Page 61 of The Stars are Dying

That didn’t seem adequate reason. I brushed off his obscure suggestion. Nowhere else could be an option anyway.

“I have to do this.”

He said nothing, and I knew this leisurely pace couldn’t last. I had to ride fast from here on out. I needed to make it to the Central on time, or it would all be a wasted journey of a fool’s hope.

“HEY! STOP!”

I gasped at the man’s call behind us.

Nyte’s arm encircled me fully, and he pressed his body into me before he said, “Hold on tight.”

19

Irode fast and far, leaving everything I knew with no time to mourn in my focus. As I drew closer to the Central, only the daunting fate I was about to walk into consumed my every thought.

Nyte stayed with me even when I couldn’t see him. I spent a lot of my time resting fast, eating only what I needed, and galloping quickly in the direction he’d sent me, having no other choice without a map. He lingered mostly in my mind, but that was often favored when I couldn’t allow the distraction of his physical presence to slow me down.

I had so many questions about him. How he often felt like a ghost in my wake but was also so promising. I wished Cassia could have seen him, if only a glance, to settle my mind.

It didn’t matter right now. Nothing did. I slowed the horse on the crest of a hill and my breath shuddered out of me.

The Central Kingdom of Vesitire was so much more than my mind had speculated. In the brilliant night it glittered mesmerizingly against the full moon’s rays, reflecting so much glass it could be mistaken for an ocean at first glance.

At least, the top two tiers could.

The city was built like nothing I had seen before. Three circular levels high, and even from here I could see the biggest building I’d ever witnessed: the castle dominating the top level. From this side, water fell from several points on the bottom level, spilling into the wide river circling around the city and breaking off into several rivers that weaved through the surrounding villages. A triumphant arched bridge would be my way across.

“There’s a whole world before you, Starlight.”

Nyte took a physical form this time, standing beside the horse as if he were reacting to the frightening beat of my heart, knowing I needed grounding in that second so I wouldn’t choose to flee.

“Look beyond it,” he said.

My eyes flicked up, past the huge city and beyond to the duller surrounding towns. A white line made up the horizon. The more I stared I felt a pull, my eyes drawn toward it like a magnet, magnifying it as I did when I gave my immersive sight to the stars. It moved so subtly I could see, almostfeel,its life force.

“The veil…” My voice trailed off with wonder. I’d always imagined it to be black and sinister. But it made sense that something that repelled nightmares would be made of light.

“You should abandon this plan and head there.”

“I would be abandoning an entire kingdom.”

“You would be safe.”

My attention passed to him with a frown, but he did not meet my eye. “How can you be sure?”

Nyte’s jaw worked. “Do you trust me?”

“I’m barely convinced of your existence at all.”

He didn’t match my humor. Instead his golden gaze caught me, and I couldn’t read into why his eyes became so guarded.

“I’m already late,” I said quietly, more to myself to spur on my urgency. The other Selected would have arrived early this morning, and I only prayed the king would be lenient to whatever excuse I was yet to conjure for my tardiness.

“I’m right here with you.”

I nodded, staring vacantly straight ahead toward the misty white veil, unable to deny I felt a longing for what could be discovered if I chose selfishness. Then I cast my sights up, hoping the stars would offer serenity as they always did. I studied them out of habit, my frown flexing.

Stargazing had always been a soothing comfort to me. Sometimes Cassia and I would spend hours mapping our own constellations, and I wondered if she saw them as in-depth as I did. At first glance, the sky was a blanket of tiny crystals, but there were layers I could measure the distance between, and the sizes, they blinked.

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