Nora stared at me for a long moment. “When you say the stars are dying—you mean to tell me thatallof them will die, not just the one you are assigned?”
My body sagged with the realization that she had at least a preliminary understanding of what it meant to be a Star Keeper. Having one less thing to explain, one less thing to stress the importance of, somehow felt huge in the face of trying to convince the distrusting wyverns to join our cause.
“Yes, all of them. Because I am the only Star Keeper left—the rest having been eradicated by the angels in Alfemir—there has been no one left to take care of them for centuries.”
“And how does this connect to Alfemir? Why can’t you handle it from here?”
“Because their pursuit is relentless and I need to be able to reach the stars without interference from Alfemir. More so, the way they are treating people?—”
“Is none of our business,” she snapped defensively, interrupting me mid-sentence.
“I know you’re concerned about revealing yourself, but if we tackle Alfemir together, the threat that has persisted for so long will be gone.”
“And what of the Rebellion?” his mother countered, arching a brow in my direction before shifting her gaze around the men gathered behind me. When her hard eyes landed on my face once more, I forced myself to stand taller, steeling my expression. “Why would we put trust in the descendants of those who hunted us as well? Why should those in the Rebellion be considered our allies? More so, how do I know you aren’t lying? How can I trust that you aren’t merely using us for your own power grab in Alfemir?”
“Why would I be pulling for power when the world will end ifIdon’t fix it?” I asked, confused by the conclusion she had managed to come to. Had she been listening at all? Fighting the urge to let my frustration with the queen show, I schooled my voice into as even a tone as possible before asking, “More so, whynottrust the Rebellion? They hate everything that Alfemir stands for. I’m positive if they knew what happened between the angels and wyverns, they would surely disavow what Alfemir did.”
“But you don’t know that,” she growled, her voice rising. “And that is if I was to even trust you to begin with. After all, whyshould I trust the words of a mere child? One who has put my son in more danger than he even understands?”
“I think Niz is well aware of the implications of being involved,” I argued fiercely.
“We have survived this long without Alfemir, we will survive anything?—”
“You will die if the stars fall,” I said with surety, my voice cutting her words off. “Everyonewill die.”
“Better to die knowing we stayed true to ourselves and didn’t side with the enemy,” she barked out, and all I could was shake my head at the absurdity of her words. As I turned slightly, I could see the others out of the corner of my eye—Steele standing stiff as a board as Gabe shook his head, staring downwards. Ronan was pacing in thought as Bastian appeared next to me, placing a hand on my back in comfort.
As I considered her words, I snapped my head back at her and leveled an accusation. “So you would risk every single one of your citizens? Even the children?—”
“I would risk them by helping the angels as well!”
“You’ll be helping yourself, not just angels,” I argued.
Nora appeared in front of me, and I swayed back in surprise. Her breath was hot on my face as she leaned toward me, a sneer pulling her lips up at the corner before she spoke. “If you are meant to save the stars, then do it on your own. I will not make the mistake of trusting you, about the stars or otherwise. We will not aid you in any way, nor will we reveal our people. You can save the world and the stars on your own.”
Her answer could not have been more clear.
Stepping back I inhaled sharply. Shaking my head, I let a frown of displeasure pull my lips down before sighing heavily. “Fine then. We’ll leave.”
“And I’ll be leaving with her.” Niz’s voice was rough with emotion, and as I snapped my gaze his way, I found him staring at his mother with frustration.
Immediately any emotion Nora had shown disappeared, her face relaxing into the picture of neutrality as she stared at him for a long moment. “You will side with the angels? You will betray your people?”
“You can’t see past your defensiveness and ego, so yes—I will leave my people if it means saving them from the end of the world.”
“And here I thought that years of watching us lead would teach you how to be a rational and reasonable man. Clearly, I was wrong.” The icy disappointment in her voice had me tensing as I reached over to squeeze my wyvern’s hand.
“Son…” His father stood, his face marred with concern—jaw tight with tension and brows pulled down. “I don’t doubt that you believe them, but perhaps it would be better for them to handle the situation on their own. After all, if you believe they are capable, perhaps you should stay here to watch over our people while they accomplish their mission.”
“No,” Niz said clearly, his voice booming through the room. I felt my brows raise as his voice went sharper, more harsh. “It’s obvious that you don’t trust them, but I do. Clearly you don’t trust my judgment on that, so how do you trust me to protect our people? I suggested we come to you for help, but now I have to apologize to all of them because you arenotas rational as I once assumed.”
“We should leave,” Steele spoke up, breaking from his tense posture and not even offering Nora or Conan a glance. Clearly hisrespecttheory had flown out the window. “We have a lot to prepare for.”
“Agreed,” Ronan grunted.
“Last chance,” Niz said directly to his mother. She stared at him, her brows dipping and eyes shadowed in concern—before our conversation, the worry on her face might have made me feel bad for her. But now? Not so much.
“Go then.”
