“I took away someone he loved.”
Drystan slumped with exasperation. I didn’t elaborate.
“Then how the hell can we trust a word he says?”
“Because there’s one person Tarran will always hate more than me, and that’s Auster, all the High Celestials, really, for how they’ve treated vampires for centuries. He might despise me but he’s the son of two of my guardians and I… I have to trust his heart is still a piece of theirs and wouldn’t truly want to harm me.”
Drystan sat in silence to mull over all I’d told him.
“If we use what he offered, if you expose yourself as bait, you need to tell me you’re confident you can escape and fly to join me as soon as I have Eltanin.”
My heart was pounding at the mere thought of what we both had to do. As I stared at the sodden wood of the table, my mind processed dozens of situations that could unfold tomorrow with this new plan.
“I have my role; you have yours. The most important outcome of this is that you get Eltanin back to Nyte. No matter what, agreed?”
Drystan knew my meaning. That should something happen to prevent me from making it to join him, he had to leave me behind.
“Shit.” Drystan ran a hand down his face, then downed the rest of his drink. “If he wakes by bonding with Eltanin, and you’re not there, I am not looking forward to dealing with his rage.”
The stiffness in my shoulders relaxed when he didn’t argue. Drystan’s gaze turned to one of concern, but he slipped it away from me like he didn’t want to admit it.
“I am rather looking forward to hearing what the High Celestial of House Nova has to say. A coronation announcement, perhaps?” I said with resentment.
Drystan glowered at the wall with that suggestion. “I doubt he’ll wait much longer to claim that crown as the realm’s savior from the corrupted star-maiden.”
My heart darkened at the thought of Auster claiming my throne and spewing more false and evil words about me and my friends for his own merit.
“He can claim the crown, but he’ll never hold the throne so long as I live.”
6Astraea
The streets were alive with a hum of excitement, a restless energy weaving through the crowd as they pressed shoulder-to-shoulder, moving toward the castle in a thick, unbroken wave. Murmurs of anticipation rippled through the people, punctuated by the occasional shout as children were hoisted onto shoulders for a better view or friends jostled to keep from losing one another in the crush.
It was only my dark resentment toward Auster that wished the atmosphere for his summons at the castle grounds was gloomy and unwelcoming rather than this spirited display.
Above the crowd, the castle loomed, its black towers catching the red glow of the blood moon, turning the sight eerily sinister. Banners unfurled from its stone walls, vivid and regal, swaying gently in the breeze as if welcoming everyone closer.
But they were navy, not deep purple. They hadhisconstellation sigil, not that which represented the star-maiden. Auster’s speech had already begun with the waving of the crest of the Nova House from the castle of Vesitire.
“Last chance to reconsider this plan,” Drystan muttered at my side.
It was easy for us to stand by the wall of the inn we lodged in without attracting any attention from the people buzzing with excitement.
“See you on the other side?” was my response while I scanned for the right gap to slip into the throng.
With his silence, I cast him a glance. Drystan was fixing his face covering in place with a stare of apprehension at me.
“Just don’t get yourself killed,” he groused.
I couldn’t help smiling under my mask. “Likewise.”
He slipped away from me first; then it was my turn to force my body into the tight wave against everything in me that wanted to be anywhere else.
I’d always battled low tolerance for the compact suffocation of a crowd.Maybe the panic came from my short life in Goldfell’s clutches, which had sheltered me and made me afraid of the world. I didn’t think it mattered how many memories I gained back; I would always be two people fighting in one body. The legendary star-maiden of the past, and the girl from Goldfell manor—still fighting to be brave and resilient.
My throat kept tightening even though the flow of traffic remained consistent and following it was easy. I pushed through a little faster but tried not to attract attention. I was one body in a sea of many, and this almost felt like being swept away by that brutal wave underground with Drystan.
My feet are on the ground. My magick is in my veins.
