Page 6 of Stars May Fall

The door opened again, and I snapped my attention toward it. Sir Luke bowed, his uniform as neat as his closely clipped blond beard though I knew he hadn’t slept since fighting the halfsouls. After Sir Tristan’s death outside Sir Halfield’s house yesterday, he had taken charge of the men currently present in Adenburg. He was young and had a nervous air about him, but I didn’t have time to worry about him right now.

His hesitation annoyed me. “What is it?”

He flicked his eyes up in alarm. “He’s here, General. Lord Lyrason is here. He’s outside.”

“Callum?”

He shifted his feet, polished boots creaking the floorboards. “I don’t know, General.”

I pushed past the guard and took the steps three at a time. What had taken Lord Lyrason so long? The front door was open, a servant talking to the people outside, but she scuttled out the way at my approach. Kingdoms, even my own people were terrified of me right now.

I opened the door wider and stared down at Lord Lyrason, Annabelle, and a strange thin man who was slightly hunched despite only appearing in his forties. He carried two large leather bags.

The three froze when they saw me, but I didn’t speak. I had always been a man of few words, and right now, I just wanted them to get on with it and save her.

Annabelle’s cheeks were flushed. She still wore the large baggy cloak she used to hide her features at night when she was playing at being a vigilante, but her crossbow was gone. I ignored her and concentrated on Lord Lyrason. For once, he wasn’t calm; his eyes were unable to meet mine, and his lips twitched up into a smile that was nervous and placating beforefalling back down. As I glared at him, he pushed his glasses up his nose and his little finger shook, destroying any remaining veneer of control.

When nobody spoke, Annabelle looked between us in concern. “Kasten, Lord Lyrason is here to cure Sophie. Won’t you let him and his assistant in? I told them I would ensure their safety if they can successfully cure her.”

I didn’t move, my caution outweighing my impatience as I eyed the sickly-looking companion. “What are you going to do with her?”

Lord Lyrason straightened and gestured at his companion, but didn’t lose his nervous air. “This is Tyler Gregane. He is gifted at kryalcomy using…emotions and vitality.”

“Haemalcomy, you mean,” I corrected, not bothering to hide my disgust.

Lord Lyrason inclined his head ever so slightly. “He will attempt to replace what has been taken.”

A distant part of me was roused with questions. What emotions? What was the reason behind all of this? How did it work? But that part was buried behind the fact that right now, I really didn’t care. I just wanted Sophie back.

“And that will cure her?”

Lord Lyrason shrugged and licked his lips with a nervous twitch. “I’ve never tried before. But the only way to bring her back to the way she was is to return her emotions and human characteristics.”

My stomach twisted and I felt sick. “There’s no other way but to experiment?”

Lord Lyrason shook his head.

I stepped to one side, my hatred thick. “You had better hope this works.”

The two men scurried inside, and I couldn’t help a swell of satisfaction at Lord Lyrason finally fearing me and doing as I said. Annabelle lingered at my side.

I was about to follow the two men when Callum sauntered up the drive with his hands in his pockets. His walk was casual, but I could see worry in the tightness around his eyes. He always liked to pretend he was nonchalant, and only escalated his acting the more nervous he truly was.

“Where have you been?” I growled.

He smiled at me though it didn’t reach his eyes. “Supervising.”

I didn’t have the patience for this. I half wished he had stayed in Kasomere when I had rushed back for the starstone instead of following behind. “Supervising what?”

“All those people out there who are ready to fight. You know, just in case you start a war or Lord Lyrason tries to escape. Best to be prepared for these things.”

I frowned. “I told you to disperse that rabble.”

He cocked his head with a wince. “I’m afraid that most of them won’t go. Some of them seem rather eager to overthrow the current king, though many are more focused on Lord Lyrason’s downfall. I traveled from Kasomere with Sir Chase and some of your first battalion who I’ve now asked to keep these civilians in check. Now, I am rather keen to supervise what those maniacs are about to do with Sophie.”

My chest clenched with worry at his choice of words, and I waved him in. I followed him slowly up the stairs, dreading what was about to happen. Would she be in pain? What if the only idea to cure her failed?

I couldn’t lose her. I just couldn’t. She was everything.

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