A person saunters over, and my jaw hangs open. Memories crash into my brain, not that the new arrival is recognizable, but Iknowher. I know those brilliant starlit eyes that hold galaxies within them. She’d come to me as a crone, showing me how to use my Starkeeper gifts, teaching me, and guiding me. More gaps fuse in my mind as my history fills in like the colors in a mural finally exposed to light.
“Vena?” I whisper.
“Child. Setareh Framataram.” Long arms engulf me, and though they don’t feel the same as the ones in my memory, the energy is exactly the same. My magic warms and surges in response as though greeting an old friend.
“Not much of a master of anything these days,” I mutter, but only the king’s gaze flicks to me.
Vena turns to Ani. “Princess Anahima, I don’t believe we have formally met.”
To my surprise, something like distaste passes over Ani’s face before it’s hidden. I get it. Vena can be quite over-the-top and off-putting for some. When I first met her, I thought she was a creepy fortune teller. Plus, this new six-foot-tallblueform of hers is rather intimidating.
“Eminence,” Ani greets with an elegant cant of her head, and I wonder at her formality. Does she know she’s a Royal Star? DoesDarrius?
“I like this new look,” I say, admiring the glow of her navy skin and her strange glimmering pale eyes. “Decided to age down a little, Vena?” I ask cheekily, and earn myself a fond swat.
“The Royal Star is gender nonconforming and goes by Ve now,” the king says to me, inadvertently answering my earlier unvoiced question. “Show them the cuffs.”
I bristle at the terse command, but I raise my wrists. Of course Darrius knows who she—theyare. He’s the ruler of a realm that’s rich in akasha.
Ve studies the cuffs, their fingertip tracing the runes, and when they look up, their face is wreathed with rage. “He dared?”
I open my mouth and close it. “You know who did this?”
Shutters slam down over their face as they study me for a protracted moment. “The cuffs impair your memories,” they say eventually.
“Whodid this, Ve?”
“I cannot interfere with what has been written,” they say, exchanging a dark look with Darrius. “The fates declare that you must recall what you’ve lost on your own.”
“But youknow,don’t you?” I press.
“Ve, the cuffs,” Darrius says, interrupting me. “Can you remove them?”
Ve shakes their head, eyes glowing slightly. “The magic in the bracers are tied to the Starkeeper herself. This lock only she can undo.”
“I’ve tried!” I cry, and then frown as Ve’s corporeal form starts to shimmer. “Where are you going?”
They heave a heavy sigh. “To prepare.”
Another dark, weighted look is exchanged with Darrius, and then Ve vanishes from sight.
Ani immediately rounds on her brother. “What the fuck was a Royal Star doing here, Dare?”
My jaw drops to the floor in shock. That’s the first time I’ve heard Ani curse. The king opens his mouth to respond, but a commotion at the library entrance has us all rising. One of the kingsguard crashes through and falls to one knee in front of the king.
“Your Majesty, the basilisk is loose near Shabra,” he says breathlessly. “The Aspacana are calling for aid.”
My stomach drops at that. I’d forgotten about the farmer’s plea, and with Darrius gone in manticore form for so long, that thing must be on a rampage.
The king glances at his sister. “I thought you said it was gone.”
A still furious Ani shrugs. “It was, but I also said that those creatures are territorial.”
“Is my horse ready?” the king asks his kingsguard, expression troubled.
“Yes. Outside, Sire.”
Darrius leaves the table, Ani at his heels. And I find myself hurrying after them. “I’m going with you,” I say, surprising myself.
