Page 1 of Blood of the Stars

CHAPTER 1

Aeliana held her breath as she stood on the threshold of the Stargazer’s gate. It was the third place she’d tried that week—the thirteenth that month. She was running out of Stargazers.

A priest stood before her, guarding the gate as if the property held boundless treasures. Instead, it contained a modest stone tower and a freshly tilled garden, just enough for two servants of the Stars. He stared at Aeliana, his bushy white eyebrows furrowing in thought.

“A golden arrow?” he asked.

“It would fit in your palm,” she said. “It’s meant for decoration, not as a weapon.”

He shook his head. “Can’t say I’ve ever seen one. Not since I’ve been here.”

Aeliana bit her lip, and the old man’s frown shifted to a fatherly smile.

“I’ve only been here thirty years, though. I could be wrong.” He patted her shoulder. “Come in from the cold. Just because the Stars aren’t out doesn’t mean we can’t pray over what ails you. The Stars are more likely to help than an old arrow.”

She tried to refuse, but he tugged on her arm, drawing her into the sanctuary of the tower. Stone walls interspersed with narrow windows rose high to reveal a small opening at the tower’s zenith. At night, it would reveal the dance of the Stars, and worshippers would come to bow and pray, but for now, it showed blue sky and the edge of the Sun.

“So many priests and priestesses put stock in old artifacts,” the priest mumbled. “Too much stock. They’re objects, nothing more. Here is where you can find comfort and aid.”

He gestured at the dirt floor, and Aeliana reluctantly kneeled.

She wasn’t opposed to the faith. She’d spent a fair amount of her youth in Stargazers because her guardians had no intention of raising her. Back then, she’d thought Arvid and Vera were lazy. She hadn’t realized they’d been biding their time, waiting for her to become useful. In the meantime, she’d grown to love the priests and priestesses who’d guided her, or really saved her, from the darkness her guardians sought. Those years of Arvid and Vera’s neglect had been peaceful compared to the last four years.

“Sometimes I find my daytime worship even more restful without all the crowds,” the priest continued, half grunting as he kneeled beside her. “There’s something magical about it.”

Aeliana choked back a bitter laugh. If he only knew.

They both bent their heads, Aeliana’s wavy bronze locks wrapping around her like a blanket from head to elbow. The Sun warmed her skin even through the windows and her thin blue dress, its power flooding her blood, though she wished it wouldn’t.

Despite her agitation, the priest’s murmurs left her sleepy, and soon she sensed the Sun’s warmth flowing not just through her, but also out of her.

Aeliana peeked between her lashes. Green shoots poked through the hard earth. White petals unfolded from a fresh stem by her knee, far too early for the long winter and far too fast. She swept her skirt over them, then squeezed her eyes shut again, as if she could hide the involuntary magic not just from the priest but also from herself.

After several long moments, the priest rose. When his back was turned, Aeliana reached under her skirt, plucking the half-dozen daisies that had grown around her, eager to dispose of the evidence of her wrongness.

“Oh!” The old man turned.

Aeliana shoved the bouquet behind her back.

“You might wish to try Gahldric Valley’s Stargazer,” he said. “I hear they’ve received dozens of shipments of artifacts. So many Stargazers in the eastern provinces are closing down. Not enough worshipers.” His eyes grew troubled, even though he still offered her a small smile.

She gave a half curtsy, careful not to reveal the flowers, and backed up toward the open door. “Thank you, Father. May the Stars bless you for your guidance.”

She slipped through the doorway before he could keep her longer, then tossed the daisies behind a cluster of wintergreen bushes. It would have been bad enough for the priest to discover her magic, but it would be even worse if Arvid and Vera discovered she’d used magic without them. Not that Aeliana had any control over it.

She raced to the nearby woods, ducking between pine trees and around the remaining patches of snow. Under the cover of the trees, she was no longer warmed by the Sun, and she rubbed the goosebumps forming under her thin sleeves.

She was careful to retrace the miles back to where she’d camped the night before with her guardians. For the millionth time, her mind and body warred over whether to return. Aeliana could continue the search on her own and use the golden arrow to cross the barrier back to Vendaras, the land where half-lights like her lived. Descendants of humans and Stars with starblood in their veins. People with magic. She’d leave behind Lorvandas and its fragile humans and be rid of her guardians once and for all.

But they would keep searching too. What if they found it first?

She wasn’t even sure she could escape them. Supposedly, they’d saved her as a child from the witch burning that had taken her parents, but they’d told too many lies for her to believe that. They treated her more like a prisoner. Every time she’d tried running, she always ended up right back with them. Sometimes they tracked her, but more often, she returned. They needed the energy in her blood to do their magic, but Aeliana needed them to pull the energy out before it tore her apart, or worse.

She tripped over a root and caught herself on the sharp branch of a tree, the cut across her palm bringing fresh pain, followed by a hint of relief. The scent of iron met her nose, and she shook away the desire to examine the wound, to squeeze out more blood for more relief. As the energy built in her blood, it was like steam rising to fill a room. Releasing it would be like lancing a boil. The pain would be worth it.

But that was Arvid and Vera’s way, not hers.

She tore off the hem of her skirt, wrapping it tight to cover the wound and stem the flow. Her hands trembled with the effort, more from the mental control it required to staunch the flow of energy than any physical pain. She sat for a moment, closing her eyes and counting out ten shaky breaths.

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