Page 77 of Stars May Fall

But I wasn’t, and the world was a far messier place than what ended up written on paper.

This time I wouldn’t turn a blind eye, even though there was nobody here to witness my decision. I ran to the trapdoor as a man in a black cloak climbed out. I knew, the dread deep in my bones, who it would be.

“Stop there!” I ordered.

The man turned, and his eyes widened in surprise. I felt sick. It was Duke James. “Venerick?” He looked around us, taking in our surroundings then barked a disbelieving laugh. “What in the kingdoms are you doing here?”

I grimaced, a tremor running up my sword arm. Annabelle needed me to do this. The kingdom needed me to do this. I drew in a shaking breath and leveled my sword at him. “Annabelle has ordered me to secure the city. I’m arresting you on suspicion oftreason. Drop your weapons and follow me. I can guarantee you a fair trial.”

The duke straightened and dusted down his cloak. “I’m sorry, my friend, but I don’t think I can do that.” He held up his hands. “Things are already in motion that you can’t stop, Venerick. If you leave now, I’ll never tell Lyrason you were here, for old time’s sake. I’ll even defend you to him, see if I can get him to spare you. Why don’t you lay low outside the city until then? He only wants you dead because you’re betrothed to Annabelle. Once he marries her and is crowned king, he’ll no longer see you as a threat. Give it a week or two, and leave it to me.”

Rage, guilt, and sorrow mixed in my stomach, and I struggled to keep myself together. “James, I am sorry, but you’ve committed treason. I have no choice but to arrest you.”

James gave a half laugh, shaking his head, and looked down at his toes. “I’m sorry too, old friend.” Then he lunged, a rapier with a black blade suddenly in his hand.

I dodged on instinct and lashed out with a clumsy blow of my own. It should have missed him completely, but James’s foot hooked on a root, sending him falling forward hard. My blade sank into his stomach. Horror made me gasp. I dropped the hilt in alarm as warm blood coated my hand. He crumpled to the floor.

Every part of me started to shake.

Duke James’s lips curled as the color leached from his face. His words were faint. “See, Venerick. I was right. You have to be realistic. Not everything can be resolved peacefully.” He grimaced. “Make sure my son is safe. Please. For old time’s sake. He’s a good boy. He’s all I have. He’s the reason Lyrason and I…I…”

I sank to my knees as a sob ripped free of my throat. As his eyes glazed over, it felt like part of me died with him. And it was agony. His blood stuck to my fingers like an unshakable curse.

This wasn’t me. This really wasn’t me. I had never wanted to be a killer.

KASTEN

It was hard to enter my normal calm that helped me think quickly and clearly on the battlefield. Sophie was beside me, surrounded by enemies, and I couldn’t afford to make a mistake. Still, right now, I didn’t entrust her safety to anyone else. I wanted her by my side where I could defend her. If she was out of my sight, I knew I would be too distracted with worry.

The image of her lying dead flashed back from my nightmare, and I scowled as I pushed it from my mind. I glanced at her, yet again, and was impressed by her determined quietness. She looked fragile and out of place in her delicate cream dress of chiffon and silk, her white leather medical bag at her waist, surrounded by people brandishing weapons. But she was composing herself well considering the only other time she’d been involved in fighting was when she’d been bitten by a halfsoul. The memory made me step even closer to her. This time, I had the power of the starstone. I wouldn’t fail her again.

The servants’ passage was wide enough for two people to walk abreast and lit by oil lamps, their fragile flickering light foreign to me after living with kryalcomy lights in my home. The poor lighting made the uneven floors and tight flights of stairsmore treacherous, which slowed us down. There were too many turns for Annabelle’s crossbows to be effective, so I took the lead, keeping Sophie only one step behind me. Meena brought up the rear. Thankfully, the throne room had many servants’ entrances since it was often used for state functions.

I adjusted my grip on my sword. Lyrason wouldn’t have gone into this without a plan. I just had to hope the starstone and my own abilities were greater than he had anticipated. Not to mention Annabelle. Even I would have underestimated her. She strode behind me with her loaded crossbow angled down and pure murder in her eyes. She had shed the outer layer of her dress to reveal shorter, plain skirts underneath with skirts divided for riding and had changed her heels for boots. I didn’t even know you could take layers off dresses like that.

And if Lord Venerick, Callum, and Sir Luke had kept to the plan and stopped Duke James and the city guard as well as created general chaos at that end of the city, Lyrason wouldn’t have many troops in reserve.

We slowed as we neared the passageway that entered the musicians’ gallery, and all of us took care to not hit the walls with our weapons or tread too heavily. We didn’t want the sound to carry and give us away.

I lifted my hand to tell those behind me to stop and crept forward to the door. It was locked. I took out my fansifold knife and melted through the latch, hoping the smell of singed wood would go unnoticed.

There was a satisfying click. I sheathed the rapidly cooling knife, drew my steel one, and tentatively opened the door. Thankfully, the hinges were silent. Three guards were in the gallery; all stood close to the edge, past the musicians’ seating, their backs were to us and their focus occupied by whatever was going on below. The room was noisy; the sounds of many unseen people on the floor bouncing off the walls.

I refused to be distracted by what was going on below but crept over the tiered seating, bolted to the floor, toward the guards below. The noise from the room made it easy to get close. I slit the throat of the first guard before anyone noticed, and he crumpled silently. The second guard turned at the movement, but I felled him before he could cry out. The third guard stumbled back in alarm, drawing his sword. He tripped on the low seat behind him and fell. I didn’t give him the chance to regain his balance.

I stepped back at once; the carved banisters that lined the gallery were spaced widely enough for people below to see the edge of the fight. When there were no raised voices or shouts, I dragged the bodies back and crouched to look down between the rails at the throne room below.

There had to be at least fifty soldiers, a mixture of royal guards and soldiers with Lyrason’s house colors on their tunics. The throne on its pedestal was empty except for the king’s ceremonial crown, which somebody must have retrieved from the treasury. It was only worn at coronations.

Lyrason and Gregane stood in the center of the room. I turned my detector to its most sensitive and caught several keening moans, the loudest two coming squarely from the center.

Lyrason had never set off my alarm before. He was probably now absorbing vitality from halfsouls. If he wore a device to stop the signal to my detectors, it would interrupt the connection between the two poles and so stop the flow of vitality. He had no choice but to ring loud and clear to us.

I scooted away from the edge and checked the main door onto the gallery. It was locked from the inside, the key still in place, and a bolt pushed shut at the top. I left it unaltered for now.

I went back to the servants’ door and ushered the rest of us through, using hand motions to remind everyone to stay quiet.

Annabelle went straight to the edge of the balcony and crouched, raising her crossbow. “I’ve got a clear shot. If I take out Lyrason, they will likely fall into disorder.”

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