Page 72 of Claim the Twilight
“And that’s how I lost my own.”
“It was a sacrifice you made, yes. I was witness to the process.”
Witness? How long ago had Moringa lived? When had she died? “How old are you?”
“Too old.” Her smile is weary. “But you’re here now. I can show you what you need to do, and I can take you to the place where it must be done, and if you want, I can tell youwhyyou did what you did.”
The air thins a little, and Harald steps forward. “She doesn’t need to?—”
“Enough!” the woman snaps at him. “You will let me speak, and you will allow her the truth of her past.”
Harald emits a low, ominous growl that chills me to the bone. What is he? What have I made a deal with?
The woman smiles at me, but this time it’s filled with warmth. “He cannot hurt you,” she says. “You need not worry.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Aster, and I was once Moringa’s sister.”
Chapter 29
INTERLUDE WITH A MEMORY
The stars are dying. The trees withering. There is silence in the grove. “Tor…Tor, where are you?”
He appears, a ghostly figure standing beneath our tree. “I’m here.”
“I’m scared. Tor, I’m so scared.” I cross to him, reaching for him, through him. His form wavers like mist before taking form once more. “No…” Tears blur my vision. “Please don’t leave me here.”
“I’ll be back, I swear it. I’ll come for you. Just hold on. Keep the grove alive and I’ll find you once it’s quieter. Once she’s no longer looking.”
Tor has never lied to me. Not once, but still, I need his word. “You promise?”
“I swear it.”
“But how? How will you get in?—”
“I’ll find a way. Whatever it takes.” he reaches for me, his touch like a gentle breeze on my cheek. “Just hold on.”
He fades away, and the stars begin to wink out. I close my eyes and center myself, and when I tip my head to the sky, they blaze down on me, echoing my determination.
Tor will come.
He’ll find me.
But the stars died one by one.
Tor never returned.
Chapter 30
ORINA
Having tried to reach Ezekiel in our vista several times and failing, I settled for the view from my bedroom balcony. The sky looked as if it was awash with blood, a portent of what would come if we failed to stop a misguided god.
A shadow fell over me, a gust of wind lifted my hair, and Kaster landed on the balcony beside me.
“The sun doesn’t harm you,” he said.
