Page 107 of Starchaser
Gabriel hoists Will’s unconscious form over his right shoulder with supernatural strength. Eliza places a hand on the cave wall, near the crack in the stone.
“It’s too narrow,” she says. “We won’t fit!”
“Gabriel,” Titus grits out. “Command the stone!”
Eliza whirls on him, her eyes bright. “It’s not that simple! He could cause a collapse—we could be trapped—”
“Just do it!” Titus shouts, his teeth clenched. “Now!”
Gabriel throws me over his left shoulder, albeit more gently than he holds Will. I stare directly at Titus, his jaw clenched as tears streak his face.
“Not—leaving here—without you!” I gasp, my chest spasming with every word. I can’t leave him with Calantha, to be tortured and used. Iwon’t.
“Yes, you are.” Titus nods as if to assure me everything is going to be all right. He reaches for me, but quickly balls his hands into fists at his side. “This won’t last,” he says. “You’re not safe with me.”
The ground trembles as Gabriel stretches out his hands, his red gauntlets vibrating as he forces the gap to widen, allowing Eliza to slip through the crack.
Titus holds my gaze, and it’s as if everything else fades away, until it’s only him and me. “I told you to live, Aster. Not just survive—really live. You can’t do that if you stay here.” He smiles even as tears drip from his nose, his chin. “This is goodbye, love.”
I want to scream at him, but I’m too weak to even cry. “Broke the—compulsion—once,” I manage to say, my throat burning with the effort. “Can break it—again.”
Gabriel grunts, and the stone parts enough for him to enter. The last I see of Titus is his blue eyes, glassy with tears, as Gabriel carries me away, disappearing through the crack.
A fresh jolt of panic courses through me at the sound of soldiers shouting, their boots pounding the stone as they race toward our cellblock.
“Hurry!” Eliza’s footsteps splash as she races down the tunnel.
We’re almost there—I can hear the waves, can taste the salty air.
But we’re not alone.
In the distance, the soldiers’ boots splash in the stream as they chase us down the tunnel.
“Quickly now!” Eliza shouts, clambering into a boat tied to the stone at the mouth of the cave.
Gabriel deposits Will and me into the boat and grabs the oars. He and Eliza row us out to sea, and through the dark spots edging my vision, I see we’re surrounded—that the castle is encircled by the Eerie’s naval fleet, hundreds of ships staggered in formation around the island. We’re hidden now, behind the jagged cliffs, but in a moment, they’ll see us.
Eliza closes her eyes, lifting her hands.
“Keep rowing,” she says. “I’ll manipulate the light. I can’t hold it for long, but it should give us enough time to reach them.”
I’m too weak to question her—too weak to do anything but lie there, next to Will, laboring for breath. The minutes blur. I know the moment we reach the Eerie’s fleet, because Gabriel takes adeep breath, and he and Eliza fall eerily silent. It feels as if we’re caught between the hulls of their ships for an eternity. Distantly, I hear the shouts of the crew members high above. I close my eyes, bracing for the moment when Eliza’s magic fails, and they spot us.
Waiting.
I must faint, because when the jolly boat creaks, and my stomach lurches at the sensation of being lifted out of the water, fresh panic jolts me out of my feverish slumber.
“She’s burning up,” Eliza murmurs, placing the back of her hand on my forehead. “If she dies, the transformation will be complete. If I can—”
Her words slur, and my vision undulates as Gabriel picks me up, passing me to someone aboard the ship.
“It’s her!” someone shouts. “It’s Aster! Quick, Marge—”
I blink up at Charlie, but he’s too busy barking orders to notice my mouth part. I attempt to speak, but I can’t find my voice.
The stars streak across the sky as Charlie carries me from the deck into a room, the warm golden light illuminating his face as he places me on a table. Eliza hovers over me, along with Margaret, the two of them speaking to each other at a dizzying speed.
A red skeletal mask appears in my peripheral vision. It’s all I can do to glance in his direction, and I feel as if I’m dreaming at the sight of him. How can Captain Shade be here, now, when we left Titus behind at Castle Grim?
