Page 209 of Blood of the Stars

Orra ignored the younger woman, instead focusing on the vine as it thickened and stretched, winding its way up the stairs before splitting in a dozen directions, climbing the walls until it covered the stairs above and below, continuing to creep up to the enemy above. The vine was blind to the soldiers it would encounter, but Orra could sense them. Thorns grew from each of the vine’s tips, thrashing out like claws on a whip.

The first soldier’s scream made them all jump as it echoed down the stairwell. Orra closed her eyes and leaned into that first step, letting her forehead rest on the stone of the second. Her power leaked from every pore, congealing at her palms before finding a home in the vine that still grew and lashed out at soldiers.

As the vine spread farther, it wrapped around ankles and wrists and necks, yanking them off balance or squeezing air from their lungs. The crack of bones and skulls on stone mixed with panicked shouts and horrified screams. Something warm and wet dripped down the center of the stairwell, plinking against Orra’s hands.

The cramped stairwell left the soldiers trapped, unable to pass the vines and dead soldiers blocking their escape down. Still, they tried, trampling each other in their fear, putting themselves in the path of Orra’s deadly vine. She kept it growing out and up, overlapping itself until it was thick enough to entangle men and bury bodies, all the way to the stair’s end.

And something else… something good.

Orra stretched and reached, her hands beginning to tremble, her breaths coming in short gasps. Another power met her own at the top of the stairs. She halted the vine, holding it steady, pausing as if to sniff out the other source. Only remnants of magic remained, but her power was too weak to trace its signature, and three souls remained at the top, three people not yet tainted by Mayvus’ magic and influence. She let her vine pass over them before turning back around, crawling through the bodies sprawled across the steps, slicing through any that still held life. At this point it was a mercy, silencing the moans and cries of a battlefield.

When the last of them faded, Orra collapsed across the steps, her eyes open but not seeing. Only Stars danced before her vision, and for a moment she smiled as they darted to and fro.

“My friends,” she murmured.

But then the vision cleared, and Kendalyhn’s face swam before her, at least three different versions of it.

“Orra?” The word reverberated in her head like when they’d sat in the canyon, and Orra closed her eyes against the pain in her temple.

“Leave me,” she said.

“I don’t—I’m not sure our lock will hold.” Kendalyhn’s voice grew more frantic, which only hurt Orra’s ears more. “It’s not something either of us have done before.”

“I’ll take her,” Holm said.

Hands gripped Orra, and she sensed the change in gravity, like taking flight. Then she sensed nothing more.

CHAPTER 84

Aeliana rushed through Mayvus’ rooms, barely noticing the elaborate bedding and drapes, a strange contrast to the rest of the fortress’ barren rooms. Every time the floor shook, they paused, wary of what might be happening back at the stairs with Gaeren and Sylmar. Eventually, when the rumbling stopped, Aeliana passed Velden, sensing a pull that guided her through the rooms until she reached the balcony door. Pink and orange light streamed through the glass panels of the door, highlighting their loss of time.

A hand brushed Aeliana’s back, startling her. “You don’t need to face her,” her mother whispered. “I’m no longer branded. I can take care of this.”

Aeliana frowned. “I’d rather you protect Jasperus than me.” Both women turned to see the soldier limping through the doorway, his eyes glazed over. In some ways, he already seemed half dead, but Aeliana shook that thought away.

The rumbling behind them grew louder, and Aeliana’s fear for Gaeren drowned out any worry for herself. Velden joined them by the door, his eyebrows raised in question. Lukai, Jasperus, Cyrus, and Iris fanned out behind them.

“Remember, we go for the blood, not Mayvus,” Velden said. “We’re not ready for Mayvus.”

“She controls every spoke now.” Her mother frowned. “Her pneumatic skills are natural, but all the rest are bought with brands. She has dozens of brands. I thought she’d quit when she had one of every kind, but she grew greedy. Wanted all points on the spoke. Wants to eventually access all parts of the rim.”

“More powerful than we think,” Aeliana said. “Got it.” She took a step forward, but her mother grabbed her arm.

“Let me get your blood.” There was a desperation to her tone that made Aeliana pause. The idea of having a mother who wanted to fight her fights left her homesick for something she’d never truly had. And Sylmar had said her mother knew something, that her mother could defeat Mayvus. It was the whole reason they’d wanted to rescue her.

“Do you know how to stop her?” Aeliana asked.

Her mother nodded. “It has to be me. I can stop all of this.” Her hands shook, and her eyes twitched.

Her mother was too weak, and Aeliana had her own plans. She pulled out her dagger even though she was a far better shot with her arrows. It didn’t matter how well she used weapons tonight. It was all about blood and timing. She glanced back at the hall, which had gone eerily silent. Hopefully Gaeren was still coming, but if not… she reached for the vial in her pocket for the hundredth time. This time it held a heat she didn’t remember, a warning that this was the peak time to use it.

“Next time. For now, it’s more important for you to stay alive and protect Jasperus,” Aeliana said again, gently pushing her mother toward the ailing soldier. “Sylmar plans to have him brand me the same as you.”

Her mother hesitated, but Velden patted her back, guiding her away from the door. When her mother glanced over her shoulder at Aeliana, she looked more like a lost child than a found mother.

As the Sunlight brushing her hands turned more red than pink, Aeliana pulled on the handle and opened the door.

A cool breeze met her face, making her suck in a sharp breath. Goosebumps ran along her arms and legs, and instinct made her want to wrap her arms tightly around herself, but instead she held out her dagger.

---