Page 79 of Starchaser
She flicks a glance at my hands in my pockets. “You know how to use those,right?”
I unsheathe the daggers, twirl them. “Do you even have to ask?”
Leo’s smile is purely deviant. “Shall we?”
Her strides lengthen, and I match her pace, sticking to the shadows and out of the lamplight as much as possible as we nearthe docks. We just pass Gabriel’s limp body, lying unconscious in the mud, when—
“Aster, stop,” says a familiar voice that sounds at once close to my ear and yet far away.“He’s here. It’s a trap.”
“Who’s here?” I whisper, my pulse hammering in my throat, but I think I already know the answer.
“Hey, you there!” One of the soldiers calls out, storming down the dock to meet us. “Harbor’s closed! Best be on your—”
His eyes go impossibly wide, and he makes a gurgling noise as blood squirts from the dagger in his throat.
There’s a wet noise as the blade retreats through flesh, and the soldier falls to the ground, revealing the Changeling assassin behind him, his eyes glowing gold.
The Changeling cocks his head at me, takes a step in my direction.
Leo angles herself in front of me, hands raised in warning.
“Am I supposed to be afraid?” The Changeling chuckles, his deep, raspy voice so low I almost don’t hear. His gaze slides to me, his eyes crinkled in what I can only imagine is a smirk. He tsks. “I told you there would be consequences if you stayed,” he says, shaking his head. “This is your fault, Aster. Remember that.”
Behind him, the soldiers have gone rigid, their swords drawn. As if awaiting his unspoken command, they point their weapons at one another.
There were never any prisoners, I realize. And the voice that tried to warn me just now…It’s a trap, the voice said. Had the Changeling planted the rumors of the prisoners to draw Leo and me out of Castle Grim, or could it be I’m wrong about Leo—just not the way I thought? Is she workingwiththe Changeling, and I’ve walked right into their trap?
I lurch forward as the soldiers swiftly dispatch one another, but Leo grabs my arm with such force I’m yanked backward, narrowly avoiding a blade I hadn’t seen flash through the air—a blade that would have cut me down had Leo not intervened. The choked gasps of the soldiers drone on as their blood spills onto the dock, and all I can think about is Charlie and Lewis and how this could have just as easily been my brothers, forced to fight in a war they don’t believe in for a king who will never know their names.
I don’t waste another second. One moment, I break free from Leo’s grasp, a sharp pain flaring in my shoulder, and the next, I plunge my dagger into the Changeling’s chest.
Bone cracks as I thrustthe blade deeper. I miss the Changeling’s heart, but the blade pierces his flesh with little effort—flesh, not shadow.
The only indication I’ve struck him at all is his slow intake of breath. Slowly, calmly, he holds my hand in place, hindering me from withdrawing the dagger, as his free arm wraps around me, pulling me close in a morbid embrace and effectively stopping me from plunging my second dagger into his eye.
Leo’s footsteps are cut short as he seizes control of her bones, holding her in place, too.
His head dips low, his breath caressing the top of my ear. “Do you feel better, Aster?” he purrs, deep and dark.
I look up at him, meeting his stare, praying to the Stars that he feels every ounce of my fury. “Let go of me, and I might,” I say through gritted teeth.
He chuckles again, amusement flickering in his gilded eyes. “Your little daggers have no effect on me. Or did you think you could banish me?” he adds, his voice mocking. “Can’t you feel it, Aster?” he whispers as he eyes the soldiers’ blood pooling at our feet. “I know you want a taste.”
I push the dagger as deep as it will go, but it only seems to incite him, his eyes flaring with untamed desire. “The only blood I wish to taste is yours,” I hiss.
His eyes crinkle with wicked glee. “If that’s what you truly wish,” he rasps, “I won’t stop you.”
His grip on my hand loosens just enough that I’m able to pull my dagger free but tightens again when I thrust it toward his face. He guides my hand to clean my dagger in slow, controlled movements, wiping his dark red blood on his shoulder.
“But first,” he says, his voice low and sinister, “I left you a little gift back at the castle. I think you’re going to find it…motivating.” He draws back, his stare capturing mine with such authority I can’t physically bring myself to look away. “Return to Castle Grim,” he whispers, both to me and to my traitorous body. “When you’ve made your decision, meet me underneath the bridge to Jade tomorrow night, just after sunset. Make it quick—I won’t wait long. Oh, and Aster,” he adds, “come alone.”
When he releases me, I find I’m unable to do anything but heed his command. My feet turn of their own accord, my hands moving to sheathe my daggers against my will.
There’s a sound like awhooshof wind, and a bat flies overhead. Only when the Changeling has fled, the bat disappearing over a rooftop, does Leo regain control of her own body.
“What was that?” she asks, grasping at my arm. “Whowas that?”
I shrug her off, unable to keep myself from moving toward the castle. Despite his compulsion that set me on this path, I know now that I make my way there of my own free will. I need to know what he’s done. I need to stop whatever he’s planning before—
