Page 63 of The Stars are Dying

“You’re all right,” he soothed, smoothing down my nape with his palm while I cried.

This gift of familiarity and safety I clung to tight, right when I needed it the most.

“How did you find me?” I sniffed, wiping my nose with my sleeve when we parted.

Zathrian looked over me with a solemn face, and I didn’t try to be brave knowing he would see right through it. “Everything went to shit after you left. I couldn’t risk staying there when I was seen helping you by some of Hektor’s men. But I stayed behind for a while, stopping as many as I could from coming after you, until a week went by with nothing new. I came as soon as I could, but I didn’t expect…” Zathrian trailed off.

My brow pinched to fight the sting of grief in my eyes. “It’s just me,” I said.

“Then what are you doing here?” He scanned me from head to toe, my plan all but communicated by my altered attributes, and the firm lines of his skin smoothed out to dread.

I didn’t think telling Zathrian my plan would go well, but he listened to everything I tried to explain, each step from the moment I left the manor. I rushed it all out despite his look of concern and horror, glancing toward the city when I spoke of my plan that seemed so much more ludicrous spoken aloud.

“Astraea, you are no fighter,” Zathrian said lightly. As though I were naïve enough to believe I was.

Somehow, it stung to hear aloud what I felt within, but I didn’t let it show.

“There’s more to these trials than fighting,” I said. “I’m the only chance we have. If I don’t try, Alisus has no hope in this Libertatem.”

His expression was conflicted, like he wanted to take me far away in the opposite direction, but we both knew I was right. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes,” I said honestly. I had nothing to lose, and being here in Cassia’s memory, knowing how much it had meant to her, made my choice easy.

“Well, of course I’m coming with you.”

I smiled, so relieved not to be facing this daunting hurdle alone that I nodded gratefully. I perked up, swiping up a bow and extending it out to him. “I have a plan, and I need you to do something for me.”

* * *

“STOP!”

My fear beat to the pounding of the horse’s hooves. We didn’t slow at the barked command. Instead Zathrian leaned into my back tighter, and I didn’t think it was possible for the horse to charge faster, but my eyes watered with its speed.

“Are you sure this was a good idea?” he said, mouth close to my ear.

“Not at all.”

His chuckles were swallowed by the commotion we erupted as we headed straight toward the guards posted at the gates.

My idea to make my story as believable as I could was simple, if brazen. My hope in our rushed state was that it would gain me some sympathy, or at least cause enough of a distraction to demand some formality where I was sure to flounder. My eyes scrunched and I wanted to hide in cowardice when, for a split second, I thought we’d have to trample the guards. They dove out of the way just in time, making my skin slick with the racing of my pulse.

The castle expanded before me, so wide and triumphantly tall I tried not to balk at it. Zath tugged the reins hard as we reached the end of the courtyard and some of the longest steps I’d ever seen appeared. Many huge colonnades supported the portico, and the tall ornate doors made me feel so small.

They weren’t the most distinguishing feature. The castle was crafted of black stone and glass—not to make it sinister and frightening; it was breathtaking when the moonlight reflected off it, as if the structure were made of the midnight sky.

“Dismount at once!”

My attention snapped down to the line of guards all angling lethal spears at us, and my throat burned as the exertion caught up to me in punishment. Zathrian didn’t hesitate, slipping away from behind me. My chest heaved, and while dizziness swept in, I forced my leg around the horse, knowing they wouldn’t have a shred of patience.

Zathrian helped me down, and both of us held our hands up to show we were unarmed as five guards swiftly closed in. I took a few deep breaths to remember everything I’d rehearsed, forcing words through my constricted throat.

“I am one of the Selected,” I panted.

Zathrian added, “The rest of our party was ambushed days ago. It is only the two of us.”

They continued to assess me, and I could do nothing but stand bare to their judgment. One nodded to another then gave no words, only jerked his chin at me, before he twisted. It was an invitation to follow.

Zathrian’s hand on my back was the only thing that forced me to defy the roots I’d planted to keep me still. I was so damn grateful he was here.

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