Page 70 of Starchaser
Again, I take a deep breath and push my emotions aside, burying my grief, my rage, deep down. I will not be shaken. Icannotbe shaken.
Leo, however, appears overcome with emotion, tears spilling onto her cheeks. I’m not sure what I find more shocking—the fact that the rumors are true or Leo’s reaction to seeing the king’s atrocities with her own eyes.
“It’s worse than I thought,” Leo says, taking my hands. “Please, you have to find a way to make him stop this. Break the compulsion, by whatever means necessary.”
“But these are the king’s facilities,” I say. “Surely, if Titus knew what was going on—”
“He knows what’s going on,” she insists, her voice hoarse. “Why do you think they call him the Reaper?”
I think about how Will described the ritual, that Titus would need to feed on human blood. These facilities would give him exactly that—with access to enoughManan, he would have the strength needed to force Morana into her corporeal form. But I can’t exactly tell Leo about our plans, and even if I did, I’m not sure she would believe me. Still, I shake my head, but before I can tell Leo that Titus has been forced to act as the Reaper, she interrupts.
“My parents think the king has made a deal with the Guild of Shadows,” she says. “They think he’s allowed Titus to be compelled by Morana herself so that when we’re married, and we’re given access to each other’s magic, Titus will be able to bring downthe wards that surround Hellion’s fortresses. Their soldiers outnumber ours ten to one, and they feed on human blood, making them stronger, deadlier. Hellion would fall to the Eerie. It won’t even be a fair fight.”
My heart drops into my stomach. Leo believes Titus is compelled, not just by any Underling, but by Morana herself. Which means the Order is right—Moranaishere. And worse, she’s possessed someone close to Titus, someone who would have access to him to compel him. But why would Morana need Titus to overthrow Hellion? “I don’t understand—”
“The mines, Aster,” Leo hurries to add. “The Elysian Iron. If the Guild of Shadows destroy the mines in Hellion, there’ll be no weapons to hold the front. The Underlings will take control—not just of the Eerie, but the entire Known World. My parents believe King Calix has secured a place for himself in Morana’s new empire. And he’s using Titus—he’s using this marriage—to bring it to pass.”
My head spins. “And the facilities,” I say, starting to make sense of it all. “TheMananfrom human blood. It’s all part of Morana’s new empire. A way to keep the Nightweavers and the humans in check.”
Livestock, I think. We’ll be nothing more than livestock in Morana’s empire of nightmares.
“That’s why I’m here.” Bile burns my throat, and I swallow hard. “To help keep the humans in check.”
She nods, offering what feels like an apologetic squeeze as she takes my hands in hers. “I can’t be certain,” she says, “but I’m willing to bet the Crown plans to make an example of you. To show Nightweavers that no matter what, humans can’t be trusted. That your kind belong in the facilities he’s building.”
“They’re going to frame me for something terrible.” Once I’ve said it out loud, I realize now that is the only way this was ever going to end. Everyone I love is in danger, and there’s nothing I can do to save them. Nothing, except… “What now? Tell me. Whatever it is you need me to do, I’ll do it.”
It seems as if she might break down, her chin wobbling even as she lifts it in defiance. “You have to break the compulsion on Titus before we say our vows on Holy Winter’s Day and he kills me.”
“Or what?” I ask, although I fear I already know the answer.
It’s as if she attempts to blink away her tears, but they streak her face, nonetheless. “Or I have to kill him first.”
I rest my elbows onthe stone railing, the gentle breeze carrying with it the scent of heady spices, vanilla, and sea brine from the sparkling city across the water. The golden glow of Jade spans almost as far as the ocean beyond Castle Grim, pulsing and flowing with an intoxicating energy akin to the Western Sea, speaking in its own voice—not as familiar to me as the soothing lullaby of the waves, but familiar still, as if I knew it well, once, in a long-forgotten dream.
In the privacy of my chambers, I tilt my head back, my eyes closed, savoring the soft kiss of the wind on my face as it casts my unbound hair behind me. During my time at Bludgrave, I used to dream of being near my beloved ocean once more. But now that I’m here, it’s a different kind of torture to be surrounded by the sea on all sides and yet unable to set sail, to go where the current takes me.…
“Beautiful.”
I fight the urge to turn around at the sound of Titus’s voice. Shivers skitter down my spine at the memory of the nightmare in which he sank his teeth into my neck on this very balcony, and as if on instinct, I slip my hand into my pocket, closing my fist around the hilt of my dagger.
Beautiful.Surely, he meant the view.
“You’re late,” I say, attempting to sound cold and detached—praying to the Stars he can’t detect the subtle hint of disappointment in my voice. Truthfully, when he told me last night that he would teach me to control my bloodletter affinity, we never decided on a time to meet, but I can’t seem to think of anything better to say. Especially not after what Leo said this afternoon—after she shared her suspicions that Titus could be compelled, working for Morana against his will.
“I apologize,” he says quietly. “I was”—he hesitates—“detained.”
My mouth goes dry at the image of Titus patrolling the dungeons, overseeing the capture and torture of humans and Myths, his hands stained red with innocent blood.
“Aster?”
I flinch at his touch as his fingertips graze my shoulder, and I meet his gaze at the exact moment he jerks his hand away as if he were stung, his mouth twisted in a frown.
Shame and regret form a knot in my gut. Titus can’t be compelled. Leo must be mistaken, just as Titus was wrong about Morana having possessed Leo.
I find myself wanting to reach for him, wanting to touch his skin, to see if it might be possible tofeelthe magic pulsing in his veins, magic that would force him to act against his will—
He clears his throat, his princely mask settling into place oncemore. He looks past me, at the dark, frothing waters of the Western Sea. “Follow me,” he says, turning his back to the balcony.
