Asthegrouprodetowards the middle of the empty field, the weather was deceptively nice.Emmeric thought the occasion called for a thunderstorm—lightning striking around them and mud up to their ankles.But the sun shone brightly, the chill of winter had lessened, and birds chirped in the distance.
The world was in no way prepared for the destruction that was about to be wrought.
When they reached a location that the stars felt was far enough for Rigil to sense the Lurra, but close enough to their own army that aid was not far behind, they all dismounted.Kaz shifted into her black leopard, and they all flanked Iyana as she held the deceitfully small box in her hands.Tara and Okab were to one side while Scuti was on the other.Emmeric was on her right to act as her sword, his weapon already in his hand while the twin blade rested in the scabbard on his back.Zane stood ready with his bow, and Talon also held a sword.
It only took a few minutes before Rigil and Hadar appeared, along with three other stars.Thanks to the information they’d received from their allies, Emmeric could identify them easily—Talitha from constellation Ursa, Antares from constellation Scorpius, and Eltanin from constellation Draco.The heads of the four top families.
Rigil glanced around the field, a small smirk playing on his lips.“Well, doesn’t this look familiar.”
Then he cocked his head, zeroing in at the box in Iyana’s hands with a hungry look in his eyes.His shadows writhed and snapped around him, tainting the beautiful day with their darkness.Emmeric took a small step closer to her, ready to block her body with his own if needed.
Iyana calmly replaced the Lurra into a pack and handed it to Zane, who attached it to his belt.Silver flames crackled at her fingertips as she examined the stars standing a mere fifty feet from them.It was too close for Emmeric’s comfort.
“Aztia,” Rigil purred, then made a show of looking over everyone in their party.“Where might your astalle be?”
Tara’s lip curled but that was the only outward sign of anger from either of Altair’s siblings.Okab stood still, an impassive expression on his face.
“Oh, that’s right,” the Alpha continued with a wicked grin.“I killed him.”
A spike of grief and fury flared through Iyana, but she didn’t let any of it show on her face.She pushed the emotions down until Emmeric couldn’t feel them any longer.He stroked a loving hand along their bond, trying to keep her centered and focused.
“We wanted to offer you the option of drafting a truce between the stars and the humans,” Iyana said.She gestured towards the three stars they’d brought with them.“As you can see, we’re perfectly capable of comingling if you’d give it a chance.”
Hadar barked a laugh, and Talitha turned her cold violet eyes to Iyana.“And what would you be offering us in return, little girl?”
Iyana frowned and made a show of thinking it over.“We will graciously allow you to live and stay on the earth.Refuse our terms and I will banish you again.”
Emmeric could have sworn the large, muscular one—Eltanin—appeared slightly nervous at the Aztia’s words.But Rigil only smiled smugly and wound his shadows around his fingers.
“Empty threats will get you nowhere, Aztia.You see, I don’t think you have the slightest clue on how to banish us.Nor do I think you have enough magic to do so.So prepare your army.I’m going to spill as much blood as I can before I capture you so that you can see what you’ve brought upon your race.”
The stars’ leaders winked out of existence.Emmeric released a shaking breath.That was only five stars, and they were expected to face thousands of them.Granted, not all of them would be as strong as the heads of the constellations, but it was still a daunting task.He had told Iyana to think positively, but he was having a difficult time doing so himself.
Tara glanced at her brother.“Were you able to do it?”
A crease formed between the star’s brow.It was still startling how much he looked like Altair.“I was able to take a bit of magic from all of them except Rigil.His shadows formed an impenetrable barrier.But the rest should be at least slightly weaker now.”
“Will they notice you’ve stolen from them?”Zane asked.
“Not until they try to use their magic.They’ll notice their stores are less than before.Nobody else knows I can do that; they thought my only power was to detect magical signatures.It was a closely guarded family secret.”
“For good reason,” Tara said.
Emmeric nodded.Any advantage they could get was one that kept them alive only that much longer.He helped Iyana onto the horse, knowing full well she could do it herself, but he felt the need to touch her.Then, swinging up into the saddle behind her, they rode back to prepare for war.
Chapter 66
Iyana
Disappointmentroiledthroughher.Although she hadn’t expected Rigil to take them up on their offer, a small sliver of her was hoping that he would lay down his arms peacefully and release the human slaves.
Nothing could ever be that easy.
Emmeric stood next to her, strapping on various weapons while she contained her hair within a plait.He dropped to a knee in front of her and attached a sheathed dagger to her thigh.Once he was sure it was secure, he allowed his fingers to trail up her side as he stood.Grabbing the front of her trousers, Emmeric pulled her flush to him.Iyana wrapped her arms around his neck and wondered how this man could always smell faintly of lemons, even when they’d been on the road for several days.His gaze was intense as he looked into her eyes.
“Please promise me you’ll use the dagger if you need to,” he murmured.“I’ll finish off as many as I can, so you don’t have to, but I want to know that you’ll use it if it comes down to it.Even if it’s only to get them on the ground long enough for me to kill them.”
“I promise I’ll use it if I need to.”She would, too.While the thought of taking lives still revolted her, she realized none of the stars she’d be facing were innocent.They’d all chosen to stay by Rigil’s side and continue using humans as slaves.
