Starbright: The Complete Series

by Hilary Thompson

  “Thank you for telling me, but why must I be here now?” My voice is cold with shock and the effort of keeping my stomach where it should be.

  “So you can spread the good news of his swift recovery,” a voice behind me says. I twist around and Keirna is standing behind us, closing the door silently. “He will recover full use of his leg, and he is currently recuperating in a private room. No visitors, correct?”

  Gloran nods as though in a trance, her hands shaking. She puts down the bloodied towels.

  “You mean to kill him?” I bite out, still disbelieving.

  “Now, Aitan, surely you can see there is no other viable option. News of this injury will only hurt our progress. The men outside will believe their friend is here, and the people here will believe he has returned to his work. Otherwise, we would surely have a revolt.”

  I bow my head to her slightly, so that my eyes can’t display any hint of betrayal. “Of course. Your logic is sound.”

  “Yes. Sometimes the good of one must be sacrificed for the good of many. Gloran, please see to it. I must see to the others – they were quite panicked by the fierce winds.” She exits the room as quietly as she entered.

  “Please, Aitan, couldn’t you convince her…I could hide him here…” Gloran begins.

  I turn carefully cold eyes on her. Keirna may be a sociopath, but she still controls everything, and I need to remain in her favor just a few days longer.

  “Gloran, you will refer to me as Second Leader, and we will both defer to our First Leader in all matters.”

  I leave the room as well, unwilling to be part of Gloran’s task. Cowardly, perhaps; hypocritical, definitely.

  Keirna is asking me to put the good of the community ahead of this man’s life, and I have agreed, even though it makes me physically sick. If it were one of my family members on the table, I know I would choose differently. But instead, I let him suffer the destiny that has been dealt him. He chose to go outside, after all.

  Perhaps that will be the bigger difference between Keirna and my hopes for Leadership: I want to allow choice, where she only expects to be obeyed.

  I spend an hour writing a careful speech detailing the man’s injury and imminent recovery, but I know it will still throw a blanket of panic over the women whose partners are topside.

  So I also write out my proposal for the lottery, and leave it with Keirna’s assistant.

  “This is good,” Keirna says, entering my office later a few hours later. “Call a meeting now, announce the news of the man, and then draw the lottery. Then wait three days and draw another. You may escort the winners yourself, or one of the other Leaders can. I don’t want them to see any of the building site up close. They may bring a small token back inside – a flower, perhaps.”

  I nod. She’s listing these ideas as though they are her own, even though they are each written on the paper in her hands. She crumples the paper and tosses it into the trash on her way out.

  My speech is received well, and nobody panics outright. The announcement of the lottery effectively distracts people. The guilt resting in my stomach grows heavier when I glimpse Keirna standing in the shadows of a back hallway, nodding her approval before slipping away.

  I promise myself it will only be a few more days – until I can devise a plan to shelter my own. Even revenge and revolution aren’t worth losing everyone I care about.

  That evening, I enter the Ministration Room after everyone has left, but when I see Isa alone here again, I realize I don’t care about prayer any more.

  “I hoped you would come again tonight,” she whispers, admitting what I can’t yet. “Can we go in there?” She gestures to the passage, and I follow her inside, my heart picking up speed.

  In the secret room, we move toward the ledge without speaking – we both want to see the outside and watch the moon in her sky of stars.

  I settle on the edge of the cliff, my legs swinging into the black nothing below me.

  “The air is much warmer tonight,” Isa says, sitting closer to me than I expected her to.

  “The changing seasons will be new for all of us,” I agree. Inside the cave, there are no seasons. The temperature is the same whether there is snow or sun above.

  “Thank you for being here with me. I know it sounds silly, but you’re the only one I can talk to about Astrea now…you understand because of Lexan.”

  My ego bruises just a little at the thought that Astrea is what brought us together – before and now. I wish I’d been allowed to attract and seek out Isa all on my own.

  “I…I think a part of me knew you were just using me for information before. But I wanted to talk to you, so I didn’t care.” She looks up at me boldly, something unveiling in her eyes. My heart rate doubles as I think I understand what she’s trying to say. My mouth falls open and the words start tumbling out.

  “I’m so sorry, Isa. Working for Keirna…it sucks away all the good intentions. But I noticed you before, although I was partnered with Anyel. She never wanted me, you know – just prestige. She knew I would become Leader, and Lexan would partner with Astrea She wanted a powerful family – not love.”

  Isa is watching me carefully as I babble, and I sense she wants to confess something too. I smile at her, relieved to have a reason to stop talking. “Tell me.”

  “Dalen and I…we really liked each other. He’s a good guy. Just…stubborn. He thinks Keirna is a good First Leader. He doesn’t see, or doesn’t believe, the horrible things she’s done. He thinks Trea is a bad person, Aitan!”

  She scrubs her palms over her eyes, and I see wet trails on her cheeks.

  I should feel guilty for driving them farther apart – the arguments they’re having could be worked out in the Counseling Center, where partners are sent when they can’t solve a problem or resolve a difference of opinion.

  But I’ve always been selfish, and I don’t care if she works things out. I want her to want me.

  “I would change the laws if I had the power – let you choose me instead.”

  “What?” Isa gasps, and I realize I whispered that thought aloud. “You could change laws like that?”

  “I could do anything…if I were First Leader,” I say, meeting her eyes to see what my bold words have done.

  Her expression is fearful, but full of need. Want. For me.

  I shift and pull her into me, my hands resting in the dip of her waist and the shallow curve of her spine. She leans her forehead into my chest, where I know she can hear how rapidly my heart is beating.

  “We can’t do this,” Isa whispers.

  “I’ve tried to give this up, but I’m just not good at denying myself what I want,” I answer, bending farther to whisper in her ear. She breathes out slowly, trying to steady herself.

  “What do you want?” she manages.

  “You.”

  “But…Dalen, and, and…” her words stop as I close my lips over her protests. Instantly, I feel guilty and start to break away. But then she kisses me back, and a new feeling of power blooms sweetly in my chest.

  Of all the power I could wield in this city, this is easily the most addicting. Her emotion – her pleasure – is the only thing I have need for anymore. Her hands cling to my tunic, wrinkling the fabric, but I don’t even care.

  I’ve always been somewhat passive about our religion here. But holding this girl in my arms, and knowing she is a match for my soul, I can see where the passion of belief begins. It is only Asphodel’s age restrictions that have kept us apart.

  Those customs were probably a necessity in the beginning, when there were few young people to partner with. But now that we have grown as a people, there is no reason we should adhere to such an outdated practice.

  I will change that law, if I beat Keirna at her game.

  SEVEN

  Saloman’s dreams have increased…now he wakes every few hours, covered in sweat and mumbling about the elements and the Garden. He thinks the earth means to swallow us whole.

  And
I can’t help but wonder.

  He may be insane, but his visions are rarely wrong.

  Tonight he showed me an entry from Head Minister Charles’s private journal, which I’ve never known existedFirst Leader Lakessa’s journal – one I’d forgotten about:

  “Each time mankind becomes too wicked, the earth rears up and clears itself of the filth. The great flood. The seven-years’ fire. And now, when we are already decimated by civil war – combinations of all four elements rake our remaining people over the coals of hell. I must finish Asphodel and bring the people inside to wait. We must wait for the earth to calm, or surely we will be swallowed whole.”

  It irritates me that I had no knowledge of this journal. And although Saloman sees a similarity between our current situation and Lakessa’s, I am not yet willing to risk our future on the superstitions of a minister.

  First Leader Keirna’s Private Log

  In the ten days that have passed since construction began, some progress has been made. Not enough, however, to please Keirna.

  Again I find myself in her office, listening to a report of our dismal failure. And again I find a smirk trying to twist onto my face at how the elements themselves seem to be directing their rebellion at our endeavors.

  “The strong winds and heavy rains have continued each day, unceasing,” Keirna says, looking over the reports I have given her detailing our food stores. The working men have been consuming more than ever.

  “The river inside the cave is more swollen than I have ever seen it,” Alva adds. “And dirtier,” he sighs. We are working harder than ever to purify our drinking water.

  “And the meadow is nothing but a pit of mud,” Perce complains. His men come inside each night caked in the brown filth. Our hallways are full of dust and clumps of grass.

  “At least none of the injuries have been noteworthy,” I say. Keirna narrows her eyes at me, and inside I gloat at making her nervous. “Just one broken wrist, a few black eyes and busted noses from wayward branches, and lots of cracked feet from the wet.”

  “The lottery system seems to be running effectively,” Seren says, smiling widely at me. Ever since I let her keep those stupid flowers, she has praised my efforts to anyone who will listen.

  I nod at her. “I do have a waiting list of volunteers. Only about fifty, but we could send them as well.”

  “There is not space for them in the Training Room,” Perce says, his voice still aggravated. He is taking the slow progress even harder than Keirna – I think he believed his hard work would allow him to steal my spot one day.

  “We have a roof over the main building. Walls will be finished soon, and we’ll have a sound structure,” Keirna says, her voice soothing now. “Aitan, continue to canvass for recruits, and we’ll move the first group topside in three days. Perhaps knowing they could be sleeping in the rain will make men work faster.”

  She turns toward Maril. “We’ll also need to open the doors soon for other vocations, such as the Growing Rooms. Begin speaking with them.”

  Mother’s face flashes before my eyes. I need to stop in and see her. I’ve been so busy, I haven’t seen her or Pasia in days. Even Isa has been maddeningly hard to find after our single stolen kiss.

  I’m daydreaming about that moment when everyone begins to stand and leave – and I realize I missed the end of the meeting.

  “Something on your mind, Aitan?” Keirna asks, smiling and staring.

  “Sorry. Tired, I guess.” I stand and leave the room before she can fix her penetrating gaze on my guilty eyes. Tired is the least of my worries. I’ve gone to the Ministration Room each night since that one, but Isa has not returned.

  Yet, that night she is waiting for me in the shadows when I enter. I’m instantly flooded with relief, but one look at her face wipes it away. She edges toward me – something has made her cautious, and dread sweeps through me.

  “I’m sorry – I wanted to come before. But Mother and Father heard me come in that last time…and Dalen. He knows something, Aitan!” she says, her eyes wide with anxiety.

  “What do you think he knows?” I ask carefully, hoping to draw out her intentions with me.

  She lowers her eyes, and her lashes brush her cheeks. “That I have feelings for someone else. I was watching everyone leave this morning, and he left the line to hug me, but he…he whispered that I’m a cheat.”

  My heart lurches, torn in two directions. I don’t want to cause her this pain. But I don’t want to lose her. I reach out and cup her cheek, and she leans into my hand.

  “I’m so sorry to complicate your life, Isa,” I whisper. “But I don’t want to give you up.”

  She gulps down a breath and hugs me tightly. “And now the passage is sealed, Aitan,” she says against my chest, her voice trembling.

  I break away and dart to the opening – or where the opening used to be. Cursing, I turn back to her. “I doubt anyone knows,” I say, trying to ease her fears. “Keirna probably just now got around to sealing it.”

  I light a prayer candle, and we sit on a bench in the corner, half-hidden by the heavy tapestries on the walls. I glance up at the diamonds driven into the ceiling – a crude reminder of the real stars we should be gazing at right now.

  “What will we do?” Isa asks. “I can’t be with Dalen anymore. Too much has changed. I don’t trust him to follow Trea when she comes back.”

  “Be careful with him,” I warn, deciding to risk it all in one last offer. “But if you feel like I do, and you’re willing to wait for me, I promise I’ll come for you the second I overthrow Keirna.”

  She laughs a bitter little laugh. “I’ll be waiting a long time then. That woman is a scourge – you’ll never make it out of her grasp alive. None of us will.” Her fingers curl into mine, though, answering the rest of the question.

  Sighing, I gather her tightly to me and whisper my ideas for a new Asphodel. Ideas that have been forming over the last few days, and ideas which I now know I’m willing to fight for. Even die for.

  Community decision-making, not rules handed down from one mind only. True democracy – even more than Firene allowed. Leaders elected from the people, not appointed based solely on their birthdays. The stars as a guide, not a rulebook.

  They are heady ideas, and we soon lose our fears in the swirl of possibility. I think hours have passed when Isa finally stands, stretching. She rests her hands on my shoulders as I sit before her.

  “You will be a great Leader, Aitan,” she says, and leans down to meet my lips. Her blonde hair sweeps around me, and although the cave has begun to feel more like a tomb lately, here tonight I am basking in the sunshine that is Isa.

  We slink back to the Living Quarters, unseen as far as I can tell. Several hours later everyone is awoken by a terrible rumbling. The walls shake and the rock floor seems to roll beneath me. Anyel’s screaming is mirrored behind every wall and door, as person after person is tumbled from their bed.

  As soon as it stops, we all burst from our homes, gathering in clumps in the hallways and open areas.

  The speakers above us crackle to life.

  “People of Asphodel, this is your First Leader Keirna. I ask that you stay calm, and stay in your homes unless injured. We have experienced an earthquake – something Asphodel has not seen in many years. But the world is changing, and we must work together to fortify our society. Beginning in the morning, I will call for an additional two hundred volunteers to go outside. Our speed of building must be increased, or we risk being buried forever!”

  I swear to myself as I follow Anyel back inside. I need to speak with Saloman. These sorts of natural events are not natural at all – they speak of a discontent in the earth itself.

  But the next morning, I’m cornered by Perce as soon as I reach the Leadership Complex. I spend hours signing names for men to go topside, then collecting the necessary bedding and food and equipment. The first group has just been promoted early to permanent topside workers.

  Finally the men are settle
d, and I pause in my office to read a few reports before hunting down Saloman. A light knock sounds on my door, and Pasia enters. I raise my eyebrows, surprised to see her so near to where Keirna might be.

  “It’s Mother,” she says, and then I notice how red her eyes are. My stomach drops, but I shove up from my chair and come around to embrace her. She heaves a little. “She’s gone. Have you seen her?”

  “I haven’t been to see her in over a week. Where would she go?” I should have checked on her yesterday, when I thought of it.

  “I don’t know!” Pasia wails. “But I some of her things are missing!”

  “I’m sure there’s an explanation. I’ll ask around. It’s not like there are many places for her to go,” I say. Pasia glares at my answer, but she doesn’t contradict. “Why don’t you go get some rest, and I’ll find you when I know more.” I rub her back, trying to soothe her.

  A small noise draws my attention to the door, still slightly open. Of course, Keirna stands there, a smile creeping at the corner of her mouth. Why is this cursed woman everywhere she should never be?

  “Hetta has volunteered to head up the Growing Rooms’ team topside. I needed an expert in food production, so her request was honored, even though so far I have only taken men.”

  “Volunteered?” I question, the word sounding aggressive. Pasia trembles in my arms.

  “Yes,” Keirna smiles. “She came to me. I’m surprised she said nothing of it to you. Perhaps your family ties are not as strong as I suspected. This is good, Aitan. Well done.”

  I open my mouth, but nothing I could say would change what she is or what she believes. So I just nod, caught in this bizarre alternate world where severing family ties is work well done.

  “Will she sleep outside with the men?” Pasia asks, standing straighter.

  “Certainly not!” Keirna says. “An unpartnered woman is in no position to be alone with so many men. For now, she will sleep in the rooms designed for my living quarters. When the complex is complete, she may have her choice of rooms as payment for her sacrifices.”