“When you fell,” he said, voice rough, “it was like something tore me open from the inside. Every breath I took hurt, knowingyou weren’t doing the same. All I could feel was a rage that had nowhere to go.”
His lips turned down as he looked away, fingers digging into the counter until his knuckles went white.
“Bash—” I started to say, but then closed my mouth.
What words could I use to remove that memory and feeling from him? There were none. All of us would have to figure out how to live with it and move forward, in our own ways. All I wanted was for him to allow me to be there to support him as he figured that out.
Suddenly he closed the distance between us. His hand hovered near my throat, not quite touching yet, but trembling there.
“Right there,” he whispered, finally brushing the tips of his fingers over my throat. “That’s where he cut you and took your life, and every time I go to touch you, I think…” his breath shuddered, his eyes wild and desperate as he let out a heavy exhale. “Stars, it makes me want to tear the world apart for letting it happen.”
My heart beat wildly at his admission. None of this was any of their faults and I hated that he was carrying such an immense burden, unjustly.
“You don’t have to destroy the world for me,” I whispered, pressing my palm to his chest as his hand dropped to his side. “I’m here. I’m with you. The magic within me and the Star Keepers’ energy healed me.”
“I know,” he quickly answered, voice cracking. “I just fear that if we allowed it to happen once, that it could happen again. That there’s nothing I can do to protect you, truly…that for all the power at my disposal, it’s still not enough.”
The ache in his voice squeezed at my heart, pulling back up my anger at my father. At the Archangels. At Alfemir for allowing this world to even get to the point in which we were.
None of this needed to happen. Yet jealousy, power struggles, and mindless warpaths landed all of our unfortunate souls in this part of history. All we could do was bear it and push forward, knowing we were making actionable changes to alter the history books to come.
I blinked up at him, letting my confidence bleed through every word. “That’s how I feel about all of you. About every life that depends on the stars not falling. None of our safety is guaranteed, and for some time, the weight of that prophecy felt like a heavy burden to carry.” His hand came up to grip my hip, squeezing lightly as I continued. “But now I let it be the hope that propels me forward, because there is a chance to save everyone, and that chance is one I will fight every day for. We can’t let ourselves be weighed down by the negative what-ifs or we’ll never achieve our dreams.”
His heartbeat pounded beneath my palm, fast and erratic as he cleared his throat and blinked at me. “I told you your death was horrible for my nerves. I fear I may have an unhealthy obsession with you, Darling–it smothers all rationale and logic.”
I traced slow circles until his heart rate steadied, then leaned into him with a smile that tugged at my lips. “You’re just now realizing that? I realized it the moment you mused about my blood out loud while demanding to break out of Alfemir with me and Ronan as a fresh prison escapee.”
“I can’t be held responsible for said obsession. It’s your fault for being you,” he defended with a smirk. His arms circled around me, that familiar hold pulling everything inside me back into a calm and centered state.
A dramatic flair flourished within me as I retorted, “I will do my best to not die again, to protectyournervous system. That was quite selfish of me, wasn’t it? I’ll do better.”
Bastian let out a huff of air before pressing a kiss to my forehead. “It really was, Darling! I suppose if it does happenagain, I’ll just have to follow you into the afterlife. Problem solved.”
A small gasp fell from my lips as I pulled back to stare up at him. My hand swatted his chest playfully. “Don’t say that! I would want you to liveforme, Bash.”
The tension seemed to leave his rigid frame with a long exhale and smirk, like he really had found the answer to this conundrum plaguing him. “Sure, whatever you say.”
I shook my head as I stepped back to pour myself a cup of coffee, still chuckling to myself softly.
Only Bastian could turn such a sensitive and heavy topic into a lighthearted joking matter.
“We brought Noah back with us to Alfemir,” he informed me as I stirred sugar into my cup, his voice free of all bantering tones now. “He’s itching to talk to you about the dagger and the power that healed you.” My eyebrows rose as a small chuckle slipped from my lips. Of course he was. Noah was always after new information.
Bastian continued, “Niz and Ronan also sent word to the Elementalist that visited you yesterday, Gabe’s mother, and the wyvern queen and king. So, all the people we trust should be there today when we decide what comes next.”
I was worried sending notice yesterday may not have given much time, but I was glad to hear it sounded like everyone we needed would be there.
“Good, I owe them a further explanation,” I murmured before I took a tentative sip of my coffee. After the hot liquid poured down my throat, I felt my confidence and need to continue forward come to life. “What I said on the platform before my unfortunate death was enough to open eyes, but not enough to inform the citizens of everything we’re up against now with the prophecy.”
Bastian caught my chin between his fingers as my lips were parted, stopping me from speaking further. The heavy weight of his crimson gaze made a shiver slide down my spine. “Then walk into that room like the miracle you are and claim your rightful place in leading us all. You have an innate ability to make people think that the unattainable is possible. They need that, now more than ever.”
His thumb brushed my jaw once before he let go, leaving me breathless and staring at his back as he turned to pull food out of a fridge that had to have been recently stocked by them.
Within the hour, the smell of fresh coffee and pancakes filled the kitchen as the house began to stir. One by one, the others appeared—dressed, hair damp, voices rough with sleep. We fell into an easy rhythm around the table, the quiet kind that comes after surviving something together. There was a lightness to my soul that I couldn’t place until I realized it was the relief I felt in Steele fully accepting this finally. Seeing him chatting with everyone, without any glares or underhanded comments, was what I needed.
The scrape of chairs and the clink of mugs filled the room as we cleaned the kitchen before heading outside to begin our trek toward the meeting.
Bastian stretched his black wings wide, a wry grin cutting across his face. “Let’s move before Steele sinks any deeper into that scowl and it consumes him.”
