Iyana couldn’t decide what to do—let Talon rest, the way he seemed so desperate to, or help him cling to life?Somewhere in the Dead Lands, Zane was breaking, and gods knew that man couldn’t handle much more loss or grief in his life.She decided to show Talon what he would be missing if he chose to die.Whatever he decided after that, Iyana would respect his choice.
“There will be consequences, Aztia,” Altea said.She spoke softly, but her voice carried over the river with a firm strength.
“I’ll pay it,” she snapped at the goddess.
Then the sounds of the living surrounded them.Zane’s voice was the first.Talon staggered backwards.
Please, Talon, please,the fledgling emperor’s voice whispered pleadingly.You promised you’d never leave me.
Oh, Tal.That was Emmeric.Why would you do that, you stupid, beautiful, dumb idiot?
Kaz was next.Red, when I get to the Everlands, I’m going to kick your ass for leaving us like this.
Talon was sitting on the plush, green grass a few feet away from the river, holding his head in his hands; his long red hair hung around him, fluttering in the slight breeze.Quiet sobs racked his body, and Iyana finally approached him, kneeling beside him.She silently wrapped her arms around him and held him tight.Her own tears fell to the grass, chrysanthemums sprouting where they landed.The water and land beyond it continued to call to her in a siren’s song.It had to be almost unbearable for Talon—who was actually dead—to ignore it.
Iyana spent several minutes holding Talon while he cried—it might be her last chance to do so.Eventually, his sobs lessened, and he sighed deeply, lifting his head to glance again at Altea.
Aztia, you are no longer needed,the goddess spoke into Iyana’s mind.And in the span of a blink, the sunny meadow, Talon, and Altea were gone, replaced instead with the dark night of the Dead Lands.
Her hand still rested on Talon’s body, who continued to be nestled to Zane’s chest.His neck was no longer at an odd angle, but his eyes remained closed, and his chest refused to rise.
“Come on, Talon,” she murmured.“Come on.”
A minute passed.Iyana was distantly aware of Emmeric’s hand resting lightly on her back, offering her silent comfort.All three of them waited, watching Talon closely for the slightest hitch in breath, a fluttering of eyelids,anythingto indicate he was alive.
Another minute passed.Two.Zane began to deflate, and Iyana lost hope Talon would choose to come back.The call of the river, of Altea, was too strong, and she couldn’t resent him for his decision.Not after everything he’d told her.
Emmeric rubbed her back and sighed.“I think we should—”
Talon jolted off Zane’s lap with a loud gasp.
Chapter 2
Altair
TheDancingCatwas as busy as the first time Altair had been there, only now there were multiple stars milling around along with the humans.How the humans did not realize there were predators among them was beyond him.The stars all possessed an other-worldly beauty, and not all of them were using a glamor to tamp down their glow.He was sure the mortals blamed it on a trick of the light.
They had been in the sky for too long.Most humans were blissfully unaware that the stars hanging above their heads every night were immortal beings who could kill them with only a thought.
But now the sky was empty—the moon the only light within the darkness—and the wolves prowled among the sheep.
There had been talk, of course, of all the stars falling.Altair had heard multiple different theories, and none of them were even remotely close to being true.There were people crying in the streets that the end of days had come—the gods were angry with them and were bringing about the apocalypse.Multiple families had packed their belongings and left Athusia in the middle of the night, as if there was a different night sky somewhere else on this earth.After a few days had passed and nothing seemed to change, everyone appeared to have gotten on with their lives.Even if the world was ending, rent and taxes still needed to be paid.Creditors wouldn’t accept this as an excuse, and most people were smart enough to continue their work.
The talk and gossip had slowly returned to who was cheating on their spouses, merchants that were selling faulty goods, and bothersome neighbors.All in all, everything was as it should be.
It was during times like this, when Altair was surrounded by people who didn’t realize who or what he was, that his thoughts returned to Iyana.His astalle.Was she alive?Would he know if his starheart had been ripped from the world?Altair had heard stories of stars who had lost their astalle.They tended to either go mad and seek any form of revenge possible, or they would quickly end their own life to be with their star-bound mate.
Images of Iyana laying lifeless in Sullane’s arms terrorized him, keeping him awake at night.When sleep did finally find him, memories of his last words to her circled through his mind.They nipped and bit at him until he woke in a cold sweat.
You really thought I’d fall in love with a human?I’d rather die than stoop so low.
But he had.Iyana had called him down from the sky and he’d fallen for her fast and hard.Now she was the only thing Altair could think about.
He tipped his head back, slinging down the rest of his bourbon, and motioned to the barkeep for another.This would be his fourth drink, and he wasn’t anywhere close to drunk.Altair only wanted to numb the pain, and his fucking star metabolism wouldn’t even allow him to do that.
Altair realized he deserved to be miserable.He had brought this upon himself.While he would love to throw the blame onto Rigil, Sullane, or even Iyana, he knew everything could have been dealt with differently.In a different world, he had told Iyana all of his secrets—what he had actually been sent to Arinem to achieve—and maybe she would still love him.Maybe she would have let him whisk her away to somewhere remote, where there were no Kanalizas, emperors, or shifters.Yes, the stars would have continued to be relentless in his head, but it was a burden he easily could have shouldered if it had meant keeping her safe; if it had meant he wasn’t currently sitting in a tavern trying to forget about her expressive brown eyes, her stubbornness, her stupidly cute bare feet.
But instead of doing any number of things to keep her safe, healthy, and alive, Altair had followed his orders like the good little soldier he’d always been.He had never been bitter about that in the past; in fact, his loyalty to his Alpha Centauri was a point of pride.Rigil relied on Altair and entrusted him with the problematic missions.This shouldn’t have even been hard for him—gain the trust of a human woman who didn’t know any better, train her to reach her full potential, then steal her magic.He had never thought that he would have been so quickly and easily ensnared by a mortal woman.If anyone had told him this was to be his fate, he would have laughed at them.
