Page 48 of Stars May Burn

George lurched forward slightly in surprise. His lips parted as if he were seeing me for the first time. I supposed I’d never spoken like that to him before. An emotion flicked through his eyes that I couldn’t decipher. Something strong that he was keeping under control.

“Are you sure, Sophie? It wouldn’t be too much bother for me to stay for a few weeks. I wouldn’t step on your toes.”

I smiled, my confidence building. “Quite sure, thank you. This isn’t my first marriage, George, and I do have a few more years of experience than you.”

George’s face grew cold. He stirred his tea, the silver spoon making a loud sound against the porcelain. He no longer met my eyes. “I never thought you would grow proud, Sophie. But it appears you have merely by marrying a bastard.”

My throat constricted at his words. Even across the room I could feel Meena’s energy shift, as if she were preparing for a fight. I took three measured breaths. “The general does not deserve your disrespect, George. He is your brother-in-law and has greatly elevated our family’s status.”

The cold vanished from his face in an instant, and he smiled once more. “Of course, sweet sister. I apologize.” He set down his tea and stood with calm, deliberate motions. “If things become too much for you, write me a letter, and I will come back at once. I am at your service.” He bowed and walked out before I could offer him a room for the night.

I let out a breath and sagged as much as my rigid corset would allow. It had only been George, but I felt like I’d been to battle and almost lost these precious lands. If Kasten returned and found my brother taking charge, I knew he would be deeply disappointed in me. These lands meant everything to him.

Meena cleared her throat from across the room. “I will order an escort for him—back to Adenburg—so he doesn’t have the opportunity to snoop.”

I nodded, glad my worries were shared and not based purely on paranoia.

I wasn’t used to the tightness of the corset anymore and hated how it made me lightheaded whenever my heart rate increased. I tidied up the tea tray, then rose and headed back to my rooms to change. Meena was already back and following at my heels.

My thoughts spun. It felt good to stand up to George, but had he come on Father’s orders? Probably. What else might he try to gain a foothold here while I was alone? I might be able to stand up to George, but if Father himself came…I couldn’t imagine standing up to him in my wildest dreams.

And what if they planned to deliberately make things hard for me, so I was forced to send for George? It wouldn’t take much to tip me over the edge. I wasn’t strong like Kasten or any of the other residents of Kasomere castle.

I paused on the staircase and closed my eyes to concentrate on calming my breathing. If Kasten could stay calm in bloody battles against monsters, I could stay calm here too. I was his wife and mistress of Kasomere.

I walked with a straighter back to my room. I could ask Meena to increase security, though she’d probably already had this line of thought. I glanced over my shoulder. Her face was as serious as if a battle had taken place. Maybe Kasten had asked her to look out for this. If he had known enough to legally ensure the estate would stay with me, he had to know what sort of man my father was.

I stopped halfway down the corridor. The door to my room was ajar. That wasn’t like Lucy or Beatrice. Meena came to my side and followed my eyeline. She frowned. “Stay here, my lady. We’ve had no report of a break in, but I should go in first.”

I took a step back as Meena pushed the door open with one hand on her sword hilt and disappeared out of sight. Memories of the Red Man’s attack flashed vividly across my mind, and my hand rose unbidden to my throat.

“What are you doing here?” Meena’s voice was cold and hard.

My mouth dried.

There was a rustle and a familiar face appeared around the door frame. Miss Claris stood there holding a box of my fertility tonics. My very full and mostly unopened tonics that had sat in my room for weeks.

“What has got into your head, Lady Sophie?” Her cheeks were pink, and her lips were pale. She was furious.

My chest constricted as I automatically looked down to the carpet to avoid her gaze. The battle was only just beginning.

KASTEN

There was barely enough room at the top of the chute for me to balance, my feet wedged against one side, my back against the other. Though the latrine hadn’t been used for years, the faint smell of urine still lingered in the air and the walls were slippery with algae. My muscles burned from the long climb, but I ignored them, forcing the pain and exhaustion to the back of my mind. A thin line of light escaped around the plasterboard blocking my path, the only other source of light, my small kryalcomy blue lamp.

I reached behind my right ear for my detector and turned the dial to sensitive. I waited, listening. It should detect anyone using kryalcomy. The first footsteps didn’t trigger the device. I waited for them to pass. Then the faint ringing sounded, getting louder and higher pitched as another set of footsteps passed. A soulless.

I considered going back to my soldiers and telling them the latrines were a clear path into Whitehill, but my skin itched. The more I learned about the enemy’s defenses, the better plan I could formulate, and the more likely we were to stop Kollenstar in their tracks. Besides, I didn’t expect to get out of this alive, so it made sense to take some risks.

When I was certain no other footsteps were coming, and only a single note rang on the detector, I drew my sword and freisk knife. Carefully, I angled myself, took a deep breath, and kicked down the plaster board blocking my way with both legs.

The soldier and the soulless were exactly where I had predicted. I’d seen soulless hundreds of times before and killed countless of them. Still, there was always the primal shock of seeing one that made my blood run instantly cold. Its skin was dark grey, its mouth slack and gaping, its arms and neck hanging loose, and its eyes sharp and hungry. Kryalcomy had sucked out every emotion that Kollenstar deemed unhelpful in a soldier, including its sense of self. They were dead even while they lived. It was a terrible fate.

The creature turned at the noise, its twisted, shriveled body moving with jerky, inhuman speed. It wasn’t fast enough, however. I slid to one side, slashing the yadum blade into one of its arms, and immediately the kryalcomy that kept it alive was drained. It crumpled. The Kollenstar soldier only had time to gape at how quickly I’d destroyed the soulless before my sword found his neck, finishing him with one smooth swipe.

I paused, listening, but no footsteps sounded down the narrow stone corridor. My detector remained silent. I lifted the two bodies and pushed them down the latrine shoot before balancing the plasterboard back over the hole. It would only fool the unobservant—there was a mess of plaster dust and specks of blood on the floor—but it would do for now.

I padded on swift silent feet down the empty corridor, the widely spaced oil lamps leaving plenty of shadows, and followed the map I had memorized. Whitehill had a single tall tower at its center which commanded a good view in all directions. That was also where the table and maps were kept and the commander held his meetings. I suspected these invaders would use it as their base too.

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