Starbright: The Complete Series

by Hilary Thompson

  Then that strength ebbs away, even quicker than normal. The darkness rushes back in, twice as strong as before. I reel a bit from the force of the black pulsing against my eyes, and Hade steadies me as we pause before my door.

  “You still need practice, but we are running out of time.” As if to punctuate his fears, a rumble begins beneath us, and the palace walls shake. A torch near us falls to the floor and a guard rushes to retrieve it. I brace myself against a doorway, but the tremors stop. Hade looks back to me. “If Lexan helps, can you draw the darkness from more people at a time?”

  I shrug uncertainly, all my energy focused again on trying to overpower the heavy black in my heart. A sudden thought fills my mind and won’t leave, no matter how much I know it’s wrong - I need to absorb more light.

  I need to Balance this new darkness I’ve gained from taking so many lives. Only then will I achieve the lightness of a star. Of a savior.

  TWENTY-FOUR

  I haven’t slept through the night in more than two weeks - each time my eyes close, I’m taken by the same vision of light and darkness swirling through the universe in an ancient dance of Balance. Sometimes there is more light, and sometimes there is more dark. But as the world turns and the sun and moon alternate, Balance is somehow always restored. I think there must be more meaning to the dream than that, though - or I wouldn’t keep having it. The stars are trying to tell me something as I sleep, but perhaps I’m too far underground for their voices to reach me.

  Secret Journal of First Leader Firene

  Hade requests that I join him in the throne room for dinner. After my bath, Ama selects a pair of black leggings made from vine-patterned lace, and a silk tunic open at the throat and much lower. My footsteps echo as I enter the throne room - without the tables and chairs from the ball, the room is too empty and my every movement seems overly loud. My arms are bare and I shiver a little when Hade sits a touch too closely on the white couch.

  He wears black tonight as well, and I imagine for just a moment what he imagines - the two of us on thrones together, ruling Tartarus and beyond with our darkness. Snuffing out the fires of the world, just as the deceitful sister did so long ago.

  “Who was the sister who tricked the moon?” I ask abruptly. Hade waits for me to explain, dishing out a bowl of clear, fragrant soup for himself. “In the old stories, one of the sisters asked the moon to join the sun in the sky.”

  “An eclipse?” His eyes are a blackened caramel in the steam of the soup bowl.

  I nod. “But after the moon did this, the people’s fires were snuffed out, one by one, by the cunning leader and her sisters. That was Lakessa, wasn’t it. And Clota.”

  “Yes, and Aisa. They are one set of the mythological Three Sisters.”

  “Like the ones from Elysium?” I ask, startled at the connection.

  “Perhaps. Although they seem content to rule balls and courts, not countries. There are other sets of Three Sisters in our stories, and perhaps our realities. But back to your first question - the cunning leader. That would have been Clota.”

  I frown, taking a sip of water. I’d been sure Lakessa would have been the one, but then I wonder if perhaps my experiences with Keirna haven’t made me overly suspicious. “And Clota began Tartarus?”

  “Yes. She was delightful. We had such fun together, she and I.” Hade smiles around his spoon as I narrow my eyes at him.

  “That was over one hundred years ago. What are you saying?” I’m not sure I want to know, but there have been enough hints that I need an answer.

  “There are stranger things in this world than fallen stars. My dear, darkening Astrea. How do you feel, now that you have more darkness within you?”

  His question begins a scrolling image of all the lives I’ve taken and I can’t answer. My throat closes around itself, and I set my water glass back on the table.

  “You are stronger with the darkness. You can feel it, can’t you.”

  His voice is little more than a whisper in the large room, but I feel its truth enter my ears and spread its tendrils around my chest, the same way the darkness does.

  I don’t like the darkness, but it does make me stronger.

  “Let me tell you what will happen,” Hade says after a few moments. His tone strives for conversational, but I hear its hard, flat edge. This is a command, not a conversation.

  “Together, you and Lexan will cleanse Tartarus. Just as I’m sure the True Prophet has tasked you. Don’t look so surprised,” he laughs. “This is not the first time the world has needed Justice. As you cleanse the darkness from my citizens, your soul will collect a little at a time. You will grow stronger, and the world will become a place of goodness and light. Lexan will continue to be as white as the clouds in the sky. But you…” He leans closer to me, his golden eyes holding me paralyzed.

  I swallow and try to ignore his scent - the suffocating sweetness of orange.

  “You will become too full of darkness for such a world of light. And the moon will claim you again for her heavens, where only time can cleanse you.”

  “I will…die?”

  “As you know the concept. Yes.”

  I lace my fingers, then unlace them. I’ve just barely gotten used to the task of savior, then leader. Now I must submit to the role of martyr?

  I’ve been asking myself if there are people worth saving, still here in this world.

  Now I need to ask if there are people worth dying to save?

  “Of course, there is another way.”

  Despite my misgivings, I look at him and wait for his suggestion.

  “Join me, Astrea. Use Lexan to pull the light from people. You felt the duality of the power today, didn’t you? You get such a high from absorbing the light, and taking an occasional life gives you back your own Balance. Together, these make you strong. There’s no better way to live.”

  He is so close now that I can feel the heat from his body, aligned next to mine. Is it time to learn what I came for? I shift slightly to face him, my heart pounding as our faces inch closer.

  “You don’t need them all. There will still be light in the world. But you. Darling, you will be the most powerful Starbright Maiden the world has ever seen. You can dispense Justice however you see fit - not just a slave to the powers the gods gave you.” He is murmuring his words in my ear now, like a lover would.

  And to Hade, this may be a sort of love song.

  I breathe him in and the darkness in my soul - so much more of it now - sings at his nearness. He bends and brushes his lips across mine in a whisper of a promise.

  “Can I give you my answer in the morning?” I manage, my lips stuttering out the words against his own.

  He settles his fingers along my neck, splaying them along my collarbone. “Yes, you can. But remember…” his hands caress the sensitive skin and I can’t decide whether to shiver or shudder. “You don’t need his hands on your body to have his power.”

  He rises and leaves the throne room without looking back.

  I falter at those last words - does he mean that I should steal Lexan’s light? Light is nearly all he has - the loss would surely kill him.

  And in that second I know that Hade has lost this game. He has played his final card, thinking that I resent Lexan enough to do such a thing. He has bet on my desire for independence - gambled using his knowledge of my limited relationship with Lexan.

  But he can’t see inside my heart.

  I spend the night in the throne room again, but this time I sleep, lounged against the fat pillows of the couch. I want Hade to believe he has won me, and a vision of me so comfortable in this room will surely help.

  Guards wake me early with breakfast trays and I eat ravenously, stuffing my mouth with dates and yogurt and the ever-present oranges. I’m just rinsing the juice from my fingers when Hade enters.

  He circles behind the couches to stand at the open windows.

  “I love to watch my city awaken,” he says. A curtain billows around him as he turns
slightly to look back at me. His extravagant beauty saddens me - how can such ugliness be disguised like this?

  I stand beside him for a moment, then I pace the room restlessly, lingering before his collections of paintings and sculptures and ancient weapons. I’ve seen them all before, but they give me a reason to move away from him.

  “Your friends Stian and Zarea are doing well. Stian has fully recovered from my little experiment.”

  “A failed one,” I say, unable to keep the gloating tone from my voice.

  “No, not failed. Simply successful in an unexpected way.”

  I turn back to him, curious, but he doesn’t elaborate.

  “And Lexan?” I ask. “He is comfortable as well?”

  Hade laughs softly. “He is alive. Let’s leave it at that.”

  “What have you done to him?” I demand, circling back to stand next to him at the windows.

  “He has done it to himself, Astrea. After such a show of rebellion yesterday, resulting in the death of a truly valuable Tartarian citizen…”

  “My actions have killed quite a few of those recently!”

  “Yes, but not in rebellion. Only in practice of obedience.”

  I bite back a curse, adjusting my shoulders. I take in a deep breath and remind myself what I have decided to do today.

  “Shall we see Irana dance today? I have not called for her in so many days. I suspect she is lonely.”

  Before I can answer him, he has alerted the guards and the flowered screens are creaking open. Soon her cage appears, her small form buried beneath swatches of rose and pink and red. As she rises to her full height, the dress arranges itself in long petals and leaves, her blond waves capped by a wisp of white and yellow gauze, reminiscent of pollen. A soft lullaby begins to play and her cage circles the room, her movements slow and sleepy.

  I can’t quite identify with the idea of waking up slowly - my movements have been shaky with adrenaline since Hade entered the room. I turn to face him.

  “Bring me all the people you can fit into the courtyard. No blindfolds. And bring me Lexan. We start this morning.”

  Hade’s smile both lights up the room and darkens my heart. “Brilliant,” he says.

  I breathe deeply and answer his smile, keeping the vision steady in my head - today I will begin the cleansing of Tartarus. I will take as much of the darkness as I can, then I will take some light for Balance.

  And as long as Lexan cooperates, I will take no lives.

  Over two hundred citizens of Tartarus wait for me in the courtyard - bound, gagged, but not blindfolded. When Lexan steps behind me, his air currents bring me the sharp, sweaty tang of their fear.

  “What are we doing, Trea?” he whispers, and I hear the desperation in every word. One cheek is ruddy and swollen, but otherwise he looks unharmed.

  “We are winning. Please trust me,” I whisper back. I can’t risk anything else, not with Hade only a few feet away, lounging on a white chaise.

  “Citizens of Tartarus!” I spread my arms, calling their attention. “You have heard tales, both hideous and wonderful, of my powers. Here is the truth: you all have darkness and light within you. This is part of life. Part of being human. But some of you are out of Balance. You have done horrible things. I am here to cleanse you!”

  I glance back to Lexan. He is watching me thoughtfully, and he nods for me to continue. I feel him sending calm on the breeze that surrounds the courtyard.

  “Here is my Scale of Balance! Together we will weigh your soul and cleanse you of an imbalance of dark. Do not be mistaken - Balance does not mean equal parts of both. The darkness is much heavier than the light. Now, look into my eyes, and I will lend you bravery for the task at hand.”

  I watch each of them, passing over their anxious faces. A few are shifty-eyed and refuse to meet my gaze. I close my eyes and survey the crowd. Most have more light than dark, but there are plenty of black-hearted people before me. I wonder what happens when I draw the light from someone such as that.

  I raise my arms and Lexan’s hands slip into place.

  “Be careful, Trea,” he says in my ear. I only wish I had time for care.

  I begin. Sifting through the crowd a few people at a time, I pull at the threads of darkness, unraveling their hold on the core of light. I hold my flame to the edges of the black, forcing it to burn, shrinking it. I try to ignore the wisps of blackness that twirl in my hair and around my wrists as they leave the bodies before me.

  I shift and pull at the smallest bit of light left in one person. Lexan tightens his grip, and I know he senses the change, like yesterday. But I burn the light faster, craving its Balance in my own soul.

  The person cries out and I close my hands this time, snuffing my fire before opening my eyes. The sight before me buckles my knees, and Lexan catches me with an arm around my waist.

  The man I pulled light from is now a raging monster - he lashes out at everyone near him, tearing at them with fingernails and teeth. His bonds lie in a pile at his feet, broken by sheer strength. The guards struggle to restrain him, and he begins to tear at his own flesh until he is covered in narrow rivers of blood.

  “What did you do to him?” Lexan asks as the man looses a horrific scream and collapses, the blade of a guard’s long sword buried in his heart.

  “I don’t know, but I won’t be doing it again.” I turn to Hade. “Some of these people have too much darkness. They won’t survive the process.”

  He nods. “Separate them out.”

  I wait, but he offers no more instruction. So, leaving Lexan and Hade, I wander through the crowd, eyes closed, tapping a person here and there. When I finally open my eyes, those people have vanished from the courtyard. A chill passes through my chest as I wonder what fate I have given these men and women.

  “Continue!” Hade calls.

  In less than two hours, I have pulled enough darkness from all the remaining people. They are Balanced and bathed in an ecstasy of white light.

  I am not.

  With each person cleansed, tiny tendrils of the darkness I’ve burned have seeped into my own soul, weighing me down until I feel nothing except rage and despair.

  Despite the good I have accomplished today, I’m beginning to fear that Hade is right.

  The guards lead the cleansed citizens from the courtyard to be marked. Hade has decided I could complete the entire city in less than a week’s time at this rate, and he leaves to discuss plans to send the guards into the streets this very afternoon.

  Lexan wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me to him. “That was amazing, Trea. Your power is so much stronger. I don’t understand - instead of being weak and exhausted, you seem like you could do this all day.”

  I sag against him, unsure if I should confess. I look up into his eyes, wondering if he will see the guilt in my face. He does look at me curiously, and my heart beats faster. If we were one, he would know.

  “Your eyes are different. More black than gray.”

  I bury my face in his chest; with my eyes closed I can see his light right before me. I crave to touch it, to pull just a little. Surely it couldn’t hurt…

  The intensity of the thought frightens me and I push him away abruptly.

  “Trea-“

  “I can’t, Lexan. I can’t touch you. I’m…I’m not that strong.”

  I run from the courtyard, passing Hade as he is coming out. He swivels and follows me.

  “Astrea! You will meet me in the throne room for lunch!” He calls as I dart down the passage that leads to my room. I slow my pace, dragging my feet until I finally find the resolve to turn and obey his wish.

  When I enter the throne room, it is not empty.

  The people I identified earlier are here, lined against the wall. They are bound more securely than before, and blindfolded. There are fifteen men and women here, watched by ten broad-shouldered guards.

  I shudder at the possibilities of what Hade might request.

  He enters the room and claps his ha
nds. Servants bring food, and I hear Irana’s music begin. Hade beckons me to eat, and, as Irana circles the room, I try. Her body is now dressed in palest gray, and her arms are draped with what look like silvery-white wings, tinged with a glowing shade of green.

  “An angel?” I guess, remember the term from pictures on Madna’s walls.

  “A luna moth,” Hade answers. “They are in love with the moon.”

  I watch her, mesmerized and blank for a few blessed moments. Then her cage circles near the wall of prisoners, and the bite of food in my mouth seems to turn to ash.

  “Those people are there for you,” Hade says, following my gaze. “A gift. Their lives will end in the arena for their crimes. That decision has already been made. But first, you will take their light. You need their strength, Astrea. Just as I have helped you find your darkness, I will help you regain your light.”

  I watch him, yearning for what he offers, but unwilling to hurt another person.

  “Take what you need from them. It is a sort of absolution in itself, I believe. Before they die, they get to do one good deed.”

  I consider his words, my chest heavy and full of darkness.

  He speaks lies, but it’s a truth I just might need to survive. I close my eyes and burn away their light, guiding it into my own soul.

  When I open my eyes, the prisoners have already been taken away. I feel as though I could leap out of the window and soar into the sky - this new light has pushed away all of the heavy darkness in my soul and made me free again.

  “See?” Hade says in the quietest voice, watching as a flush of life heats my cheeks. “No need for the Scale when you can Balance your own soul.”

  I pause in my glee, doubt creeping in. Surely the prophecy would not join us if it were not necessary.

  “Ah,” Hade sighs. “I see the problem. You love him. He is your one.”

  “No. I care for him. A friend.” I don’t love Lexan. Not now.