She tried to storm off closer to the fire, but before she moved too far, he grabbed her wrist. Looking down at him with fire in her expression, Emmeric was concerned she was about to blast him with some magic, making those dreams he had at least partially based in reality. He dropped her hand.
“Thank you,” he said, quietly. “For coming back for me.”
Iyana glanced again at Altair, who still stood at a distance, watching the scene unfold. After turning back towards Emmeric, blocking the star from view, she mouthed the best word he believed had ever graced her lips.Always.
When they awoke the next morning, the storm had finally cleared to sunny skies, but a thin layer of snow covered their campsite. Emmeric was the first to wake in the winter wonderland, shivering with ice in his eyelashes. Snow had buried his entire bedroll, and he unfortunately hadn’t thought to burrow his head within it before he fell asleep. Mist curled away into the air with every exhale. Standing and stomping his feet, he tried to warm up a bit, but it was useless.
Soon the others woke as well. Kaz complained loudly about the conditions, while Talon still sulked without engaging in conversations. Emmeric hated seeing his friend this way. He wished there was something he could do, but he knew the only thing that would cheer Tal up now would be Zane’s safe return. Maybe he should talk to him about it.
Iyana was raving about the sun shining down on them again, finally. Neither she nor Altair seemed as affected by the cold, but they had magic to warm their blood. The rest of them had to make do with layers, but the frost still crept in, finding holes in his clothing Emmeric hadn’t even realized were there. Dusting the snow off, they packed up for another day of travel. Iyana surprised them all by making coffee and heating it with her magic. Her control really was improving, and Emmeric was impressed. The hot beverage revived him and renewed his resolve to speak with Iyana about his research.
He would make her listen if he had to.
Hours later, they stopped for lunch and Emmeric saw another opening when Altair wandered off, stating he was going to check behind them to ensure they weren’t being followed. Iyana, Kaz, and Talon were all seated on a large outcropping of rock, eating their meager rations of jerky and dried fruit. He seated himself between Talon and Iyana, placing the library book behind him. Kaz hadn’t spoken to him much since his rescue, and he wasn’t sure if everything was okay between them. He made a note to talk to her later to see where her head was at. Apparently, a lot of conversations needed to be had.
“I need to talk to you all,” he started. Iyana scoffed and moved to leave. Emmeric placed a hand lightly on her knee to keep her in place, staring deep into those caramel-colored eyes, begging her to listen. She settled back down reluctantly. Something within him loosened at her miniscule concession.
“After you all left, I was led into a section of the library we hadn’t found yet.”
“Led? By what?” Iyana asked.
“The owls.” Three pairs of brows raised. He raked a hand through his hair, then pulled the tome onto his lap. “I know, it sounds crazy, but let’s forget about the owls for a minute. I found this book, and it outlines the conflict the first Aztia and Kanaliza faced.”
Iyana’s eyes lit up, and he knew he finally had her full attention. Emmeric’s heart sped up. He opened to a page he’d marked in the middle of the book.
“Once the gods slept, the only beings still on the continent were humans and the stars. The humans had been gifted with magic by the gods before they left, but the stars were still vastly more powerful. Many of them saw an opportunity to become gods themselves. They had always been second, as the gods had an infiniteamount of power, and so they largely kept to themselves. But once the gods were sleeping, they became the apex predators, so to speak.” He looked at each of his friends in turn. “The stars enslaved the humans. They made them do all the grunt work, serve them within their palaces…some were even sex slaves. Humans were worked to death, with an average lifespan of only thirty years. If a slave stepped out of line or tried to revolt, the stars murdered their children. If they had no children, their spouse was killed. And if they didn’t have a spouse, the stars hunted down the person closest to the slave and cut them down. Just to prove they were untouchable.”
Iyana’s face paled, her lips parted slightly as she listened to him raptly. He loathed that he needed to tell her all of this, and he hoped she’d forgive him.
“Smaller human enclaves were mostly left alone, and that was where the rebellion was born. However, the stars’ might proved too powerful even for groups of humans with magic, and many of them died. After hundreds of years of this behavior, the humans had mostly accepted their place as slaves, but the gods had finally taken note of the situation. They found a woman with more magic than most, and Zaya gifted her with even more, making her the first Aztia. This woman realized she still was not strong enough on her own after a vicious defeat, and prayed to Zaya for guidance. That was when Zaya created the Kanaliza to help. Together, they and other magical humans rose up and banished all the stars to the sky where they’ve been ever since.”
He passed the book to Iyana, allowing her to see for herself he was telling the truth. “We can’t trust him,” Emmeric said softly.
Iyana read the book herself wide-eyed. He felt her heart cracking and breaking. The ache pierced deeply into his soul.
“I assure you, you can,” a deep voice said behind them all. The four whirled around to find Altair had returned. None of them had heard him approach. The star only had eyes for Iyana, and she stared back at him questioningly. Emmeric could tell she wanted to believe him as confusion and betrayal warred with hope within the bond. Altair joined them on the outcropping, crossing his legs. He stroked a strand of Iyana’s hair behind her ear, and the woman practically melted. Acidic anger and jealousy bubbled up within Emmeric. Iyana glanced at him, and he tamped down the emotions, wishing he knew a way to block her out.
“A majority of the stars had a desire to live as gods, yes,” Altair began. “My constellation, my family, was not one of them. I was part of the Aquila family. We were small compared to some of the other constellations. Four great families ruled over us: Centaurus, Draco, Scorpius, and Ursa. Centaurus was the highest ranked of those four and dictated the laws we were all duty-bound to follow. They were the ones who decreed humans were to be slaves, and the rest of us were unable to do anything. While the humans were staging their rebellion, some of us were helping at great personal risk. We’d befriended the human resistance, including the Aztia and Kanaliza. When the time came to enact the plan, they double-crossed us, and instead of only banishing the stars whowantedslavery, they banished us all.”
“How do we know you’re telling the truth?” Talon asked.
Altair shrugged. “I guess you don’t. But I have been stuck in the sky for a thousand years, and I’d rather not go back.”
“Doesn’t that make a great motive? Revenge?” Kaz asked. Emmeric could kiss the shifter.
“It does,” Altair agreed. “At first, a righteous anger fueled my motives. But time softens all—even stone is worn down by water after thousands of years. Now, I only want to live my life here. Even before falling, all I wanted was my freedom. Our superiors chose me to fall when we found the Aztia in order to stop Uther. The original plan was that for helping you defeat the emperor, thusly saving your continent, you would help me restore the smaller constellations back to the earth.”
“You wanted us to bring the stars back?” Iyana asked, hurt lining her voice as she frowned at Altair.
“Astalle, you need to know their plan and mine were very different. I was planning on falling and then living the rest of my long life in obscurity. I never thought about bringing anyone else down with me. The stars, even those of us who were against slavery, can be…aggressive. Possessive. I worried eventually temptation would call to even the strongest of us, and we would be back where we started.” He placed a gentle hand on Iyana’s face. “But then I met you, and I could no longer let Uther do as he pleased. Not when you lived in this world. I wanted to help you make it safe.”
Iyana put her hand over the star’s and closed her eyes. Emmeric couldn’t believe it; she was believing his lies.
“Mouse,” he warned, “you cannot trust what he’s telling you. Not without proof.”
“Is there any mention of the Aquila constellation in your book?” she asked.
“There’s no mention ofanyspecific constellations, and no way to confirm he’s telling the truth.”
