by H. L. Burke
She fell.
Wind rushed about her like cold fingers through her hair. Her head jerked back painfully, then with a crash she landed.
She sprang up immediately. With a gasp, she regained her breath.
I’m not hurt. I’m not dead.
She spun in a circle. Dark mist swirled about her, reaching for her with murky tendrils. Teeth clenched, she threw her hands forward, expecting her magic to respond. Nothing happened.
She staggered back a step, her heart in her throat. What had she gotten herself into? Where was she? Where was Kay?
Then she saw it.
A silver glint lying on the ground. She stooped and touched it. It adhered to her finger and rose when she pulled away: a thin line extending into the impenetrable fog. Steeling herself, she stepped forward. The silver thread was absorbed into her hand as she walked, leaving no trail, but constantly led her forward.
Mocking voices rose in the wind. At first they were only unintelligible, ominous howls and manic laughter, but they grew in strength and clarity as the chill air pierced her skin and worked towards her bones.
“Kay?” she shouted.
“He’s gone,” an eerie shriek answered.
A dozen voices echoed, “Gone. Gone. Gone.”
“No, he’s not,” Arynne said through clenched teeth. “I can feel him. He’s here.”
“You’re too late,” rasped another spirit. “You didn’t save him. You could never save him.”
“Impulsive girl ... Prideful child ... Why do you think you can succeed? You are nothing.”
“He’d still be alive if not for you. If he hadn’t loved you, if you hadn’t loved him, if you’d stayed true to your oath to marry his brother, none of this would have happened.”
“Did you think yourself strong enough? Privileged enough? Unique enough to rewrite fate? You’re only a spoiled child throwing a tantrum because she broke her favorite toy.”
“You have not the heart capable of love, only capricious desire.”
Guilt jolted through Arynne. Memories chastised her, reminding her of falling for Kay when she’d already agreed to marry his brother, of tempting him to run away with her, of causing him pain when he wouldn’t acquiesce to her demands. Her shoulders scrunched towards her ears. “I’ve learned. I’ve grown. I am here for him, not me. I love him. I would die for him.”
“You’ve only caused him pain. His death is your fault. The kingdom will be lost because of you. It’s your fault.”
The voices chimed in an unending chorus, each picking up where the other left off.
“It’s all your fault ...”
“Fault ...”
“Fault...”
“I love him.” Arynne tightened her fist around the thread. She couldn’t let them stop or slow her. Kay needed her.
“Kay!” she screamed into the darkness.
The heartline quivered in her fingers. Magic prickled through her skin, that treasured sense of Kay, light and hope and a tang of mischief. Her soul cried out for him, hungry to linger in his presence and feel his magic and warmth again.
Then, as if she’d stepped through a threshold, the darkness abated and the wind quieted. She stood in a circle of pale light, like the moon shining through a window, in a place of quiet and warmth. Before her crouched a woman holding a small, dark-haired child—and the heartline lead right to her.
Arynne’s throat tightened. Why had it brought her here? She needed Kay, not some strange woman or unknown boy. Was this a trick of the dark spirits?
The woman raised her head, oddly familiar blue eyes glinting in the faint glow that surrounded—no—radiated off her. She loosened her hold on the child to reveal his sleeping face. Arynne drew closer.
The boy was perhaps five or six, dark of hair and pale of face. A beautiful child but with an expression of pain even in his sleep. Arynne’s heart opened to him. Whoever they were, they didn’t deserve to be here any more than she did. Still, she was there to help Kay. Did these strange beings even need her help? Or could she truly trust that they were as innocent as they appeared?
“I’m looking for someone.” She took another tentative step closer. The heartline vibrated with a new energy. Arynne’s breath hitched. What did it mean?
“I know.” The woman stood. The child stirred but did not awaken. “You’re just in time. This place is draining him, and my power to protect him is waning.” She came right up to Arynne and held the child forth.
Arynne caught onto her intent just in time to put her arms up and accept the boy against her chest. He felt unnaturally light, more a ghost than a flesh and blood child. Her magic sang, a delighted, musical shout of heat and power, and the heartline at her fingertips disappeared, absorbed into herself and the boy.
She gasped. “But Kay—”
The woman laughed. “Don’t you see it?”
Arynne blinked down at the boy. A familiar magic stirred within him. “Oh ...” Her gaze shot back up to the woman. “Who are you?”
A sad smile flitted across the woman’s face. “Tell Olyn I love him as well, and that he’ll be a good king, a far better one than his father or any that his line has seen in generations ... and take care of my Kajik. You know his worth. Never cease to be mindful of it, but more importantly, never let him forget.” She glanced at the sky. “It is calling me away. Once I leave, they will attack. You must move swiftly, but I trust the Ever that you will know what is needed. This next brightening is a crossroads, where the fates of my sons, of you, of the whole kingdom are all at stake. Be strong. Trust the star spirits, and trust each other. Together you have a destiny of heroes.” She touched Arynne’s cheek, the sensation like a beam of sun falling across Arynne’s skin. Then she stepped back, and the light went out.
“Wait!” Arynne cried.
But the woman was gone.
Immediately, the wind rushed to fill the void left by the silver light. It collided into Arynne, knocking her to her knees. She wrapped herself around the child version of the man she loved and prayed her body would be enough shelter for him.
Trust the Ever I will know what is needed? What is that supposed to mean? Sun-blast that ghost! Why did she have to be so vague?
Ravenous howls pierced the darkness over the roar of the wind.
Kay stirred against her.
“Hold on.” She tightened her hold on him. “I’m trying.”
What I need to do? I need to get out of this Ever forsaken place!
She’d gotten there by following the heartline, but that was gone. The voices of the dark spirits grew louder. Her magic wouldn’t respond to her. She had no light, no warmth, no magic ... except the heartbond. Could that help her?
She drew upon it, strengthening it with her will. It flared. Magic sparked on her skin and filtered into Kay. His pale skin glowed with a faint light. It grew brighter and brighter. The fog shied away from them. Encouraged, Arynne sent another wave of mental focus into the magic. Kay changed before her eyes, his body lengthening, his face broadening, and a beard sprouting on his chin. She inhaled sharply as his weight returned, and she held in her arms a full-grown man.
His eyes fluttered open, and he said in a hoarse whisper, “Arynne?”
Joy stole her words. She flung herself against him. Her lips pressed against his as his arms strayed about her. His embrace lacked its usual strength, but the contact still sent waves of pleasure and happiness through her. The heartbond throbbed like a third heart between them, and the world swirled around them. The ground dropped out from under her, and she fell with a cry, landing almost immediately in her own body.
“Arynne!” Olyn’s voice hit her like a slap, and she jerked up. Clindt tried to pull her away from Kay, but she shook him off. She stared down at her beloved. He didn’t move. Had she failed? Had he not come back with her?
With a gasp, Kay’s eyes snapped open.
“Kay!” Clindt and Olyn cried in unison.
Ignoring them, Kay threw his arms around Arynne and drew her in
to a fierce hug. “Arynne ... I thought ... you came for me.”
She nestled into his chest, bare due to the rip down the front of his shirt. Tears spurted from her eyes, but she managed to nod. “I’ll never let you go. Oh, Kay, Kay, my love.” Her voice cracked, but his lips saved her. He kissed her unapologetically, without reservation or restraint. His fingers twined into her curls, tugging until it hurt, but she leaned into it, savoring his warmth. Their magic intermingled until it sparked within her like a shower of stars. Alive, energized, all-consuming.
She broke for breath, only to be captured by his eyes. The sadness had faded from their clear depths, replaced by a wisdom that made him look far older, as if he’d experienced a lifetime in the span of a brightening.
“Kay?” Olyn’s shadow fell across the couple, and Kay stood, pulling Arynne to her feet as well.
Olyn stared at his brother, wide-eyed, chest rising and falling erratically, as if he couldn’t quite catch his breath. Sensing what was to come, Arynne eased herself out of Kay’s now loose embrace.
A weak smile crossed Kay’s face. “I’m all right, Olyn. I got through it.”
With a muffled sob, Olyn grabbed his brother about the neck and crushed him in an embrace. Arynne stepped back, but her heart eased as the two men held each other, Kay’s smile strengthening even as Olyn’s face pinched in pain and what was probably a futile attempt not to cry.
“I almost lost you,” Olyn gasped. “Worse, he made me ... he took my memories of you, Kay. He made me forget you. If not for Arynne, I would never have known what I had lost, what I came so close to—How could he do that to you? To us?”
Kay inhaled a ragged breath. “When Father said I was to die, I felt fear and sadness, but I could bear it. When he said that you and Arynne would forget me, it tore me to pieces.”
“I reversed the memory erasure spell.” Clindt’s words snapped the small group back to the present. The healer offered Kay his hand. “I’m sorry for the part my family had in this, my mother and sister. I don’t understand their motives, but no man should have to go through what they put you through, and to think that they’d do it to family, to an innocent—” He cringed. “I feel I owe you a debt.”
“It’s not your—” Kay went rigid. “Oh Ever ... Olyn, we’re all in danger. Athan’s returned.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Kay’s joy at being reunited with his loved ones melted like ice thrown into a fire at the memory of how much danger they were all in. Olyn, Arynne, and Clindt gaped at him.
“What? That’s ... that’s impossible,” Clindt stammered. “The whole purpose of the sacrifice was to prevent Athan’s return.”
“It was a lie.” Kay eyed the body of his father, lying silent and still to one side. He couldn’t bring himself to feel pity or regret for the man who had betrayed him but in doing so signed his own death sentence. He’d gathered what he’d scattered into the world, and Kay’s heart had not yet the strength to mourn a father who had never loved him. “Friya is a traitor.”
“Not a surprise, considering—” Olyn’s mouth wrinkled. “Valka attacked us in the stairwell.”
Kay’s heart skipped. “But you’re all right?”
“We are. She’s not. I didn’t want to harm her, but she pulled a knife on Clindt.” Olyn scowled.
Arynne stood in silence though her gaze fell to her feet. Probably not wanting to show how little she regretted the death.
“It couldn’t be helped,” Clindt said, but grief tainted his tone and belied his words. “If my father is watching us from the Field of Stars, he must be broken-hearted at what has happened to our family.”
The mention of the Field of Stars reminded Kay of his mother. He needed Olyn to know that she still remembered and loved him. He opened his mouth then shut it again. They didn’t have time to go over that right now. It would take too much explanation. No, survival first, then sentiment. How much time did they even have?
He glanced about. “How long was I ...” Dead? Forgotten? Lost in the dark? He couldn’t bring himself to say any of those things. He cleared his throat. “Whatever you want to call it.”
Arynne eased closer to him and took his hand. “I think I felt when it happened. We found you as swiftly as possible afterwards, so not long. I can’t imagine it felt that way for you, though.”
The shouts of the dark spirits echoed in his memory, and he shuddered. “No, but I am more worried about where Athan has got to and what he’s done in that time. Have you seen any sign of him?”
“No.” Olyn shifted from foot to foot. “If not for your word, I wouldn’t believe it had happened. What is his plan?”
“I’m not sure. To finish what he started starcycles ago? To an extent, he’s already succeeded.” He glanced at Evyd’s body again. A chill cut through him. “The Starspire! If he wants to control Frorheim, he’ll need to bond with the Starspire and wrest it to his will. Father’s ring! Did he take it?”
Olyn’s eyes widened. He stumbled towards the body and reached for Evyd’s right hand. When he straightened, a ring with a large starshard setting glinted in his palm. His brow furrowed. “He didn’t take it. Why, if he were right here with nothing and no one to stop him, wouldn’t he take it?”
Relief swept through Kay, but horror swiftly followed. He remembered his father cursing at the sky, unable to access his starcasting magic.
“He can’t,” he breathed. “Olyn, as a sorcerer Athan has bonded with the dark spirits. He’s given himself completely to them to access their power. The star spirits won’t allow him to use their light. He can’t bond with the Starspire.”
Olyn blinked at the ring. “If not ... what is he going to do? What’s his goal?”
“Revenge,” Arynne whispered. “On all who wronged him.”
Kay groaned. “He knows he can’t have the Starspire and hence can’t rule Frorheim. If he can’t have it, he’ll destroy it. He’ll poison it with dark magic, and Frorheim will be plunged into eternal cold and darkness, just like the prophecy. You have to stop him.” He grabbed Olyn by the shoulder. “You and Arynne. The prophecy demands the Star Prince and the Sun Princess unite to defeat Athan. Even without the heartbond, the kingdom needs—”
“Kay!” Olyn snapped. “I can’t!”
“You have to!” Desperation clawed at Kay’s soul. He couldn’t lose the ones he loved now, but his heartbond to Arynne continued to put them in danger. “You’re the Star Prince.”
“No, I’m not.” Olyn pulled off his own starshard ring, smaller than his father’s but just as bright, then held it out to Kay.
Realization crept over Kay, and his breath left him. “Oh ... you’re the king.”
“With Father dead, yes.”
Arynne’s hold on Kay’s hand tightened. “You’re the Star Prince, Kay. The prophecy must’ve meant you all along.”
Fear gripped Kay, but then he caught Arynne’s eyes—dark, warm, and full of courage. He took the ring. “The prophecy meant us.” He stroked her cheek before slipping the ring on his finger. Energy raced through him, and his hair stood on end. At his side, Arynne quivered.
“What is that?” she whispered. “It feels as if there’s a third person in our heartbond.”
Kay focused. She was right. He could feel her magic as well as his own, as always, but also a third presence, a quiet humming more like distant music than a pulse.
“It’s the star spirits within the Starspire.” A faint smile crossed Olyn’s face. “I’ve had the ring for so long that I almost don’t notice them any more.” He placed his father’s ring on his finger, and his eyes immediately widened. “Oh, wow ... they’re so much stronger. That’ll take some getting used to.”
Kay swallowed. The star spirits buzzed with an uneasy energy, as if they could sense the lurking danger of Athan’s return. “We need to hurry.”
Unable to travel from the warded dungeon, the group rushed up the stairs into the main palace. The halls were quiet. Arynne cast a nervous glance to the left and then
to the right.
“Should we rally the wardens?” she asked.
Olyn bit his bottom lip. “Blade and bow have little effect on a sorcerer. However, we don’t know if he has allies within the populace or not.” He turned to his cousin. “Clindt, run to the wardens’ barracks and tell the captains what is going on. We have systems in place for when the city is under attack.”
“I will.” Clindt grimaced. “I wish I could be of more use than as a simple messenger boy.”
“You can.” Olyn grasped his shoulders. “When you are done with the wardens, see to the people. Try not to spread panic but find ways to move them away from the Starspire. Evacuate the homes and shops in that area and try to keep those who cannot fight off the street. Also, you need to prepare your fellow menders in case we take casualties.”
“I can do that.” Clindt offered Olyn his hand then nodded to Kay and Arynne. “Take care, and Ever be with you. All of you.”
“Be careful!” Arynne shouted after Clindt as he took off at a run. She then turned to the brothers. “If Athan is going to harm the Starspire, he’ll have to be close to it, right? So we at least have a guess as to where he went.”
“If we travel, we might beat him there,” Olyn suggested. He grabbed Arynne and Kay by their arms and traveled without waiting for their agreement.
The world blurred around them, and when things stabilized they stood in an open green field that sloped downward like a bowl towards the towering Starspire. The massive formation with its delicate interlocking crystal arches shimmered almost too dazzling to look upon. Kay gaped at it, instinctively examining his newfound connection to the magical landmark. In response, a jolt of energy rushed up his hand from the ring. It traced through the veins of his arm and into his chest. He recoiled.
“Easy.” Olyn tightened his hold on his brother. “The connection can be overwhelming, but it won’t harm you. You just need to get used to it.”