Page 180 of A Dagger of Ice and Intrigue
“I’m not the only one,” I said, too defensive, as if I did something wrong. Old habits died very hard; in my past life, I was expected to be perfect, not human. “A girl saw it tonight, too.”
“Younglings are always more perceptive. She will lose that ability in a few years.” He turned back to the fallen star, purple and blue light dancing on his gorgeous face. “You are no youngling.”
Still felt like one most days, though. “Then how?”
“That is a riddle we need to solve.” He rolled his shoulders back, gaining more height out of thin air. “But we have a more pressing problem.”
We.
It sounded good. Too good.
“What?” I asked, almost fearing the answer.
His eyes sparked purple, fighting with the shadows quickly crowding his gaze. For a moment, he didn’t move, too caught up in whatever internal battle was making him shake with fury.
“The heart of Solkar’s Reach is bleeding,” he said, low like an incantation. “And if we don’t figure out how and stop it, we’re all in danger.”
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
ALLIE
What was impossible was falling asleep.
I tossed and turned underneath the duvet Mrs. Thornbrew had once again folded in my absence, but no sleep fluttered behind my eyelids. Not even the hot bath after we returned to the fortress had done anything to mollify the icy feeling that had wormed its way in my veins.
A fallen star.
Amagicalfallen star that protected the crater and was apparentlybleedingand putting all of us in danger.
Yet, none of this harsh, cold information stomped against my brain as much as that deep sadness I felt in the star’s wail.
Was it hurting? Did it feel pain?
My eyes flew open.
That was ridiculous.
It was a piece of magical rock, it didn’t have feelings and it definitely didn’t need my sympathy.
I kept tossing in my bed, trying to force myself to ignore the little sounds of Ryker going about his business in the room pressed against mine.
Just like he had been–among his family’s graves, no less.
If my mind hadn’t been so frantic right now, I might have felt ashamed. Maybe even blushed.
But my mind whirled.
I knew what this was–searching for missing pieces, the neverending quest of my life.
Kissing Ryker had momentarily quieted that part of me, but now the questions were back with a vengeance.
Something didn’t add up, but I didn’t know what.
I didn’t have enough knowledge about Solkar’s Rays and Song to know what I didn’t know. Me seeing and hearing them was some cosmic anomaly I couldn’t account for.
But that’s not what my thoughts were trying to focus on.
