The Broken Ones | REYLO [Complete]

29. Rewrite the Stars

—BEN—

We spend the next several days translating the Jedi texts as best we can, ultimately deciding it's best to just bring them back with us. There's a good chance Luke never finished reading them, so he's our best chance at finding the information we need.

Rey disappears every morning before sunrise, returning just as the second sun crests the horizon and begins to chase away the fog that blankets the silent island. I decided the first morning not to follow her or ask about it, to let her have her privacy, but today my curiosity gets the better of me. I'm not sure if I'll ever return here, and I'm dying to see her morning routine.

I feel her stir against me, moving slowly out from under my arm. My chest is tight with the effort of keeping my breathing slow enough to mimic sleep. I hear the rustling of the heavy fabric of her cloak, then silence. Did she leave? I can't hear her.

"Are you coming or not?" She whispers, startlingly close to me.

My eyes fly open and find her standing over me, watching me with an amused smile lighting her face. "What? I wasn't- I just-"

Rey snorts. "You're not very good at faking sleep. Come on, I'll show you my spot." She holds her hand out to me and I take it without hesitation.

The crisp morning air bites at my face as we exit the hut, and I pull my cloak tighter around my shoulders. The planet is still shrouded in darkness, but Rey leads me confidently through the damp grass. Overhead the stars begin to disappear as the sky lightens.

Our journey is silent, but I don't mind. There's something about the pre-dawn peace that fills me with such hope and longing that I forget everything I'd been fretting over just minutes before. Eventually we wind up in a cave with high ceilings and a large reflective pool in the center. The mouth of the cave opens up toward the expansive ocean and the first rising sun, which is just beginning to peek over the horizon. I walk toward it, completely entranced.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Rey speaks for the first time since the hut. I nod in response. "This is where Luke taught me how to channel the Force," she explains, leading me to the table-like boulder on the cliff just outside the cave. "I come here every morning to meditate. It makes me feel more connected for some reason."

She hoists herself onto the rock and pats the spot beside her. I join her and imitate her posture: facing toward the ocean, back straight, eyes closed. Peace flows through me and I feel tension leaving my body as I reach out into the depths of the Force. The first rays of sunlight wash over my face in a warm embrace. For a while the only sound comes from far below, where waves crash lazily against the rocky cliffs.

The island comes to life slowly. I hear animals begin to stir in the morning light, smell the dew as it evaporates off the grass. The Force courses through my veins like never before. It's effortless, the way I melt into the island, feeling its heartbeat deep within its core. I find myself wishing I'd followed Rey here that first day; I understand now why she had such a hard time leaving before.

The Dyad thrums with life between us. More than ever I feel as though we are one. Our thoughts and emotions weave together until I can't distinguish between hers and mine.

All too soon Rey sighs beside me and I open my eyes to find both suns well into the sky, all signs of nighttime long gone. I shed my cloak, no longer needing it in the warmth of day. "I don't usually stay this long," she says, tucking flyaway hair behind her ears. "I'm going to have trouble leaving today."

"We'll come back again," I promise her, "when all this is over."

Our walk back to the huts is comfortably, thoughtfully silent. We're both lost in our own minds, but her hand still finds mine and I can't help but smile. It's in that moment I come to a realization that stops me dead in my tracks. Rey turns back toward me, watching me with concern.