Page 20 of Starchaser
Thousands of teeth, ready to shred me to pieces.
That’s when I hear it: laughter. High-pitched, guttural, grating, monstrous—it’s all around me. Loud. Too loud. And then I realize…
I’m the one laughing.
Far away, someone screams. It’s a broken, heartrending scream that sets my nerves on fire.
“Aster.”A soft voice reaches me in the void.“I’m here. I’m not leaving you. Not again.”And then, quieter, “Never again.”
I wake up sobbing.
Strong arms wrap around me, but before they can pull meclose, I wrench myself free. I scramble away, blinking furiously to adjust to the darkness.
Nothing. Nothing. Nothing—
My heart leaps into my throat as I start to fall, but just as I topple over the edge of the bed, a hand seizes my ankle, tugging me back onto the mattress. I come face-to-face with Titus, his silhouette outlined by the faint silver moonlight.
In the dark, it feels as if, just for a moment, we could be underwater once more. I half-expect some force to push us apart as he wraps his arm around me, his touch hesitant, as if it takes every ounce of self-control to restrain himself from pulling me closer.
“Where’s Will?” My words come out on a whimper.
Titus’s forearm tenses, and he withdraws fully, moving to sit on the edge of the bed, his back to me. “He was just here,” he says, his voice still rough from sleep. “He’s gone to make arrangements for your departure. We don’t want another repeat of last night.”
I glance at the door, thinking about Will standing out there all night in the hall, keeping watch over me. But a quiet voice at the back of my mind whispers,Why wasn’t he here when I needed him?Though I forgave him for leaving me at Bludgrave Manor those three months he went away to war, a part of me still can’t help but feel as if it’s always when I need him the most he’s never here. He said no more secrets between us, but it’s hard to build trust with someone I hardly ever see.
It’s as if the moment I think this, Titus turns, his face radiant in the moonlight. “I could go and find him for you, if you’d like.”
I shake my head. “No, that’s quite all right; it was just a bad—” I start, attempting to stand, when my foot gets tangled up in the sheet and—
Titus seizes my wrist, pulling me to my feet. We stand there,locked in an awkward embrace, and it appears as though he can’t bring himself to let me go. “You should watch where you step, love. I might not always be around to catch you.”
My heart thumps once. Twice.
“Hello?” Margaret’s voice sounds from the other side of the door. She knocks again. “Anyone in there?”
Titus exhales a long, low sigh. “I’m beginning to think I don’t much like your sister, either.”
I start to pull away, and he steps back, shaking his head slightly as he releases me from his grip, almost as if he didn’t realize how tightly he held me. Before I reach the door, I turn to find him sitting on the edge of the bed, watching me, his expression neutral but his eyes tumultuous.
“You…” I gulp. “You’re sure no one will find out I slept in your chambers? If anyone knew—they’ll think that I—”
“If anyone has anything to say about you,” he interrupts me, standing to his full height, giving me a glimpse of the wicked villain of legend as he cocks his head, “I’ll make them wish they never uttered your name.”
My mouth goes dry.
“Iwillpick this lock,” Margaret says, louder now. “Prince or not, if you don’t let me see my sister—”
Titus opens the door before I get the chance.
Margaret flinches when she sees him, but then she doubles down, her fists clenched at her sides.
“She doesn’t belong to you,Your Highness,” Margaret snarls, and I suppress a smile. Oh, how I’ve missed the fierce pirate I know my sister to be. “If you’ve hurt her in any way—”
“Your sister can take care of herself,” Titus says dryly, hisexpression apathetic. He looks past her, to the two Bloodknights behind her in the cramped hallway. “Are you going to let thishumanspeak to your future king like that?”
My blood chills at the malice dripping from his words. He can’t be serious. He wouldn’t put Margaret in danger.
Would he?
