Page 62 of The Stars are Dying

My chest warmed. A slow pulse that beat three times as I stared up.

It seemed a childish notion now, to believe we would eventually become stars and all I had to do was look up to find Cassia. My eyes burned, but tears didn’t gather.

“What do you see?” Nyte asked.

“What do you know of the nights growing longer…darker?”

“It’s what happens when two stars collide,” he said. “Something that should be beautiful becomes an utterly destructive, devastating force.”

When our eyes connected I couldn’t untangle the knot in my stomach. The sorrow we shared, yet I didn’t know why. I had the building urge to ask more—what it meant—though my heart was braced for a tragic tale.

I didn’t get the chance when his expression blanked to stern indifference—a contrast I had to blink against as though it would return it to the momentary vulnerability he’d displayed.

“The Central awaits,” he drawled.

My brow furrowed as I contemplated for a second. I let go of the reins, dismounting not entirely with grace as I was still growing accustomed to the beast. I unhooked the bow from my back as I trailed back through the woodland I’d emerged from.

“Cold feet?”

I didn’t deign to respond to Nyte’s sarcasm. Retrieving an arrow, I felt completely foolish, not having the first clue about how to hunt. I could hit stationary targets, but I’d never tested the skill this way.

“You just ate,” he went on.

“I’m not hungry,” I hissed. “Now, would you be quiet?”

Something leaped past the trees in the distance, and I crouched, nocking the arrow, but my aim wouldn’t stop shaking, and it took considerable strength to hold my poise even for a few long seconds. As the rabbit bounded out of view I relaxed with a huff.

“A person might be a better bet,” Nyte said, and my head snapped to him at the casual suggestion. “Larger target, slow or stationary if you pick your moment right…”

“I’m not killing someone for this!”

“If you stay here, you’re bound to attract a nightcrawler,” he went on anyway. “Aim for the wings. They tend to show off with them, and they make ample targets.”

My breath hitched. I backed out of the trees slowly with fresh awareness of the creature I didn’t want to encounter. I ran a hand through my hair, and when I looked at my palm I did a double-take, not used to finding the stark new contrast of black silk tresses. It had taken every coin Lilith gave me to purchase enough Starlight Matter to achieve the desired effect. The silver elixir also concealed my scent and changed my eyes to a deeper blue until I stopped taking it.

The tightening in my gut wouldn’t ease. I’d stolen the attributes to impersonate Cassia. Just as a precaution.

“Darkness does suit you in clothing, but I’ll admit, I long to hide your elixirs for a glimpse of your silver hair again.”

“The disguise was your idea,” I grumbled. “Though I don’t think Hektor’s men are going to catch word about me here. Even if they did, I’m practically saving them the hassle of having to kill me.”

“You’re not going to die.”

I eyed him carefully, wanting to feel the same confidence with which he spoke those words, and took a deep breath, needing to calm the racing of my heart and embody the lethal combatant they would expect. “You’re certain the king never visited the Keeps to meet the Selected?”

“No, he has not,” Nyte confirmed. “Feel free to ask again if three times isn’t enough.”

As I turned from the woods to cast him a glower, a crack startled me, and I whirled. I fixed the arrow back into place—a deterrent, I hoped, even if I didn’t have the confidence to strike accurately with it. My eyes scanned the depthless dark furiously. I heard footsteps but could hardly tell the direction in which they were headed as I took my own backward steps to emerge on the hill again. My heartbeat distorted my tracks, thumping in my ears, but my sight caught the figure. I held my breath, about to pull back the string and take aim—until the first rays of moonlight revealed a face that almost pushed the weapon from my hands.

“Zathrian?”

The rush of overwhelming relief escaped as a whimper from my lips. I let go of the bow and ran to him without hesitation, not caring how he was here, why, or for the possibility he could be a trick.

He wasn’t immediately receptive to me, as if confusion stunned him. “Astraea?”

It took a moment to realize I didn’t look entirely like myself. My eyes swelled with tears, and I nodded. Zath needed nothing more. He made the last few strides until his strong arms were wrapped around me tight. Then I came apart.

“Oh, Zath, so much happened. I can’t— Cassia, she…” I couldn’t form the sentences to explain everything at once.

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