#coranedit

“THE SPACE BETWEEN STARS” CHARACTERS → CORAN HIERONYMUS WIMBLETON SMYTHE :: chapter thirteen, the belly of the beast

He could still remember the last time he’d taken this walk to the castle’s mainframe, before sealing himself away in a cryopod, Allura already sleeping. The castle had creaked, and even though they had wormholed light years away after he’d sent Alfor back to Altea in a pod—a final embrace, Alfor’s cape slipping through his fingers as the king stepped away—Coran could still the explosion, a dot of violent orange amid the darkness of space.

He’d contemplated, in front of the database he was standing before now, after he’d typed in the coordinates for Arus and knew the castle’s autopilot would get them there safely, just letting himself stand there and die. Starve. Everything he’d loved, the family he’d built for himself, his friend, his king, his sister, was gone. But then he’d thought of the princess waking up alone, and he knew he couldn’t.