“You will learn. That is the important thing.” Earendel added, his eyes flaring an even brighter white as he stared at us eerily.
“You will find the way forward. Remember what I told you, Asteria. And fight for the future you want to build,” Asteria said, her silver starlit hair bouncing behind her as she walked beside my mate.
We came upon the portal faster than I thought we would, and a brief spike of panic went through me. I wanted to ask a million questions, receive a million answers. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that was coming to an end.
“We have given you all you need,” Erebus assured me.
“Become the Star Queen and Night King you are meant to be. The prophecies that fate weaves always prove themselves in the end.” Earendel reached out and cupped Asteria’s cheek. “You carry the hope of the gods with you. Carry that fact like a torch through the darkness, to light your own inner flame.”
“Thank you, Your Majesties.” Asteria bowed her head, and I echoed her, grasping her hand as we faced the portals.
With one last look back at the gods we prayed to, but who were somehow looking to my mate and me as hope for the future, we stepped through the portal back to Tartarus. Preparing ourselves for the journey back home.
And the monumental task that waited.
* * *
I was shockedto find none of the obstacles we faced on our way here in place as we started our trek through Tartarus. Our path was smooth, and I didn’t trust it for a moment. Asteria was looking around anxiously as well, until she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks.
“Asteria? What’s wrong, my réalta?” I asked, trying to figure out what was happening.
Her head cocked to the side, and she looked to the right. She slowly walked over, her starlight spilling out of her as she did.
“There’s something here,” she murmured quietly.
The rock wall beside us looked solid, and I was beginning to get a bit concerned. Suddenly, she funneled a huge blast of starlight through the rock. It tunneled straight through it, creating a perfectly rounded arch that stretched out before us. I could just barely make out a light coming from the other end.
“Come on,” she urged, grabbing my hand and trying to pull me in.
“Asteria, we have no idea where this leads. We should follow the original path back,” I cautioned, not wanting us to get stuck halfway across Tartarus in the wrong direction. Too many things here were not meant for us. I didn’t want to stumble upon a monster we couldn’t defeat when so much was counting on us back in Celesterra.
“Do you trust me?” she asked, turning to look at me. Her sky-blue eyes shone with the stars, and I could see the sincerity in them. The faith that this was the right choice. It pulsed through the bond, and I found I could do nothing less than have faith in her in this.
“You know I do,” I told her quietly, lifting a hand to her chin and raising her head to mine for a kiss. It felt like it had been forever since I’d had her, and I was anxious to get back and cement the bond between us as the gods had instructed.
“Then come on.” She smiled playfully, and her starlight circled around her, touching down on her hair, which looked darker in the light of Tartarus, and making it shine like the night sky again. I smiled at the sight, fingering a lock of her hair. There was nothing better than seeing my home reflected in her.
Shewas home, truly.
I let her pull me down the newly created tunnel, her light illuminating our way. Before long, we came to the end, and I was shocked to step out and see the portal that led back to Tairngire. I recognized the fork in the path we had found when we emerged, and from this angle, the portal was wholly different from the others we’d seen here.
This one was surrounded by star opal, and inside the black liquid-looking smoke were flashes of purple, green, and pink, like the Aurora through the night sky.
“Told you.” Asteria smiled impishly, and I rolled my eyes, but couldn’t help my smile.
“Well, by all means, let’s get the Tartarus out of here.” I raised a brow and pulled her forward.
We stepped through the portal, and after a moment of being encased in its mists as they slipped across our skin, we were standing in the bowels of my palace once more.
I couldn’t help the laugh of relief I let out. I could feel it shared between us as I looked at my Asteria,my mate. I couldn’t help the wonder I felt at the sight of her. I cupped her cheek and lowered my head to kiss her fiercely.
“You truly are the light that will guide our way,” I whispered as I pulled back. She stared up at me with star-filled eyes and shook her head.
“You think I’m the light? I think you forget I’m the kind of light that only shines amidst the darkness. Without you, I’d be lost,” she insisted, reaching up and sneaking her hand into my hair, her thumb caressing my cheekbone as she used her hand’s position to force my lips back to hers.
My hands gripped her waist, and I tried not to let myself get too distracted. I desperately wanted to throw her down on the ground and rip her armor to shreds to get to her body. To sink myself inside her and feel athomeagain.
But I wanted to do this properly—and comfortably. I wanted her in my bed, where I could lose myself in her for hours without a care in the world. And to do that, we first had to get upstairs and past everyone else.
