Page 5 of Stars May Fall

I gritted my teeth. “We have to try. Get everything ready. I will tell him to bring Lady Sophie.”

I turned to the door as another guard rushed in. “My lord, my lord, soldiers are appearing in front of our ruined gate. ”

“The king?” Lyrason asked.

“No. They seem to be an unorganized mixture of armed civilians and actual military. They say they support the general and whatever action he takes.”

The lord cursed and ruffled his hair. The stakes were getting higher by the minute. We couldn’t let this go any further.

“The cure,” I reminded him. “Now.”

I hurried back to Kasten. He stood completely still on the steps staring at the door as if he could see Lyrason through the walls. I tried not to show how unnerved he was making me.

“Lord Lyrason thinks he knows a way to cure Sophie. You should send away your army.”

Kasten tilted his head to one side in a dangerous gesture. “I didn’t summon an army. If people have come here of their own accord, that’s their wish.”

I licked my lips, tired of repeating myself to make people see sense. “Don’t be a fool. You need to tell them to disperse. If there’s an army gathering in Adenburg, the king could respond with his own. Things will quickly escalate, and it will make it harder for us to concentrate on Sophie.”

He narrowed his eyes on me. “Believe me, I won’t be distracted. Where’s the cure?”

Why did he have to be so difficult? Couldn’t he see I was trying to help him? “Do you really want to bring Sophie into a battlefield? You should disperse them and bring her here.”

He scoffed. “I have no intention of bringing Sophie here. Lord Lyrason will come to her. Now. With whatever he needs to cure her. If she dies, I will kill him.”

I looked down. Lyrason wasn’t going to like this. “Where is Sophie now? Where does he need to go?”

Kasten’s face tightened. “She’s still where you left her in my house in Highfair.”

I nodded. “Dispel the army, Kasten, and go home. I will ensure Lord Lyrason comes as quickly as possible and that no trickery is planned. Go and wait by her side. You have my word. I will do as I say.”

Kasten hesitated, then lifted his chin, looking up and down the house. “He has one hour. If he hasn’t appeared and healed Sophie by then, I will come back and burn this house to the ground.”

KASTEN

Iknelt beside Sophie’s bed and clutched her hand. The sedative was working well, preventing her from acting like a violent, tortured halfsoul, and she barely moved except for the occasional muscle twitch. She had always had a pale skin tone, despite her love for the outdoors, but now she looked grey and waxy. The tendons in her neck and wrists stood out as she gradually became more gaunt. She was dying, and I had to rely on that monster to save her.

I had never known a hell like this. Every second was unbearable agony. Power pulsed through my veins, power to raze cities and destroy countries. But it couldn’t save her. All I was capable of was destruction, and the urge to destroy was so strong, I had to hold myself still.

“Sophie,” I whispered, brushing the tangled hair from her face. “Hold on, my love.”

I had been such a fool. I’d had the most precious being in my grasp, and I hadn’t done enough to keep her safe. The thought of her smile, the way she pottered happily in the garden, too distracted to notice she was getting compost on her skirts, her vitality and joy, the passionate way she spoke at dinner when sheshared her experiments… Kingdoms, every single memory of her burned my soul with agony.

Meena slouched on the other side of the bed, her elbows on her knees, her sword unsheathed across her lap as if she could fight the haemalcomy away. Or maybe because she never wanted to be too slow to defend Sophie again. She remained silent, her eyes not leaving Sophie’s face, though she didn’t touch her. Her skin was still covered in blood and dirt from the previous night, as was mine. What a useless pair we made, sitting in silent vigil. My fingers twitched with impatience.

The moment I’d returned to Highfair, I’d sent Callum to disperse the rabble as Annabelle had requested to make things safer and easier for Sophie. He still hadn’t returned. What was he up to? I prayed that he was up to something productive that might help her.

I heard the door behind me close softly and turned to see one of Sophie’s personal maids, Beatrice, approaching with a bowl of water and flannels.

I made sure to soften my voice before speaking. “Is he here yet?”

She shook her head, her eyes looking anywhere except at mine. I glanced at the clock. He had nine minutes to show his face, or I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back any more. Annabelle. Had she been overconfident or playing me for time to help Lord Lyrason? It didn’t matter now. Either Sophie would be healed, or I would end everything. There was nowhere he could hide that I wouldn’t find him.

Beatrice rang out a flannel over the bowl of water, the sudden noise making me restless. She dabbed it around Sophie’s hairline and neck.

Eight minutes.

I stood and brushed my consciousness against the power from the starstone. I closed my eyes as I sensed theunfathomable, pulsing energy that would be too easy to become lost in. It beckoned me with a caress.

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