Page 16 of The Stars are Dying

Cassia nodded. “The great King of the Gods isn’t so powerful anymore,” she drawled with brazen mockery.

I glanced around, a dark stroke of foreboding coiling my spine as if I would find him watching. “How does he gain such a name?”

“For his conquer of the faelestial war. They say he united the fae and vampires to fight the unfair hierarchy and dominance of the celestials. Haven’t you heard this before?”

I hadn’t, and until Cassia’s fate had become tied to the Central Kingdom, my sheltered existence in the manor had left me clueless and naïve.

“Do you want to know what I think could beat the King of the Gods?” Her deep blue eyes sparkled.

My brow curved in question.

“The Queen of the Kings.”

I smiled at her childish enthusiasm as if it were a fairy tale, but our world was far from that. “Whatever book you’ve been reading, I want to borrow it.”

“I came up with that on my own! Maybe I should write one.” She nudged my side as she stood, retrieving her bow and extending it to me. “It came to me in a dream, actually.”

“After a night of drinking?”

Her mouth curved a wicked grin. “Maybe. Since I’m about to leave this place, I had to give my father a few lasting antics to remember me by.”

She sang the words as though her life that was about to change didn’t hurt her, but I saw the truth. The faint wince around her eyes, and how her brow would lift for just a second to prevent the threatening fall of sorrow.

“What if he makes you one of them—a nightcrawler?” I said, suddenly overcome with the dread that had trickled through me when I’d first heard of the victor’s personal prize alongside the safety that would be granted to their kingdom. “The immortality—”

Cassia shook her head. “His four Golden Guards have been seen plenty in daylight.”

“Four?”

“Three Libertatem winners, and I suppose the first was a test.”

“That’s not reassuring.”

“It’s the only chance I have.”

My mouth opened to speak to her nerves, but she studied me from head to toe with new assessment.

“You look unwell.”

“Not enough to stop me from coming. I’m fine,” I insisted, reaching for an arrow before she could fuss.

I preferred to throw small daggers, but archery was a close second pastime of mine thanks to Cassia. She was masterful with the weapon. She accepted a new bow from Calix when he returned, and I fixed an arrow in place while she leaned in close to ask him for something else.

“We’ll be leaving in three days,” Cassia chirped, coming up beside me and raising her aim. I admired her perfect form and laser focus before she let her shot fly with the release of a breath. It hit dead center of the furthest target. “I thought your overprotective husband was against it.”

I shot her a dead look before letting my own arrow soar. While not as perfect as Cassia’s aim, it hit close to hers. “Hektor isnotmy husband.”

“Does he know that?”

I rolled my eyes, swiping another arrow. “I’ll deal with him.”

Evading Hektor wasn’t something I’d factored into my reckless decision to leave with Cassia for the Central. I’d thought of it many times, and most plans I’d calculated required the stars to align and grant me the timing to slip out for long enough that I’d be too far along the road for him to track us by the time he realized.

My doubt surfaced all at once. The danger I’d be placing Cassia in inspired more fear than anything that could come for me. If Hektor found me before we reached the Central…

“What do you need?” Cassia’s gloved hand went over mine.

Pulling my gaze up from the arrow, I pointed to the icy grass, lost in thought. I took a deep breath. I couldn’t lose my nerve now. “The exact timing that you’ll be past the city gates. I’ll have to meet you out there.”

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