Page 33 of Starchaser
I slide a dagger into either pocket, where Bellaflor revealedsheaths were sewn into the fabric of the skirt, allowing me to hide not only the compass Mother entrusted to me but my weapons as well, giving me easy access if the need arises.
“Won’t I see you again?” I ask.
Bellaflor shakes her head, her smile somber. “Titus has arranged for your sister to attend to you while you’re at the palace.” She adds, a spark in her eyes, “Besides, it’s best I keep far away from Castle Grim. Staying out of trouble is easier said than done for an old woman like me.”
She winks, and a grin tugs at my lips despite the strange sadness I feel at the thought of never seeing Bellaflor again.
“Ready?” she asks, and I commit her kind face to memory, knowing that as soon as I enter Castle Grim, I will have entered a den of vipers, their teeth bared, poised to strike.
And they will know me not as someone who is majestic or magical or even kind.
They will know me as a monster.
“A float?” I ask Flynnas he leads me down the corridor. “Is that like some kind of jolly boat?”
He laughs, the sound muffled by his helmet. “You could say that.”
“What about my family? How will they get to the palace?”
“That’s not your concern,” Gabriel says, cutting off Flynn before he gets the chance to speak.
“My family is very much my concern,” I say, slipping my hands into my pockets, the mere touch of metal at my fingertips enough to calm my nerves.
“If that’s true,” Gabriel responds, his voice a deep rasp, “then I would suggest that from this point forward, you act as though you don’t even know them.”
As we step onto the small platform, his warning rings in myhead. I’m relieved my family will be with me at Castle Grim, but now that they’re going to be within reach of the king and queen, I’ll have to adjust my strategy. Because whatever I do, from here on out, it will affect Elsie and Albert and the rest of them. And I won’t be responsible for another sibling’s blood on my hands.
Barricades shield the platform from the public, but the roar of the crowd vibrates in my chest, louder than any cannon. I can’t see beyond the wooden barriers, and for the first time since I decided to join Will and Titus here in Jade, I realize I know nothing about a city of this magnitude.
The crisp, briny air and the overwhelming presence of water nearby slams into me with such force I almost lose my footing.
“Aster,” Flynn says gently, his touch light on my shoulder. “They’re ready for you.”
“Right,” I say, my heart pounding in my throat as Flynn leads me to the doorway carved into the barricade, and I step through it, feeling at once as if I’ve set foot in a different realm entirely.
The city of Jade sprawls across the landscape, more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. Thousands—if not millions—of people have flooded the streets, pushing and shoving to get to the front of the crowd, where League soldiers in olive uniforms form a barricade between the floats and the horde of citizens. To my left, off in the distance, the ocean stretches out as far as the eye can see, and to my right, the mountainous border between the Eerie and Fell looms over the city like a wave. Ahead, the dark stone turrets of Castle Grim tower above even the highest rooftops, and despite knowing the horror that resides within those walls, I can’t deny that the palace is a breathtaking work of art.
Dangerous, deadly things are often the most beautiful, I rememberWill said. And Castle Grim is the most dangerous, deadliest thing I’ve ever seen.
Flynn and Gabriel join me on the float—which I discover is like an elaborately decorated ship that sails on roads rather than water. Dozens of thesefloatsglide along the brick-paved streets, all bedecked with the various colors and heraldry of the noble houses of the Eerie. Just ahead, I spot Will and his family standing atop a float that gives them the appearance of flying on the back of a gilded dragon. Will and Lord Bludgrave don scarlet military jackets, Henry a fine scarlet suit, and Lady Isabelle and Annie wear luxurious scarlet gowns, giving them the appearance of having just stepped out of one of the many family portraits I saw during my time at Bludgrave Manor.
Following the Castors, Killian stands alone atop a green-and-silver float, wearing his full military dress, surrounded by a pack of five silver wolves—realwolves, all standing as still as the statues that decorate the other floats. The ghost of a smile touches my lips when one of the wolves nuzzles into Killian’s side. He might be known as the Lion of the Eerie, but I can’t help but think he should have been known as the Wolf.
A few floats in front of Killian, leading the parade, Titus sits, his legs spread wide, on a makeshift throne between two giant swan statues in midflight. The black swan to his left carries a rose in its beak, and the white swan to his right carries a sword in its clutches. I recognize this now as the heraldry of House Anteres, the royal family of the Eerie—Titus’s family.
My gut twists when I realize just how much I don’t know about him—about his life at Castle Grim, about the king and queen and the nobility that make up their court.
Our float jostles as we join the route, and Gabriel grabs my arm to steady me—the movement so quick I doubt anyone could have noticed.
The float on which I stand between Gabriel and Flynn is designed to look like a puny imitation of a galleon ship. In front of me, the helm is cracked in half, the sails shredded to ribbons.
“Subtle,” I say under my breath.
“You have no idea,” Flynn whispers.
I don’t know when I began to feel at ease around these two Bloodknights, but at the very least, as our float joins the cavalcade, I don’t feel as if I’m completely alone.
“Chin up,” Flynn reminds me. “And hands out of your pockets.”
