Shattered Stars

by Theresa Kay

  Still, joker he may be, but my cousin is no fool. Though the city’s population was more than halved by Jastren’s attack, and the survivors were not exactly thrilled to have a Linaud step forward and take control, Rym is not his father—or even his sister—and his years spent as an outcast have given him a unique perspective on how things should be run. He is a fair and thoughtful leader, and the people believe in him. He is similar to my father in that way, and he has taken my father’s dreams of an alliance with the humans and turned it into a reality. And my cousin has achieved one of his own dreams as well: the castes, such as they were, no longer exist, and the new Council is made up of E’rikon from all social classes.

  The only E’rikon bound to what they were before are the askari. They remain sworn to the Linaud line, and not even Adam has been able to figure out a way to undo the blood oath. Or the fact that the askari are unable to form bonds. He continues to be hopeful though, and has promised to keep at it until he finds a solution.

  I have faith that he will, since he was able to find a solution for the children. After studying Ethan, he discovered a type of binding agent present in the child’s blood. Whether it’s a natural adaptation or was introduced to his blood stream artificially, Adam is unsure, and with Ethan’s family gone, he has no one to ask. But it allowed hemoglobin—the compound in human blood that allows for the transportation of oxygen—to bind to E’rikon blood cells, and that, in turn, allowed Ethan to survive in Earth’s oxygen-rich atmosphere without a kitu.

  Adam was able to create a compound to mimic the effect, and he successfully treated the other children with it. They will require occasional booster shots, but that does not matter, so long as the compound works.

  Unfortunately, there is no easy solution for me. Adam’s compound has helped my blood to adapt, but all the other functionalities of my kitu have been lost. I spent too long without it, I formed, broke, and re-formed a bond during that time, and on top of all that there is the effect of my weeks with the kiun. Adam tried, but there was nothing he could do to make the blasted thing work again and I will have to live with that.

  Footsteps crash through the leaves behind me, and Gavin appears. “Lir,” he says. “President Taylor’s party will be here in another hour or so. Are you planning on being there?”

  Ever since Gavin chose to return to Bridgelake instead of staying on the base—and after he took his men and the only E’rikon emissary with him—Taylor has kept a careful eye on us. Taylor’s suspicion is understandable—he was far from happy to learn that over half the base was involved with Carter’s betrayal in one way or another. But he has nothing to worry about from us.

  I raise an eyebrow. “Does it matter?”

  Gavin shrugs. “Captain—er, General?—Bell will be there. I’m sure you could have a little fun at his expense. The guy did try to lock you up again when we returned from the city.”

  The semi-hostile captain continues to be a bit of an enigma to me. Surprisingly, Bell was one of the few officers who did not participate in Carter’s plans, and for all his bitterness toward the E’rikon, he proved in the end to be somewhat honorable. He and his unit were the ones who protected President Taylor when one of Carter’s other teams tried to kill him.

  “I am amused enough by the fact Bell feels the need to come here at all,” I say. “Now that he is in charge of the base, I imagine he is merely stopping by to see if we will be challenging him on that appointment.” I shoot Gavin a wry grin. “We are not planning that, are we?”

  “God, no.” He chuckles. “He can have the base. And as long as he doesn’t do anything stupid, he can have my loyalty. I’m not interested in ousting anyone who’s competent and not consorting with crazy people.”

  “Me either.”

  We walk along in silence for a few minutes before Gavin speaks again. “Have you heard from your cousin lately?” he asks with a forced nonchalance.

  “Of course. Rym was here three days ago.” I smirk.

  He scowls at me. “You know what I meant. Have you heard from Trel lately?”

  “She is well.”

  “And Kalla?”

  I smile, calling up a mental image of my niece. “She is also well.”

  He shoots me a droll look and laughs softly. “If you’re waiting for me to beg for information, it’s not going to happen.”

  A chuckle breaks past my lips. Trel and Gavin have been dancing around each other since the day of Kalla’s birth. On one hand, I understand Trel’s fears in this situation. Not only must she open herself to love again, but she has to trust someone from a species she has hated for almost as long as she has known what it is to hate. Gavin is not aware of this, but I put in a good word for him with my cousin, and she seemed receptive—but still, I have my doubts as to whether she will be able to overcome the many obstacles before them.

  Of course, knowing Gavin, I am certain that rather than meet her in the middle, he would be happy to traverse all the obstacles himself and simply meet her on her own terms. So perhaps there is hope for them yet.

  “Trel keeps her thoughts to herself a lot,” I say, “but she has mentioned she is looking forward to your next visit to the city. From her, that is practically a formal invitation to—what is it you humans call it? Court her.”

  Gavin snorts. “The idea of ‘courting’ went out quite some time ago, but I’ll take that as a good sign.”

  “It is. But be patient with her. She has been through a lot.”

  He gives me a solemn nod. “I will. I… care about her.”

  “I know.”

  He clears his throat. “So, how’s Stella doing? Getting settled in okay?”

  “Yes.” I think of my little sister’s enthusiasm for all the new bits of human culture she is experiencing. She has only been living in Bridgelake for a little over a month, since it took time for Adam to develop his compound, but she has taken to it quite well. “I think the change is good for her. After our parents and everything else… she needed it.”

  “Good. I’m glad.”

  In a way, Stella belongs here more than she ever did in the city. She was never fond of being contained, and out here she has kids to play with, woods and creeks and streams for her to explore, and a solid sense of community, friends, and family—something she never had in the city, as isolated as she was without a kitu. She has found her own niche in this little corner of the world where human and E’rikon coexist peacefully.

  I am happy for my sister, even if I do not necessarily feel quite the same sense of… fellowship with the humans. No matter what, I know I will never truly be one of them. But I do not need to be human to be happy here. To belong here.

  Because Jax belongs here, and she is part of me.

  As Gavin and I move out of the trees and onto the flat expanse of the shore, a hawk streaks across the sky, diving toward the group standing near the edge of the water. I focus on one person in the group—her red hair streaming over her shoulders and down her back—and warmth floods into my chest as I watch my bondmate raise her arm for the hawk to land on.

  Just as Tiercel’s talons wrap around the leather covering my forearm, the bond flares to life, warm and comforting. I glance over my shoulder to see Lir stepping onto the shore with Gavin behind him. My smile widens into a grin as green-gold eyes meet mine and another splash of warmth travels across the bond.

  Did you get lost or something?

  Lir’s eyebrow arches upward. No. I am simply not very good at navigating through the woods. He smirks. After all, I have to be careful. There are bears in there, don’t you know?

  I laugh out loud.

  Dad shoots me a confused look before he too spots the new arrivals. “I should have known that smile wasn’t for me,” he teases.

  I shrug and nudge Dad with my shoulder, then lift my arm above my head and signal Tiercel to take off. He does, leaping into the air and soaring over the lake. His wing has healed well—and remarkably quickly. Probably some other oddity about me helped with that
. I can’t connect with him anymore, not like I did before, but that doesn’t matter to me.

  I look down at the cause of my inability to connect with the hawk: the silver cuff around my arm. It won’t come off, and I’ve asked Dad to stop trying. It’s a painful reminder, but without Jastren around to control it, it’s no threat to me. Whatever abilities Jastren blocked are still blocked, of course, but since that includes the shikiza… I’m actually grateful. Who would have guessed I’d ever be thankful for anything that red-haired bastard did? Because of him I don’t have to worry about the shikiza getting out of its cage and driving me insane. It’s still in there, that darkness hiding deep down inside, but thanks to the cuff it can’t get out, not even if I try to let it out.

  Lir’s arm slides around my waist, and he presses a kiss to my hair. “Where’s Stella?”

  “She’s over there with Stu and Ethan.” I point to three forms by the rocks that line the shore.

  Tiercel streaks past the kids, and Ethan looks up, then turns toward us. He nudges Stella with an elbow and tilts his head in our direction. Stella drops the stick she was using to flip over rocks and waves at her brother with a mud-covered hand, a smile spreading across her face. Ethan says something to Stu, and Stu nods and rises to his feet. The two children bound in our direction, with Stu following slowly behind.

  Stella throws her arms around Lir’s waist and grins up at him. “We were hunting for salamanders.”

  Lir chuckles and crouches down to her level. His thumb brushes across her cheek to wipe away a streak of dirt. “Did you catch any?”

  She sticks out her lower lip and shakes her head. “Ethan caught one and tried to give it to me, but I told him I wanted to catch my own.”

  “Did you now?” Lir laughs and rubs her head affectionately, then straightens to greet Stu. “Salamanders?”

  Stu shrugs. “They’re little lizards. Zach used to love the things when he was younger.” He lets out a slow breath, and his mouth curls into a soft smile. “I thought there might be some around since it’s gotten warmer, and I figured the kids would like them too.”

  Lir nods. “It looks like they enjoyed themselves.” He looks down at his sister, splotches of mud covering her clothes, and smiles. “I never expected my sister to enjoy the dirt so much.”

  Stella pushes wayward curls away from her face and huffs. “Just because I’m a girl, it doesn’t mean I can’t like dirt. Look at Jax. She likes dirt and animals and trees and stuff, too.”

  Lir’s head tilts back, and a loud laugh breaks free from his chest. “I did not say there was anything wrong with it, just that I didn’t expect it.”

  “If you say so.” She pokes Ethan in the shoulder. “Do you want to go climb some trees now?”

  Ethan looks up at Stu. “Can we?”

  “Have at it, kid.” Stu smiles and sweeps an arm out toward the trees.

  The two kids take off at a run, laughing and giggling. Ethan hoists himself up on a low branch, with Stella not far behind him. Stu walks slowly after them.

  Lir wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me into his side. It’s good to see them happy.

  “Yeah. It is.” I lean my head on his shoulder. I’m glad there’s laughter here again.

  Gavin addresses Dad. “Taylor’s on his way. Do you have a status report you want me to pass along?”

  Dad rubs at the back of his neck and blows out a breath. “It’s probably better if I talk to him myself. He’s not going to be thrilled about my lack of progress in figuring out what Dane and Jastren were up to here in Bridgelake. The records are gone, and I can’t exactly recreate them. The tests I’d like to run…” He shakes his head. “I can’t be sure of Bree or the baby’s safety while Bree’s still pregnant, so we’ll just have to wait until the baby’s born to learn anything more about the hybrid embryos Dane was implanting.”

  “Why does it matter at this point?” I ask. “I mean, Dane and Jastren are dead. Who cares what they were doing?”

  Dad and Gavin share a look. “Because we don’t know what methods Jastren used to create the embryos, or in what ways he may have manipulated their genetics, or even what enhancements he may have given them,” Dad says. “Bree’s baby could be a perfectly normal combination of human and E’rikon, it could be like Jaslyn with multiple enhancements, it could be something in between the two. Or, it could be like nothing we’ve seen before. No one knows.”

  I ponder this for a moment. “Taylor knows he’s not taking Bree away from here no matter what her baby may or may not be, right?”

  Gavin chuckles. “I’m pretty sure Taylor wouldn’t even suggest it. He knows better. He’s not interested in alienating me or your dad. Plus, I doubt anyone would be able to get past Larson in order to take her.”

  He’s probably right. Patrick Larson has been doting on Bree since they fled the base together, even going so far as to get rid of the jerk Dane “married” her off to. And he’s really taken her little brother under his wing. They’ve created something of a family together.

  A family much like the one Stu and Ethan should have had with Emily…

  Emily’s loss left Ethan despondent, especially following so closely on the heels of his mother’s death. He’s gradually come back out of his shell, but an air of melancholy lingers around him. And Stu… is lost. No matter how he tried to downplay it on the way to the city, Emily was his hope for the future. He has Ethan, and he loves that little boy, but he has pulled back from nearly everyone else. Of all of us who now live in Bridgelake, he’s the only one who’s truly an outsider with no real connections. If it wasn’t for Stella, Stu probably would have taken Ethan and left by now.

  It’s Stella’s presence that has done more to help Ethan through his grief than anything else. The cheerful, bright-eyed little girl lets nothing get in her way, and she and Ethan took to each other almost immediately after her arrival here. Stella knows what it’s like to lose a parent, and Ethan can share with her some of the E’rikon experiences she missed out on living in the city without a kitu. A telepathic connection even formed between the two of them—for a reason Dad still has not worked out—after the blood-binding compound had fully taken effect.

  Dad hopes someday he might be able to fix Lir’s kitu or find some other way for Lir to talk to his little sister via telepathy, but he hasn’t said anything further about it to Lir, not wanting to get his hopes up. The kitus are incredibly complex, and Dad still hasn’t been able to work out exactly why whatever happened with Lir’s continues to leave him unable to communicate telepathically. As it is, he can speak telepathically only with me—because I’m a hybrid and his bondmate—and Ethan, because… well, who knows why anything happens with Ethan. Presumably it’s something to do with whatever allows the boy to use the telepathic connection without a kitu.

  I squeeze Lir’s hand. Did you need to go to the meeting with Gavin?

  No. Anything I have to add could just as easily be said by Gavin or your father. I would prefer to spend the rest of the afternoon with you. He gives me a sly grin. We haven’t had much alone time lately.

  Heat floods into my cheeks, and desire warms the rest of my body.

  He smirks.

  Gavin clears his throat. “We should head back so we have time to decide what points we need to cover.” He turns a mischievous look on Lir. “Am I to take it you two aren’t coming?”

  “Nope,” I say. “We’ll catch up with you at dinner or something.”

  “Then I’ll see you later, Redtail.” Dad gives me a side hug and sets off into the trees with Gavin.

  Stu wanders back toward me and Lir. “Jax… would you mind…?” He gestures toward Ethan and Stella, who have returned to the water’s edge. “I need a little time to myself.”

  “Of course.” I step forward and grab his hand. “Anytime. We’re here for you. Whatever you need.”

  A smile curls his lips, but his eyes are empty. “Thanks.” He walks away, following the curving line of the shore.

  “I’m w
orried about him.” I bite at my lip.

  “Me too,” says Lir. “Emily’s death has been hard on him.”

  “You don’t think…” I don’t finish the sentence, but Lir knows what my fear for Stu is.

  Lir turns toward the children. “He wouldn’t leave Ethan.”

  “I wish Peter were here. He’d know exactly what to say.” I gnaw at my thumbnail.

  “We’ll figure it out.” He wraps his arms around me, tugging me close and burying his face in my hair.

  I close my eyes and rest my cheek on his shoulder. He sounds about as sure as I feel, but it’ll have to do. I’m not going to lose hope for my friend, not now, not after everything we’ve all been through. I’ve lost enough people as it is, and I refuse to lose one to grief.

  I tighten my arms around Lir’s waist. “Hope, love, and faith. That’s what Peter would say he needs. We’ll help him find those things again.”

  I turn in his arms so I’m facing the lake with his chest to my back. The sound of Ethan and Stella laughing as they splash around in the shallows echoes in my ears as I stare out across the water. I rest the back of my head against Lir’s shoulder, reveling in the feeling of his arms around me and the warmth of his embrace.

  For me, this place is made of memories. And as I stand here, the other sounds fade away until I’m left with the echoes of my brother’s voice from the last time I was here, the sounds of his laugh when he yanked me underwater, and the feeling of his hand in mine as we drifted off to sleep. Jace will always be part of me, along with everyone else I lost. Flint. Peter. Emily. Their deaths, along with those of Lir’s parents, even Vitrad’s, bought the peace we have now. It’s a steep price for something we continue to struggle for every day.

  It’ll take time for the world to heal, and some scars run deeper than others. The human-E’rikon alliance is fragile, and even with all my dad’s knowledge, Lir’s diplomatic efforts, and Rym leading the city, it could easily shatter under the pressure of lingering prejudices from both sides. There’s still a lot of work to do, and for all the risks I took, for all the things I lost, and for all the changes I helped achieve, I’m only a small part of what’s to come.