Page 111 of All the Chaos of Constellations
Solarius turned, demanding an explanation. “What’s he talking about?”
Ariesian remained silent, pulling a folded piece of parchment from the inside of his coat. He handed it to Solarius without a word.
He scanned the contents and Drake watched as Solarius’s face went from ashen with shock to scarlet with fury. “This is signed in blood.”
“Indeed.” Drake flicked his wrists, adjusting the cuffs of his sleeves. “As you can see, the contract never bound me to Novalise in particular, but to any of the Starstorm daughters.”
“What the fuck, Ariesian?” Solarius shoved the document at his brother, then raked a hand through his hair. “How could you do this?”
Still, Ariesian’s gaze never wavered. It tracked everything and everyone, most notably his sisters—Sarelle, Caelian, and Creslyn. “I did what is best for House Celestine.”
“By selling away the life of one of our sisters?” Solarius was incensed, a simmering volcano ready to erupt, like the ones in the Wastelands.
Drake was only slightly upset he wouldn’t be around to witness it when the Starstorm lord finally boiled over. “Fear not, Solarius. There’s no need to be jealous. I hear your dear eldest brother has already secured you a wife as well.”
Solarius’s jaw dropped, but Drake had no more time to waste. Already Queen Elowyn was moving closer to the forest’s edge, preparing to close the Veil for good.
“Now,” Drake demanded, “Hand over one of your sisters so I can be on my way.”
Solarius stormed toward him. “You can’t mean to take hernow? The Veil is closing, and we’ll never see her again. She deserves a proper wedding, with her family in attendance, and there is no way I’ll allow you to?—”
“Enough. A deal is a deal.” Ariesian stepped in his brother’s path, effectively blocking Solarius from Drake. “Take Creslyn.”
Drake almost choked.
Solarius roared.
“Creslyn,” Drake repeated, and his gut seized.
“The contract stated I would choose.” Ariesian lifted his chin, daring him to counter. “I think you’ll find her a suitablematch.”
Drake’s hands coiled into fists by his side. For the first time in a long time, he’d been bested.
“Fine,” he ground out, acknowledging the Lord of House Celestine with the slightest incline of his head.
Ariesian bowed in return.
Darkness unfurled.
“Ariesian! No!” Solarius shouted, but Drake was already on the prowl, hunting down his future bride.
He moved through the crowd as nothing more than a flicker of doubt, an obscure glimmer of shade, hardly noticeable to anyone. Until she was standing right in front of him. He reached out, intent on grabbing her, when she spun around to face him, as though suddenly aware she was being watched.
“Do you mind? I’m trying to…” Creslyn Starstorm’s eyes widened, orbs of sapphire deep enough to drown him.
Without a word, Drake stole her into the shadows.
She didn’t scream or cry, she didn’t flail or try to escape. Beneath the guise of his shadows, she simply let him carry her through the forest. He dodged a gathering of witches collecting fallen branches and stones, avoided the smaller group of vampires who looked as though they’d like to go sleep for a hundred years, and the mortals, goddess save them, who stumbled around in a drunkenly foolish stupor. Only when Svartos came into view did Creslyn’s body tense in his arms.
Drake didn’t allow her time to question or protest.
He leapt up, seated himself on Svartos’s back, hauling Creslyn into his lap. The weight of her gaze fell to his hands, no doubt questioning the scars that riddled his flesh. Once she was secure, he pulled his leather riding gloves from his back pocket and tugged them on, securing the bands on his wrists. He waited a beat, and then another. Waited for her to fight him, to demand he return her to her family. But again, she remained still. Yielding. Resigned.
Damn her.
“Vaeja,” he muttered, and Svartos took to the skies as the world shimmered, and the Veil fell.
The dragon soared under the guise of nightfall, sifting through the clouds, moonlight glinting off his sleek black scales like broken diamonds. The flight to Brackroth would take some time, hours maybe with no interruptions, but with any luck, they would arrive just after dawn.
