Page 211 of Blood of the Stars

“If you want me by your side, why won’t you give me my blood?” Aeliana asked, turning to Mayvus. “It’s far better to have a willing accomplice than a branded one.”

Mayvus laughed. “I highly doubt you’d be willing. Arvid told me of your resistance.” She took another step forward, crossing over the broken daggers without concern. “He also told me of your power. Possibly natural, but more likely developed by their incessant use of your blood. It’s given me ideas for how to use my brands.” Her smile widened. “And my winex.”

“The winex aren’t yours,” Aeliana said, the heat in her belly driving the words forward. She eyed Mayvus’ sleeves and waist, trying to see where the woman might be storing Aeliana’s blood. They were mere feet apart, her aunt’s proximity both terrifying and promising.

“Such a soft heart,” Mayvus murmured. “Arvid and I will break you of that soon enough.”

“Arvid is dead,” Aeliana said.

This finally caught Mayvus off guard. She narrowed her eyes. “You’re speaking truth. I suppose it’s possible.” She shrugged. “I never branded him, so I can’t test it. Probably felt like quite the accomplishment, killing a man who wasn’t even a progeny.”

Aeliana resisted the guilt that swarmed through her. “Where’s my blood?”

“Ah, and now we come back to the reason you’re here,” Mayvus said. “The reason I wanted you to come.” She pulled a vial out from a side pocket of her dress, the setting Sun gleaming off the glass. Everyone stood a little straighter, the atmosphere thickening. Now that they knew where the blood was, there was no reason for them to hold back. With nine of them and one of her, it should be easy.

At the same moment, a rush of wind blew over the western side of the balcony, followed by Durriken’s iridescent wings and scales. He grasped the wall, slipping and pulling down portions of the facade as if the balcony’s edge were made of crumbs instead of stone. Puffs of steam and smoke left his nostrils as he growled his irritation, but he held his position as a dozen soldiers climbed off his back.

“Sweet Stars,” Aeliana muttered as her friends rushed forward without hesitation. Only her mother and Jasperus held back, scooting against the door leading back to the tower.

Mayvus moved to the western edge of the balcony, the melee of fighting now a river between her and Aeliana. When Aeliana moved forward to help, Sylmar shoved her back, taking a cut to his arm because of his distraction.

Blades clashed, and Aeliana’s frustration mounted.

She reached out, trying to sense which of her friends had wounds she could address from this distance, but enough blood was being spilled that it was hard to sense friend from foe. She pulled energy into her core, letting it build and ready for a light shield, but everyone moved so quickly that she was just as likely to protect the enemy as her friends.

Mayvus stepped to the side as if watching a play unfold. Her arm dropped, the vial resting against her side as she closed her eyes. Her lips twisted in a wicked grin.

Aeliana frowned, then studied the soldiers more closely. Between the weapons they gripped and the rapid thrusts and parries, it was hard to tell, but it seemed like they all had small black welts on their hands.

Mayvus’ branded.

Which meant she was controlling them. She was distracted.

A ridiculous idea raced through Aeliana’s mind, the details crystal clear, as if she’d already done it. It was just as despicable as branding Durriken, and yet somehow it felt more just. She would only be doing to Mayvus what Mayvus intended to do to her.

Aeliana inched forward, making a wide perimeter south around the soldiers until she reached the farther edge of the balcony. She scooted closer on all fours until she was tucked under the curve of the balustrade, where she crept until she was within arm’s reach to either slice Mayvus’ arm or grab the vial. Which was the safer bet?

She caught a glimpse of the leather cord around Mayvus’ neck, her starlock encased in a clear sphere. Its shape was identical to her mother’s.

Aeliana hesitated. Had the Stars assigned a duplicate? Or had she copied Aeliana’s mother’s the way Velden had copied his own? Aeliana’s heart sank. Marnok had recognized her mother’s starlock, but what if he was actually recognizing it as Mayvus’?

Where were Marnok and the others?

Durriken let out a huff of hot breath that brushed Aeliana’s arm. He eyed her as he adjusted his grip, keeping up a strange dance to maintain his hold on the balcony’s edge. Would Mayvus sense her presence through him? If she opened her eyes, she would see Aeliana, and it would all be over.

Aeliana licked her lips to get rid of the trickling beads of sweat.

The whistle of an arrow made Aeliana jump, her head hitting stone on the ledge above her. She couldn’t waste any more time. She turned to slice Mayvus’ arm.

Her aunt still had her eyes shut, lips curled in eager anticipation.

Aeliana didn’t hesitate over the brands decorating the woman’s skin like sets of tattoos. She’d barely broken the skin when Mayvus’ eyes flew open, her smile shifting to a frown. Instead of losing her grip on the vial, she tightened her fist, blood streaming down her arm as her boot met Aeliana’s wrist, knocking the dagger to the stone floor. Then Mayvus’ hand was on Aeliana’s hair, wrenching Aeliana to her feet. Aeliana screamed, more from frustration than pain, and thrashed out wildly, hoping to knock the vial from Mayvus’ hands.

“We’re almost out of time if we want the strongest brand anyway,” Mayvus said. “Summer Solstice would have been better, but what’s a day going to do at this point?” She flicked the cork off the vial, then swirled it, using some sort of somatic energy to adjust the clotted remnants until they thinned into a sticky red substance once more.

Aeliana panicked. Why hadn’t she branded Durriken? Why hadn’t she stuck to the plan?

In order to pour the blood on the wound Aeliana had inflicted, Mayvus had to release her. When she did, Aeliana slapped at Mayvus’ hand, knocking the blood out from the vial in a wide arc away from Mayvus’ arm. Her relief didn’t even have time to rise before the droplets froze in the air, tiny rubies glinting in the Sun, which now barely showed above the horizon.

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