He tilts his head as he adjusts his monocle. A faint smile unfurls around the corners of his lips. “You know who we are.”
“They’re the Astrals,” Taron says beside me. His voice is tight with something close to awe – or maybe fear. “The founders of the Reckoning. The conquerors of Valerius Halo and the guardians of the fallen star.”
“Are you … the Games Master?” I breathe.
“Of sorts,” says the woman in sapphire, her voice as smooth as glass. She’s smaller in stature, with porcelain skin and platinum hair that falls in soft curls around her shoulders. Her face is beautiful in the way that marble statues are, flawless yet devoid of warmth.
“We, the architects of the Reckoning, provide detailed reports of the tournament to the High Council,” says the monocled man. “Unfortunately, they’ve been known to twist our words while reporting back to the public.”
He upturns his palms as he gestures at the chamber as a whole. “Please accept our congratulations. You have both emerged as victors of the Reckoning.”
A swell of emotion rises within me. Overwhelming joy, but also a whirlpool of everything else I’ve been forcing down. All the anger, fear and uncertainty.
This is it, the moment we fought for. Bled for.
We won the Reckoning, and, now, standing in front of the Astrals, it should feel like a triumph. I have fulfilled my part of the bargain, and I know that Madame Vera has the power to resurrect my sister. But I also know what she will do with the wish now.
Taron’s words echo in my mind.
If that tyrant is resurrected, there might not be a home for you and Elara to return to.
But I have no choice. I need to save my sister.
Elara was innocent. I stole the Necroseals, and she paid the price. She didn’t deserve to die.
For a moment, I imagine telling the Astrals the truth. They thwarted Madame Vera’s plan once. I don’t see why they can’t do it again.
They’ll erase her memory, hand her over to the Principal Guard, hopefully having learned from their past mistakes. She’ll be locked away, brought to justice, and Taron would be … free. It’s a fanciful thought. Me. Him. Elara by our side.
“What burdens your spirit, child?” the monocled man asks.
I swallow hard, feeling the weight of his gaze pressing down on me. As if he can see right through the walls I’ve built. Into all the doubts I’ve tried so hard to bury.
It would be so easy to give in. To believe that the Astrals will handle everything and that I don’t have to bear the responsibility.
But I didn’t come all this way just to play some kind of hero. I came to save my sister, and that’s all that matters.
My voice is steadier than I expect when I answer, even though my heart is pounding so hard it hurts. “Nothing burdens me. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I square my shoulders, willing myself to meet his eyes, even though my skin crawls under his gaze. “We’d like our wish now, please.”
There’s a beat of silence, the kind that stretches far too long, taut with the tension of unsaid things. Taron shifts beside me. He speaks – it’s a whisper meant only for my ears. “Maeve, can I talk to you? Please.”
I turn, startled. “There’s nothing to say,” I tell him firmly. “We’ve agreed.”
Why is he hesitating after everything we’ve been through?Taron takes my arm, but I pull free. Now isn’t the time for second-guessing our choice. We’re standing on the precipice of everything we’ve risked our lives for. There’s no time to talk.
The Astrals are watching us with unreadable expressions. “If you need a moment to discuss your desires, feel free to do so,” the woman in green says.
“Thank you,” Taron says, and I have no choice but to follow him.
We stand at a distance, while the Astrals wait.
“What are you doing?” I hiss.
Taron fixes his gaze on me. “You know,” he says, “we can wish for anything. We can wish to be miles away,somewhere else – safe, you and me. We could run away and disappear. To Brim, like we talked about.”
I can’t deny that his words are tantalizing. I can feel the pull of it for a second, only a second. A life far away from all of this, away from the tangled web of danger and deceit. A life where Taron and I could simply be together, without the weight of death and destruction looming over us.
