Starbright: The Complete Series

by Hilary Thompson

  “No, let her speak,” Abraham says. His voice is a sneering challenge, as though he expects the permission to be enough to silence me. His eyes bear down on me like thunder, but I have no fear now.

  For the first time in my life, I find no fear in speaking this truth.

  For the first time, I truly believe in the words I speak.

  “I am Astrea, born of Asphodel, on the Spring Equinox in 2168, one hundred years after the Cleansing. This is Lexan, born on the Fall Equinox, in the same year. As our city’s prophecy says, we are the star children. I am the Maiden of Justice, and he is my Scale of Balance.” I pause and turn slightly, facing more of the crowd and effectively shutting out Abraham. “And I have the power of the sunfire in my hands.”

  Even as I say the words my brain clicks and stutters, shifting as I finally realize something which has been before me all along: Firene’s code.

  It’s not the words you and me, or even Astrea and Lexan.

  It’s Justice and Balance.

  I never saw the answer because I never believed the answer - until now. Now that I know I am Justice, and Lexan is Balance, I see the memorized code etched plainly in my mind - twelve distinct letters. Twelve astrological symbols.

  Realizing the people are still staring at me, I tear my mind from its calculations. Abraham watches my face a few seconds longer, then twists and glances back at my hands, pale and small and still tied behind my back. His eyes narrow.

  “Show us the fire,” he commands. His voice is still harsh, but a smile has begun to play at the corners of his lips. Despite his own desire for attention, I think he must like my bravado. Perhaps it reminds him of his own daughter, who has finally begun to watch us from a corner of her eye. Or perhaps he simply likes to play games with worthy opponents.

  Either way, I’ve come prepared.

  “You must untie us both,” Lexan says, and his guard yanks him backward, clapping a hand over Lexan’s mouth. Lexan stumbles a bit, but he doesn’t duck his head or his eyes from Hebron’s chief.

  Abraham surveys the two of us for a long minute, then nods, the same pull of a smile or sneer at the corners of his thin lips. His men fumble with the knots at our wrists, and when we are finally free, they point spears at us from the four cardinal points of the compass, and then some.

  “Stand back,” I say in a loud voice, and the crowd does. Abraham and the guards do not. Lexan steps close behind me. “Just a demonstration,” I whisper to him over my shoulder. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

  I sense his smile as he presses his body behind mine and rests both hands on my sternum. “We could always burn a spear or two, Lady Justice,” he whispers back, his breath tickling my neck.

  I bite back a grin and open my palms. Flames appear and I wait, sensing the points of alarm and awe and even disbelief as the people begin to see my creation. I concentrate on the feel of Lexan behind me, and on the air passing between our lungs. I let the flames grow to nearly a foot. People begin to gasp and murmur. Lexan’s currents of air whisper the crowd’s salty fear into my ears and nose.

  By now the guards have inched backward a bit, and even Abraham leans away from me - though not in fear, I notice. He smells like excitement.

  Then I close my eyes, take a deep breath, and feel Lexan’s air pull through me, like my chest has cracked open to a cool morning gust. The flames shoot upward and curve until they form a circle. I juggle the ring of fire for a few seconds before clapping my hands together. The fire condenses and flattens like a griddle cake, its edges licking at the wooden spears.

  They crackle for a moment before the flames take hold. The guards shout, dropping the spears and stomping out the infant fire.

  “Nice,” Lexan says in my ear before dropping his hands and stepping back.

  Abraham stands still, surveying me intently. He nods once.

  “Take them away. We have much to discuss.”

  EIGHT

  The Inner Libra: Because Libras strive for balance in all pursuits, they will often do nearly anything to avoid friction. However, when they are denied something they feel they have earned, it is not below the Libra to fight for fairness. They are most courageous when their world is in crisis.

  From Understanding Your Horoscope

  Head Minister Charles, year 2073

  We are quickly shoved back into the musty tent. This time, though, they plant a second and third stake in the ground. Lexan is chained to one, and I am chained between the other two, my arms stretched apart.

  “They do learn quickly, don’t they,” Lexan says as the last guard leaves.

  I nod. I could still call fire, but there’s no point when we’re both bound in metal. Besides, I feel cold and drained from the demonstration. I wish for a blanket or a warm body to settle against. Yet I still don’t feel threatened. If I had seen any hint of fear in Abraham’s eyes, I would have demanded we leave immediately: tyrants with something to fear are the most dangerous. Instead, I’m content to wait a day or two and see what these people want from us.

  It isn’t nearly that long: the shadows have barely moved an inch when Abraham lifts the flap of the tent and enters alone.

  “This will be short. I will ask questions and you will answer honestly. If you satisfy me, I will have someone bring food and drink. If you do not, Zarea and Stian will suffer your poor choices.”

  I glare at him but say nothing.

  “Who is your leader?” he begins.

  Lexan answers, but not in a pleasant tone. “First Leader Keirna. She tried to have us killed before we escaped. She has plans to surface the people of Asphodel and begin a new city. We met a fellow traveler who claims she has already begun this.”

  “Why would she try to kill you if you have the power of the sun?”

  “I didn’t discover how to use it until after escaping,” I say. “But my mother thought Keirna meant to use me as a weapon against those who waited outside, rather than let me fulfill the prophecy by becoming her Second Leader.”

  Lexan studies my face - I haven’t shared Mother’s letter with him, so some of this information must be new.

  Abraham smiles widely. “Of course. I myself would like to have such a weapon. A smart general does not take on a new lieutenant when he can just forge a stronger sword.”

  I shift in my chains, uncomfortable at being placed in a category of items rather than people.

  “Both are equally replaceable,” Lexan says with a half-smile. “Would it not be best to have a new lieutenant who can also wield a new sort of weapon?”

  Abraham chuckles. He runs his fingers through his beard for several seconds, then pivots swiftly and is gone.

  “Did we pass?” I ask Lexan, rolling my eyes. He shrugs, but I see a smile ghost across his face before he leans his head back again to wait.

  Eamon joins us after a while, bringing more water and bread, with a little meat this time, and a thin pile of blankets. He undoes one of my hands so I can eat.

  “I’m sorry about the chains,” he says to me, ignoring Lexan.

  “It’s all right. I understand why they’re afraid. Thank you for the food,” I add with a smile. His blush is apparent even in the darkening tent. “Would you stay and eat with us?” I ask.

  He hesitates, then shrugs. “For a few minutes.”

  I take a bite of bread and a swallow of water before I start. “So, Zarea is…Abraham’s daughter?”

  Eamon nods, cocking his head to the side in question. “She didn’t tell you?”

  “No, but she must have had her reasons. And Stian is…?”

  “An idiot,” Eamon laughs, and Lexan joins in, a little too sincerely for my taste. “He’s not good enough for her, but he thinks he is,” Eamon adds as an afterthought.

  Lexan cuts his eyes at me. Their deep-water blue churns as I feel him sending me a thought - Stian thinks he’s good enough for you, too. But he’s not.

  I force myself to focus on the floor and the bread in my hand until I feel Lexan look away, and my f
rustration with his thought is manageable. Who is he - or anyone - to say that one person isn’t good enough for another?

  Abraham must not know that Stian and Zarea are no longer together, or that Stian has cast his lot with me. I’m not sure if that would improve our situation or not. Abraham would probably also be displeased with Zarea’s interest in Lexan.

  “So what will they do with us?” Lexan asks, finishing his meal.

  “I’m not allowed to discuss what the Tribe decides. But I would get comfortable if I were you.” At this, Eamon stands and moves toward the door. “I should go.” And he does, after chaining my hand to the stake again.

  Once we are alone again, I turn my head to Lexan and grin. “I broke the code. Justice and Balance.”

  He smiles. “It took you long enough. Styx, I thought I’d have to spell it for you.”

  “Well, you could have been more specific!” His arrogance deflates my pride.

  “It needed to be that way. You believe now, don’t you.” He doesn’t ask it, and I don’t answer.

  Several minutes pass as I work through what I think he means.

  Finally he says, “You had to believe in who you were. In who I am. Before you could read the journal. I think Firene made it like that. Without that first cornerstone belief, you can’t possibly take in everything else she has written.”

  “And now I might never see the journal again. The guards have our packs,” I say bitterly, regretting so many things. “We’re nothing but prisoners after all,” I sigh, rubbing one foot under my leg to scratch an itch.

  “Thanks to your awesome boyfriend,” Lexan mutters.

  I ignore him, watching the sky through the hole in the ceiling. I really don’t want to believe that Stian turned us over to Abraham. Especially not without hearing his side of the story - that would hardly be fair.

  I remember his promise to never turn me over to his Tribe, and I feel better.

  “So, the tornado?” I ask finally, choosing a safer topic.

  “Amazing, wasn’t it. So much power.”

  “Don’t get too cocky or anything,” I say, a little offended in his arrogance.

  “No, I mean the wind itself. I never felt any power in the air until we came outside, Trea. Think about it.” He twists further to face me, his eyes bright. “We had fire in the caves, so you were more in touch with your element. Libra’s an air sign, but the air at home always seemed kind of dead. Waiting, just like we were.”

  “But it’s not like that out here,” I guess.

  He grins. “It’s incredible. I feel so much more alive.”

  “Lex, that storm almost killed you.”

  “It did drain me,” he admits. “But I shifted it! It was coming straight down that road, and I pushed it away. Think about what we could do together, Trea. That much power in the air, plus your fire?”

  I don’t answer as images fill my mind: cones of fire reaching into the sky, destroying everything in their path. Why would I want such power?

  Worse, what could someone like Keirna or Abraham do with such power?

  Gradually the clear blue turns to dark blue. My arms tingle, then go numb as the blood drains from them. A guard comes and leads us one at a time to go to the bathroom. Another brings us a light, brothy soup for dinner, tipping the bowl into my mouth as I struggle to swallow quickly enough. And soon I can see stars in the gap above me.

  Lexan dozes off and on through all of this, and I don’t speak to him, lost in my own thoughts. As the night sounds begin to open around us, sounds of a celebration reach under the flap of the door.

  Lexan shifts and yawns. “Hail the conquering heroes,” he mumbles as he tries to stretch his back. The air brings swirls of music and taunting shouts of laughter.

  “Isn’t it possible that Stian just got caught? That he didn’t turn us over?” I ask without preamble, suddenly needing reassurance that my only real fear is just that - a simple fear to be conquered.

  “Possible? Sure. But not likely. Especially if he’s supposed to be some mega-hunter-warrior thing.”

  “He’s a wanderer, Lexan,” I answer, my annoyance growing a little more, fed by the irritation left from my pointless breaking of Firene’s code. “He goes on missions for the Tribe to track people and deliver messages. To find things nobody else can find.”

  “So he should be trained to avoid getting found.”

  “Nobody’s perfect.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear you know that.”

  “Really, Lexan? I’m not stupid. I realize Stian isn’t perfect.”

  He scoots around on his stake, facing me. “I read his entry in Madna’s journal, Trea. He broke into Asphodel to find us. He lured us out with a promise of safety. I’m assuming he lured you out with a little more than that. And he probably lead us right here to the valley, sabotaged the truck, and trotted off to find Caine. And still, all you think about is jumping back into his arms like he’s some kind of hero. But he’s not, Trea. He’s lying to himself, and he’s lying to you.”

  All I can do is stare at him, my temper boiling. His accusations go much farther than I would have ever dreamed. Lexan stares straight back, but his thoughts are silent. Everything that matters has already been said.

  Finally I find my voice, and it’s laced with bitterness and the intent to hurt. “And so Zarea must have seduced you into compliance, kept you distracted while Stian lead us in the wrong direction, and simply forgot to tell you she’s some kind of Tribal princess.”

  Lexan glares at me, indignation building into a red smear on his cheeks. “Rea’s not like that. She should have told us her role in the Tribe, but otherwise she’s innocent in all this. I’ve known that from the first day, when I followed her out of Madna’s house.”

  “And you just kept on following, right into her bed! I admit that Stian tricked me at first, and I know he still hasn’t gotten over that guilt. But I know exactly what he is, and how he feels about me.”

  Lexan snickers. “And I know exactly how Rea feels about me. The Tribes are a little hotter than Asphodel, aren’t they? But maybe you don’t know that yet; you just sit back and claim to be too innocent.”

  “You are such a sack of Styx, Lexan,” I manage, gritting my teeth and sucking in the cold night air in an attempt to control my anger. My so-called innocence is none of his business, and he’s lucky he isn’t on fire right now. My control slips even more as I realize I’m feeling jealous - even though there is no way I care about Lexan being with Zarea.

  “You should have tried a little more time alone. Then maybe Stian wouldn’t have been so willing to turn you over.”

  My body reacts before my mouth, and my heel swings around, up, and down with a smack on Lexan’s kneecap. He cries out in shock and hopefully pain, and immediately two guards fling open the door flap.

  “What’s going on in here?” one of them yells, hopping out of the way of my next kick. Lexan also kicks out, pinning my shin to the grass. I strain against the bindings, feeling the metal rub into my skin. I swing my other leg out, but the guard’s hand catches me, and I topple backward, hanging from my wrists and one ankle.

  “Astrea?” Stian’s voice finds me from the darkened door. I slump into the sound, all my fight gone in an instant. “I can handle it - I know how to calm her down,” he says as the guard backs out of the door and I attempt to right myself, scooting as far away from Lexan as the chains will allow.

  “Are you okay?” Stian asks, kneeling next to me in the grass. He ducks down to look into my face, but it’s too dark to see the expression in his eyes. I focus on the ground between us and not on his implication that he can handle me.

  “Of course I’m not okay. I’m locked up in here with that asshole, wondering if you betrayed me again.” I know my voice is shaking a little, but its hard edge pushes my words to where they need to be. Stian sucks in a quick breath, his fingers reaching to push a strand of hair from my face.

  “Tre, I’m so sorry,” he says, cupping my cheek. It feels
so familiar, so comforting, but I turn my face away from the touch, using what willpower I still possess. “I promise I didn’t betray you. I never meant for the Tribe to find us. I swear. Caine had been tracking us for days - there was no more avoiding him. I went to him on my terms, so I could control the situation more. You have to trust me, Tre. You guys are not in danger here. The second you are-”

  “How can I believe you?”

  His hand drops from my face and he is silent too long, so Lexan speaks instead. “You can’t, Trea. None of us can trust him again.”

  “Stay out of this, Lexan!” I yell, anger overpowering my doubt. Suddenly I don’t even care if Stian did betray us - I just want Lexan to feel as hurt as I am.

  I look up at Stian. “Kiss me,” I say clearly. I feel Lexan take a sharp breath, and I hope the cold night air stabs his chest.

  Stian watches me curiously for a second, then leans forward and brushes his lips across mine. As he moves to draw back, I catch his bottom lip between my teeth. He hesitates a little, then slams his mouth back onto mine. His body shifts and he seems to surround me: his arms and knees and lips encase me in safety and desire and the heat I’ve needed for hours.

  I forget to breathe.

  When he pulls away, I sag against my chains. The night air feels even cooler against the new warmth in my skin.

  “I can stay for a little while, but I have to be extra careful,” Stian says softly, his breath warm on my neck. “Abraham may be drunk with the new possibilities of your power, but he still isn’t happy that I made it home.”

  “Because he doesn’t like the idea of you partnering with his daughter, and he hoped you’d die out there,” Lexan offers. I stiffen a little. Of course. That must be why Stian was given such an impossible task.

  “But why would he have sent Zarea to follow you?” I ask, spotting the hole in Lexan’s theory.

  “He didn’t,” Stian answers, and my heart beats double-time when he doesn’t contradict Lexan’s bold assumptions. “Rea followed me herself, disobeying her father. She should be executed for her disobedience. But with her safe return and the arrival of you two, Abraham has forgiven her and pulled out the biggest celebration Hebron has known in a generation. We’re kind of heroes now.” He laughs a little, but it sounds hollow and spent.