Elara gasps and takes the ring, immediately placing it on her finger. “Tal, this is beautiful, but – be honest – did you … steal it?” A frown forms between her brows, and she shakes her head, tugging the ring off and pushing it away.
“I didn’t steal it.” The lie feels natural on my lips. “You’d be surprised how grateful some of my clients can be.”
“So, it was a gift?” She narrows her eyes before running her finger over the intricate patterns engraved in the gold.
“Happy birthday, little sister.”
She looks up with tears in her eyes, and it’s all that I imagined and more. “I love it. I love you, Talia. You’re the best sister in the world.”
Chapter Four
I’m late. Again.
“I’m off, El! Good luck with the audition. You’re going to wow them – I’m sure of it!” I shout up the stairs as I dash around the kitchen in a frenzy, grabbing up my rucksack and stuffing it with a coat, some nuts and a stale bread roll for lunch. I should’ve left for work twenty minutes ago.
I slam the front door and sprint through the valley. It’s a steep cobblestone path winding through pale stone cottages with thatched roofs and long stretches of fields awash with blue and purple wildflowers.
The heart of Stellargrove is perched at the head of the valley, with a waterway snaking through it from the south and into Auxin Forest to the north.
The village stirs under the morning sun. People are throwing open windows, sweeping doorsteps and shoutinggoodbyes as they head off to work. The cottages here stand shoulder to shoulder, huddled close to the waterway’s edge. Windows are small and round, often fogged with condensation, but flower boxes burst with well-tended blooms, and the overpasses that cross the waterway are decorated with breathtaking mosaics of flowering vines and constellations.
I bliss out, glancing over the edge of an overpass at the sun’s glow in the waterway below. Yesterday feels like a distant memory. All the bad energy from that cottage seems to have left me, no doubt the work of Elara’s infused cupcake and just her sisterly love in general.
I cross another overpass the moment a watercraft glides along the waterway beneath it. The vessel’s sleek hull is a masterpiece of dark wood, carved with swirling patterns of currents and leaping fish.
Wide fan-like paddles churn the water at the rear, while a canopy of vines and branches arch gracefully overhead to shade the passengers. In front of them, the helmsman has one hand resting on a steering mechanism, while the other is lazily draped over the side of the watercraft, guiding the vessel along the waterway using his Aqua talents.
I’ve never been on a watercraft; you need money to travel that way. Besides, where would I even go? My travels rarely extend beyond Stellargrove and its surrounding forest, occasionally the neighbouring farmlands for a job.
I continue over the bridge towards the marketplace, where vendors are arranging their stalls with fresh produceand homemade crafts. Children scuttle in and out of my path, laughing as they chase each other down the street. The scent of fresh bread mingles with the breeze and hunger gnaws at me. And something else, too.
The air in the market is bristling this morning. I can see its troubled energy, swirling like a greasy black fog around the villagers huddled in clusters by shop entrances and market stalls.
It tastes sour, like unripe citrus on my tongue.Fear.Leaves a metallic bitterness in my throat.Grief.
I hurry along the marketplace, trying to ignore the thin whisps of negative energy staining the air around me like black ink spreading through water.
A crow perched on a weathered signboard regards me with keen, intelligent eyes and lets out a loud caw. The sound sends a shiver down my spine.
I pick up my pace, my attention flicking to a banner unfurling down the street, suspended between two shops. A woman with a serious expression is using her Luna talents to toy with gravity, effortlessly hoisting the banner into position, while two men are anchoring the ropes to the wall. I scan the banner’s golden text.
Celebrate the 30th Commencement of the Reckoning
Under the stars, the brave take flight.
In Aether’s glow, they find their light.
With hearts ablaze and spirits high,
they race beneath the endless sky.
For those who soar and seek their end,
a wish is granted from heaven’s descent.
Honour to the Triumstellar Accord. Blessed be the stars.
I roll my eyes. The Reckoning is all everyone’s been able to talk about since they announced the competitors through the Crystal Ballot last week.
