Starbright: The Complete Series

by Hilary Thompson

  And even now, Zarea looks like a warrior. She is dusty and unwashed and fierce and beautiful.

  “Eunomia,” Tisiphone whispers, and Zarea’s eyes snap to Tisiphone. “That is the name for what you are,” she adds.

  “I am not a what. I am a person, and I am here to meet the woman who claims to be my mother. Her emissaries did not make it to Hebron,” she says, the last part softer than the first.

  Alecta glares, and Zarea actually lowers her eyes.

  “May I take Zarea to the Cave of the Goddess, your Graces?” I ask the Sisters, who are still just watching, as though they are not really there. I slit my eyes at them so they know I won’t be compromising. “I will explain everything to her as we walk.”

  “Surely she is hungry–” Tisiphone’s niceties are cut off by Megara’s laugh, as though she thinks her Sister is an idiot for thinking of such a thing.

  “Actually, I’m not hungry,” Zarea says, raising her brows at the trio. “I’d prefer to see the ocean before I leave again. And the woman who claims to be my mother,” she says again, stressing each word slowly, as if speaking to an imbecile. I have to bite my lips to keep from laughing.

  “Tariel can check her over in a bit and you three can play at hostess and interrogator soon,” I say instead, and smile indulgently. “But Zarea and I have many things to discuss.”

  Megara and Alecta watch me in boredom, though Tisiphone seems to fidget a bit.

  “What about the path?” she says. I’m not entirely sure who she’s talking to, and no-one answers. In fact, Megara and Alecta grin at each other and begin to saunter away. Tisiphone seems to be debating what to do.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll show her,” I say. I know Zarea won’t want an audience for this.

  “Can you please take me to the womb?” Irana asks Tisiphone then, and both of them look a little relieved at the excuse. Soon it is just me, facing Zarea across the invisible barrier.

  “What is their problem?” she asks. “Why did they tell me I can’t enter the city yet? I almost pushed right past them.”

  I grin, thinking of how I did the exact same thing. “There is a path to follow here in Elysium. Sort of a spiritual journey, tied to your physical body. It starts right here,” I say, pointing to the crystals. “I don’t know how, but touching these crystals will cause you pain.”

  Zarea narrows her eyes, and I can tell she doesn’t believe me. She bends on one knee and reaches her fingers to the path. Her face contorts and she lets out a string of creative curses.

  “I’ve been here for weeks and weeks. I swear, there isn’t any way around it. Just through it,” I say. “Even the locals do the same thing, just over years instead of days. That’s where Irana is going now.”

  “The womb?” Zarea repeats the word with distaste.

  “There are a lot of strange things here. Let me show you how to cross, and we’ll take it from there.”

  I lead her to the part where Lexan and I crossed and point out the constellations.

  “So I just jump onto the star pattern?” she asks, doubt lacing her face. She straightens and whispers something to the horse, pulling her pack from its back. It wanders away and begins to pull at the grass.

  “It’s going to hurt like Hades,” I warn, barely getting the last word out before she jumps, landing in a crouch on the crystals forming her constellation.

  “Lexan never said anything about this,” she grunts out, struggling to breathe evenly.

  “You saw him?” I grab her hand, trying to pull her up. “Where? Was he okay?”

  She bats my hand away, standing shakily on her own. “He was on foot. Pacem is coming back here with some wounded people they found in Tartarus. Lexan’s fine,” she adds, seeing my glare.

  “Fine?” I echo, not quite believing her. Lexan was not fine, even the day he left.

  She studies me. “No, actually he wasn’t doing well here,” she says, tapping her heart, and mine gives a painful wrench. “He misses you. He’s frantic about Asphodel. And he keeps getting delayed. Whatever it is we’re doing here,” she gestures around at Elysium’s cement buildings, “we need to hurry, Tre. Those boys think they’re our protectors, but they won’t last long without us.”

  I can’t tell if she’s trying to make a joke, but I agree with her.

  I point out all the colors of crystals, explaining which ones go with her constellation and the earth element, and which ones will be painful. I explain the womb, the community, and the Ocean Trials.

  I leave out any reference to Hade.

  “So you were basically left to die on the water?” she asks, following me carefully through the city. I can tell by her expression that she’s in pain no matter where she steps, but she’s handling it without comment.

  “I’d like to think they want me alive, but yeah,” I say. “The Sisters aren’t human. They’re like me – judges – but scarier. Erinyes,” I whisper, trying out Lexan’s word.

  Zarea grits her teeth and breathes deeply as she takes another step. I wonder why even the crystals for earth are troublesome. “We’re going to see that woman, right?” she asks.

  “Yes. Your mother. I really do believe she’s your mother, Zarea,” I say, turning to meet her eyes.

  We’re at the edge of the concrete now, and I point down. She peers over the edge and starts to climb. The ladder and sandy areas outside the temple are a relief from all crystals, and Zarea moves faster here.

  But once we reach the temple’s entrance, I turn to face her, hands on my hips.

  “I’m sorry,” I say, “but you won’t be allowed to leave Elysium right after you meet her.”

  She narrows her eyes at me, her fingers automatically slipping to her waist to grasp a small-handled knife hidden there.

  I don’t react. “I’m serious, Zarea. This is where you’re supposed to be right now. The Prophet has seen it. Lexan has seen it. You have to hear her out.”

  Her face flushes with anger, but she sheathes her knife again. “I know. Lexan told me about his vision of the three of us.”

  She strides ahead of me on the path, passing the cave itself and stepping onto the bleached sand beyond.

  I wonder what vision she’s referring to as I watch her from several feet away. Lexan never told me about seeing Zarea as a maiden – it was just our best guess until the Prophet confirmed it. She strips her boots and socks, rolls her pants, and wades knee-deep into the salty water. Bending and splashing water on her face, she tilts her chin to the sun.

  “Send her out here. I don’t want to curse my own mother inside a temple, if that’s what she really is,” she says without opening her eyes.

  I sigh and turn to fetch Lady Thema, but she steps from the shadows of the rocks surrounding the temple. She nods at me, acknowledging that she has heard Zarea.

  “I’m not stronger than she is,” I begin, thinking of the knife. I don’t have any weapons on me anyways.

  “She will stay, I think,” Lady Thema answers. “You may stay as well. I will tell both of you the story.”

  She sits cross-legged in the dry sand. I settle nearby on a flat rock, pulling my knees to my chest. Zarea doesn’t leave the water, but she angles her body toward Lady Thema.

  “I think we look enough alike for the people to be satisfied,” Lady Thema says, her voice light. Zarea sighs.

  “I still have that necklace. The family chain,” she says, gesturing to Thema’s silver body chain, which sparkles in the folds her pale green dress.

  “I am your mother, but I am also mother to two others,” Thema says. This gets both of our attention.

  “I have siblings?” Zarea whispers.

  Thema nods. “Sisters. You were born triplets.”

  I nearly fall off my rock. “Where are they?” I ask. Zarea glares at me, and I shrug an apology.

  “I don’t know where they are,” Thema answers, her voice nearly lost in the crash of a wave onto the nearby rocks. “I left them the same way I left you. In Hebron.”

  “
Wait.” Zarea holds her fingers to her temple, and I am suddenly afraid for Thema’s life. “You mean to tell me that Abraham – and you – kept the secret that I have two sisters? Living in Hebron with me all along?” Her voice is rising to near hysteria.

  “What are their names?” I ask, ducking as though I could avoid Zarea’s rage.

  Thema remains silent.

  Zarea paces, smacking her hands against the rock wall, flinging curses into the ocean.

  “When I left, I thought they would both die. They were tiny – undeveloped. One even had a malformed foot. You were always the strong one, which is why your name means protector. I never actually told Abraham about Ashta and Serah,” she says, the last part barely a whisper.

  “So he died never knowing his other daughters?” Zarea retorts, her words biting into Thema’s calm sorrow.

  “I-I’m sorry. I didn’t even know he died,” she says. I’m astounded to see a sheen cover her eyes. She’s actually mourning Abraham.

  “The man who wants to be my husband is now Tribe Leader. His name is Stian. Abraham denied his claim to the Hero’s Recompense, just like he denied Stian’s father the same thing. Stian grew up an orphan because of my father.” Zarea glares down at her feet. “The very night that Stian defeated Abraham’s choice for successor, Abraham himself was killed in his sleep by a snake. His own kind come at last to claim him,” Zarea sneers, and I shift uncomfortably.

  I may not have respected my father, but I did love him.

  Zarea seems to have done neither for Abraham.

  Thema wipes at her eyes, her face smooth again. “I left them with one of the women in the Tribe. She was to bury them well, or raise them as her own if they lived. I left her everything I had, except the family chain,” Thema says her fingers tugging on the chain around her neck. “I didn’t expect three babies. I didn’t expect them to live,” she repeats.

  “How do you even know they did?” Zarea asks.

  “How will we find them?” I wonder at the same time.

  Thema just stares at both of us, unable or unwilling to provide an answer.

  If Lexan were here, he would piece it together. I know he would.

  “There aren’t many girls my age in Hebron. I would have noticed two other girls who looked just like me. Maybe they did die,” Zarea says. “Can’t we just ask the Prophet to read his stars or something? Or the Sisters can read my future.”

  “It doesn’t work that way,” Thema says.

  “But surely the Prophet will have an idea,” she insists.

  “I’ll ask him,” I say. “But we need to talk about other things. Like your powers.”

  Both of them glare at me, but I don’t back down. We have more pressing matters than fortune telling.

  “Now that you’re here, the Sisters aren’t going to wait long. If you’re the third maiden, we need to figure out how to defeat them. You’ll need control over your powers for that.”

  Zarea takes a deep breath. “Lexan reminded me of a few things. The night Stian was…hurt…I did something. Lexan thinks I did something powerful.”

  “The earthquake?” I ask, remembering the cracks opening in the floor. The chunks of ceiling scattering the beautiful people in their fancy gowns.

  “I don’t even want any of this!” Zarea exclaims suddenly, kicking at the water. “My whole life – I’ve fought for so much. It’s all worthless now! I can’t even be with the person I love because I have to fight…and nothing even makes sense!”

  Her rant trails away into the crashing of the waves.

  For the first time, I feel like Zarea and I have a lot in common.

  “I stopped expecting a happy ending a long time ago,” I say, and both women swivel their eyes to me. “But I still fight for it. Even if I never get there, at least I can help those I meet along the way.”

  Zarea stares at me like she doesn’t even know who I am. Thema smiles halfway and crosses the sand to Zarea.

  “When I was a girl,” she begins, “I was told that I would be my city’s shame. I became that – I ran from Elysium, I fell in love with Abraham. I bore a child – children – and never raised them in the ways of my city. But I was also told that I would help save my city. And so I have taken comfort in that. No one person has all the pieces, Zarea. We each carry one vital thread in our souls, and it is only by weaving them together that we can create a tapestry beautiful enough to be worth saving, and strong enough to protect us from the piercing arrows of darkness.”

  “That’s all very poetic,” Zarea says. “But if you people are all about joining threads and working together, why doesn’t anyone just tell the truth?”

  Lady Thema draws herself taller, and her eyes spark. “Because, my fierce daughter, threads can also be used to bind people. You must be careful who you choose to work with, and what power you give them over you.”

  Finally, Zarea nods, then begins to smile. She glances at me. “I will stay. For now. Can you let us talk for a while?”

  I nod. “I’ll wait in the Temple of the Goddess.”

  As I slip away, I see Thema embrace Zarea – and I’m surprised to see Zarea embrace her right back. I smile to myself and enter the temple, where I face the ocean, looking through the frame of the goddess’s form, and begin to pray. The waves rush in and out rhythmically, until I’m unaware of the time passing.

  “I think I’m ready for that meal now.” Zarea’s voice breaks into my meditations. The sun is hot above us when we exit the temple.

  “Lunch should be ready soon,” I say as we climb the ladder. When we reach the top, Lady Thema excuses herself.

  “We will speak again soon,” she says, her eyes fixed on Zarea almost greedily.

  “So tell me how to beat this path,” Zarea says as we walk to the dining hall. I describe the womb as best I can, and the Ocean Trials, and how I’ve managed to survive.

  “It basically comes down to how much pain you can take before you break,” I say as we enter the curtained area. Irana is there, and she pales as she hears my comment.

  “What parts of the path have you completed?” Zarea asks me.

  “All of the four main ones. Only the ether is left, and they say no-one completes that until after death.”

  “I’m working on my third,” Irana says, keeping her eyes to her plate.

  “At least you can walk around after yours,” I smile. “I moved quickly, but I was in bed for days after each one.” Neither of them knows about how susceptible I’ve been to Hade, of course.

  Irana also has no idea I’ve been watching her closely for anything resembling what I saw on the ocean. So far, I’ve seen nothing.

  “Well, I guess I have some crystals to crush,” Zarea sighs as she begins to eat. In between huge bites, she tells us of seeing Lexan, how Pacem should soon be returning to Elysium with survivors, and of the threats outside – the elements and the Lost.

  By the time she has finished describing what truly happened at Kedesh, Irana has tears streaming down her face, and I have pushed my food away, sick at the thought of those kind people and their horrible deaths.

  “I never knew,” Irana whispers. “Pacem sheltered me from all of that. I’m so sorry.”

  “There’s nothing you could have done,” Zarea says plainly. “It happened before you ever got there. We think the Lost are people from Tartarus – somehow their minds were lost when they were cleansed.” She glances sidelong at me. “Sorry.”

  I grit my teeth. Obviously, it’s my fault, but what choice did I have? “We’re all lucky to have made it out of Tartarus alive,” is all I allow myself to say.

  But she hears the unspoken words, and she remains silent. We both know that if it weren’t for my bargaining with Hade, he would never have revived Stian, and he likely would have killed Zarea without even finding out she was a maiden.

  “So do you have much control over your power?” Irana asks in the awkward silence. “I only just gained mine when I arrived here. I think being near the ocean helped.” She bl
inks at me, and I bite back a grin.

  Zarea shrugs. “Well, I’m around earth all the damn time, and so far I’ve only done anything by accident.”

  “Perhaps we can work with you on that when you are not following the path,” a voice says. We all look up to see Tisiphone standing at the edge of the curtain. I’m surprised we’ve been alone this long, actually.

  “Astrea, you are needed in your room. Hesten will be preparing you for the Ascension Ceremony. Irana, you may rest this afternoon while we introduce Zarea to the womb.”

  I nod and rise. Evidently they won’t be wasting any time waiting for Irana and Zarea to be ready for this Ascension.

  “You know we probably won’t be here for the next ceremony, right?” I ask Tisiphone, thinking out loud.

  She startles, but only nods. “It is likely we will have begun our journey to the Garden before then, yes. But we have already delayed the ceremony in the hopes that your Ocean Trials would be successful. Any more postponement would not fair to the others who have worked so hard on their paths.”

  “No, please,” Irana says quickly. “I wouldn’t want them to wait for me.”

  “Can someone please explain all of this to me?” Zarea interrupts, fatigue beginning to twist into her voice.

  “Of course,” Tisiphone says, then nods to Irana and me, effectively dismissing us. Irana grabs an orange from the table and slips it into her pocket, and I snag one more of the rolls.

  “Do you think she is the third maiden?” Irana whispers to me as we walk through the hall.

  “Yes, I do.”

  “But I don’t sense any power from her. I even tried to send her my thoughts, and it was like speaking into the ocean.”

  I shrug. “She’s untrained, is all. The Tribes knew the least about any of this, I think. But Zarea is tough. She’ll be done in no time. Besides, you’ve never sent me any thoughts.”

  Irana stops walking, looking at me strangely. “Yes, I have.”

  “When?”

  “All the time. Just at lunch! Remember – I told you how excited I am to see Pacem, and how sorry I am that Lexan is not returning to you yet.”

  I study at her, trying to see where the game is, or the misunderstanding. Neither is typical of her.