Page 97 of The Song of Sunrise
Rosie lifts her chin to regard Nickel. Her red curls are matted with sweat and tears streaming down her face. “I do not know.”
I slip back into the present, and Atlys removes his arms from supporting me. He remains behind me, ready to catch me if I faint again. I feel a flood of emotions as I stand in the same small cabin I was just dreaming about… or was that a vision? What is happening to me?
As if Atlys could hear my thoughts, he says, “I was wondering when you would let your light shine.”
In the reflection, our eyes meet, a clash of silver and gold. “What do you mean, my ‘light’?”
“Akemi,” he whispers, “you’re a Starwatcher.”
33
The Stars See All
Atlys
Akemi spins to face me, tilting her chin upward. All of her previous fury is now replaced with concern. “What?”
“I had a suspicion for a while, but I’ve been waiting for it to finally show.” Fuck, her eyes are stunning, pulling me into her sphere. She is the star to which I gravitate, those golden irises as beautiful as the sunrise. Not quite yellow or orange, like the last sunrise I remember from when I was a child, before the treaty banned Terraguard from the Surface.
She flips her hands, inspecting them as if to find the magic hidden there. “But, there hasn’t been another Starwatcher in fifty years!” Her brows furrow as she sorts through the revelation. “I was tested with the Affinity Stones and I was—”
“—No doubt affiliated with the Sun Stone as a Sun’cher. Did they even test for Starwatchers?” I ask, already knowing the answer. The humans have been covering up the missing Starwatcher for the past fifty years. The Elders are too pridefulto admit that they are just as clueless to the location of their missing comrade as the rest of us.
“Sun burn me!” Akemi paces back and forth across the small kitchen. “They only tested the Moon and Sun stones. Naturally, my reaction to the Moon stone was ill-matched, but even my affinity to the Sun Stone was… underwhelming.” Ceasing her pacing, she sits on the bed. Her eyes are still a brilliant sheen of gold as she watches me, mouth slightly parted.
Even in shock, she is so beautiful. It takes all of my willpower not to follow her to the bed, push her down, and explore those soft lips.
I clear my throat. “You reacted positively to the Sun stone because the sun is a star, and you, my Sunrise, are a Starwatcher. One of the rarest forms of human magic channeling.”
She looks at me, searching for answers. “I just channeled magic,without a channeling stone. How is that even possible?”
“It’s a shame how much those Elder bastards keep secrets from students,” I grumble. “Starwatchers are extremely rare because they are born with magic inside them. Not unlike myself or our Elven tribes to the north.”
“Surely I would have noticed this earlier.” She is almost panicking now, her chest expanding and contracting rapidly, her face turning white.
My hold breaks and I rush over to her, putting a hand on the base of her neck. “Breathe, my Sunrise.”
We sit there for a few moments until the color returns to her face.
“You didn’t notice because it takes time to manifest within,” I explain. “Many times, it’s tragic incidents or high emotions that eventually bring it on. The connection to the Source has been there since birth, but many don’t see their special abilities form until they are adults.”
“But how is it possible that I’m a Starwatcher?”
“That, I’m not exactly sure. It is hereditary, so perhaps someone in your family tree also had these traits.” Trusting that her panic has passed, I remove my hand from her neck, tracing a line on her collar bone, committing it to memory. “There is so much I want to explain, so much I want to tell you. Starwatchers are powerful, but also dangerous, targeted and coveted by many. I do not want to endanger you any more than you already are.”
She pulls up the quilt over her lap. “How can it be any more dangerous than almost dying every damn Summit task?” Anger begins to color her cheeks. “If being a Starwatcher is dangerous, then all the more reason I need to know the scope of what I am!”
My heart skips a beat just recalling her crossing the ropes with Cadex’s and Damaris’s champions. I was unable to breathe properly until she made it across. And as much as I hate to admit it, I would be lost in a torrent of despair and rage if she was the champion that fell instead.
Akemi needs to understand the gravity of the situation, and I’ll be damned if she isn’t as prepared as she can be. Being a Starwatcher means an instant target on her back. My inner magic coils inside at the thought of her in danger. I will be the only one to inflict harm on her. No one or nothing else can have what ismine.
It takes all my self control not to accidentally cause an earthquake. “Yes, there is more danger out there that I would never want to expose you to… Akemi, you cannot tellanyoneyou are a Starwatcher. Especially not the Lord Rollo of Jord.”
“Why?” she asks quietly.
“Do you trust me?”
I can feel her storm of emotions, but I do not press into her inner walls of her mind.
