan here. "What are you doing there, young man?" Asked old Lola. "Oh, hey, Lola. I was just enjoying here the beautiful and fresh air. As well as the bright rays of the sun. You know, to get better, healthier, and to refreshen my mind from the toxicity of this cruel and dark world," she laughed.

Before I could say another word, the line disconnected, leaving behind nothing but the hollow beeping tone. The cold grew sharper and sharper, carving straight into my bones. Gritting my teeth, I pulled the blanket tighter around myself. Suddenly, my phone lit up with a notification. I turned my head slightly and saw that Morgan had just updated his social media. In the photo, he wore nothing but a thin short-sleeved shirt with a popsicle hanging from his mouth. 'So lucky Ms. Sheffield brought me a generator, or I would have frozen tonight too.' I stared at the picture for a long time.

​The Southern Sea was no longer blue. It was a searing, monochromatic white. ​As the Solaris breached the outer perimeter, the Light-Fortress, a colossal, artificial island of ivory marble roared into life. It didn't fire cannons; it fired geometry. Massive, rotating mirrors atop the fortress’s spires caught the midday sun and magnified it into a "Mirage Field." The air rippled as the temperature skyrocketed, creating dozens of ghostly, shimmering images of the fortress. To the Northern sailors, it looked like they were sailing into a hall of mirrors where every reflection could kill.

"Power corrupts. Absolute power? Well. You'll face that choice eventually. They all do." The SUV turned onto a dirt road, trees closing in on both sides. Elena felt the wards before she saw them, power signatures woven into the very air. "Protection," Morgan explained. "My sanctuary houses those who need safety. The wards keep out anyone who means harm." They passed through the invisible barrier, and Elena gasped. The energy recognized her, welcoming her not as guest but as kin. Home, Zara whispered. This feels like home. The road opened into a valley that shouldn't exist…too perfect, too hidden. Buildings dotted the landscape, a mix of cabins and larger structures. Wolves in both forms move