Page 106 of Starchaser
He laughs, the sound cruel and cold. He purses his lips in a mock pout. “Poor, innocent Eliza. Though, I suppose you can’t shoulder all the blame.He”—Titus points his dagger at Will—“couldn’t fathom that his best mate might actually be right. We are best mates, aren’t we, William?” His head swings in Will’s direction, his eyes narrowed. “Do you want to tell her what I told you all those years ago? How I confided in mybest mateabout the girl I couldn’t stop thinking about?” He grits his teeth, his jaw tight. “How, after the night I finally saw her again, after I rescued her from theDeathwail—after I held her in my arms, after I had to let her go—that if our paths ever crossed again, I could only pray she might see past the monster I’ve been forced to become?”
His words are like a wave, crashing over me, condemning me to the depths. If what he’s saying is true… Will knew Titus cared for me long before the day he took me from theLightbringer, and Will still chose to…romanceme during the weeks we grew close at Bludgrave Manor. Will kissed me, knowing Titus spent years waiting—hoping for the chance to see me again.
Will hisses, his eyes glowing bright red as he strains against the iron band around his throat—Elysian Iron, I realize, noting the way the dark metal appears to undulate with iridescent shades of blue,purple, and green. Even in this state, does he understand what Titus has said? If he could speak… would he defend himself?? Could he?
And still, Titus is compelled—he could be lying.
Hemustbe lying.
Titus sighs, running a hand through his hair. “But that’s all in the past, hmm?” Titus twirls his dagger. “This could have been painless, Aster. But you just don’t know when to stop fighting.”
He turns toward me, fixated on my throat—on the scar that stretches from ear to ear. “We’re to set sail for the Burning Lands, and on to Morana’s lair in Havok—I’m sorry, William, I’m afraid it looks as if you won’t be joining us—but first, Queen Morana asked that I carve that fight from you by whatever means necessary.”
Slowly, almost reluctantly, Titus meets my gaze for the first time since he entered the dungeons.
Something flashes in his eyes—recognition, horror, desperation. His dagger clatters to the stone floor. His lips part, his hands fisted at his sides. But his mask slips back into place, all easy charm and sinister humor, and he smirks.
“So, tell me, Aster,” he croons, his hand coming up to clutch my jaw. He whispers, his hot breath caressing the shell of my ear, “how much suffering will you endure?”
“Rot in Havok,” I spit, wheezing at the stitch of pain that cleaves my abdomen in two.
He chuckles, the sound deep and rich. “This is going to be fun,” he murmurs, his lips brushing the exposed column of my throat. “Maybe I’ll even take you up on your offer.” His tongue caresses the sensitive skin where my pulse jumps, frantic. “Just a taste, perhaps? I promise I’ll try to be gentle.” He strokes my cheek, smearing my tears under the calloused pad of his thumb. “You—”
His shoulders tense.
He draws back, a crease forming between his brows as he stares at the path of his thumb. Again, that flash of raw emotion, like lightning illuminating the night sky. Somehow, I’m getting through to him. His throat bobs, and he meets my gaze once more, searching my eyes. Softly, almost as if he were caught in a daze, he whispers, “Don’t cry, love.”
“Titus?” His name escapes me on a breath, my voice cracking.
He jerks his hand away as if my skin burned him, his mouth twisting into a scowl. “Enough!” Gilded light rims the blue of his eyes as he picks up the dagger once more. He fishes the band of braided leather from his pocket, tosses my bracelet at my feet. “There’s nothing stopping me from breaking the enchantment once and for all. And once the venom reaches your heart, you’ll come with me to Morana’s throne willingly, and I will have accomplished what your brother first failed to do that night on Reckoning Day. You’ll have no other choice.”
He moves at an unnatural speed, the tip of the dagger poised over my chest. He presses it deeper, his angle precise, the cursed energy searing my flesh. I’m deaf to my own screams, my jaw gaping as bile burns my throat.
Agony consumes me.
Ifeelthe enchantment fracture. Feel the magic dispersed, like shards of glass scattered in the air around me. Feel the Shifter’s venom pump through my veins. Feel my heart stutter—stop—start again.
Feel him twist the knife.
Memories flood my mind—memories of Titus, hanging from the same chains now used to bind me. Images of his bloody, brokenbody in a heap on the floor. The way he looked at me just last night, as we lay beside each other, listening to the waves lapping at the mouth of the cave, his hand in mine.
I have only one breath—only enough air in my lungs to speak just once—and even though it nearly kills me, I force myself to meet his gaze, my dry, cracked lips splitting open when I choke on the words, “I trust you, Titus.”
It’s as if an invisible string pulls taut—a thread I didn’t know connected us, but that feels like it’s been here all along, woven into the very fiber of my skin. Titus’s heartbeat fills the air like music, as familiar as the voice of the sea. Titus gasps, his eyes darting from the blade to my face to the Bloodknight holding Will captive on the floor.
“Aster?”
I don’t have time to think about how broken he sounds—how terrified he appears as he scrambles back, shaking his head, a wild look in his eyes.
Everything happens so fast. The Bloodknight knocks Will unconscious with a swift yet powerful fist to the back of his head. Then the Bloodknight unlocks the collar around his neck and turns to face Titus, the collar dangling from his gauntlet.
“Do it,” Titus says. “Now, Gabriel!”
Gabriel?
The Bloodknight—Gabriel—doesn’t hesitate, locking the iron band around Titus’s throat. Quickly, Gabriel opens Eliza’s cell, helping his sister to her feet, before returning to me. He holds me up as he unlocks the chains that bind my wrists, and when the second fetter opens, he catches me in his arms. I don’t question Gabriel and Eliza’s allegiance, especially now that I know I waswrong about Morana possessing Eliza. Hazily, I wonder if I was wrong about Flynn, too—if somehow he was framed as well. But in this moment, all I focus on is a way out of the dungeons.
“The tunnel,” I groan. I will my arm to move, but it hangs limp and lifeless at my side. “The—water. Follow—”
