Page 15 of Rift
“I can’t think about that right now,” she hissed, forcing the well of anxiety that opened within her closed. “I need to focus on getting down those stairs.”
Ameera snorted, returning to the dress to loosen the laces. She helped Astra slide it over her curved hips, tightening the ribbons to highlight the long lines of her tall frame. Astra battled back all the swirling fears in her chest—her mother wanted allies, but surely she would focus on Lunelle first. Her upcoming coronation trial would require several champions to be selected. There was no reason to waste one on Astra now. No, she needn’t spend any more energy on that.
As the laces around her waist pulled, last night’s dream raced forward in her mind. That heat… the same heat from the Midwood before. Her eyes glanced at the reflection in the mirror, falling to the pale wound on her upper arm.
That orb did not materialize in the court by accident.
If Solarians were infiltrating through the wards meant to stop them, there could be any number of them lurking in the realm. Perhaps they were waiting for an event such as this evening’s ball to strike.
“Ameera,” Astra said, breaking her friend’s concentration as she fluffed layers of tulle and silk.
“Hmm?”
“What do you know about Solarians?”
Ameera stopped her movements, rising to meet Astra’s gaze. “Less than you, I’m sure.”
“In the woods yesterday, when I was trying to source more information from the orb… I felt something in the trees. Something very, very warm.”
Ameera immediately shifted into solutions mode. “Anyone not from the Lunar Court feels warm to you, no?”
“You do,” she admitted. Ameera’s Venusian heritage certainly read as warmer to her than her own cool Lunar skin. “But not like this. Not so extreme.”
“When you meet with the Mercurians this evening, pay attention. They’re even closer to the Solar Court than we are. Perhaps you ran into one of their courtiers in the woods, they could have arrived earlier to explore?”
“Perhaps,” Astra conceded. It was true that she would know more about her Solarian counterparts than Ameera, but even that knowledge was quite limited. It was somewhat taboo to discuss openly, given how many courtiers were impacted by Solan’s last attack. She knew that their warmth was a warning—a siren song to the humans of the Living Courts, but a death rattle to Lunarians. A constant reminder of what they’d lost. What they still stood to lose.
But it was more than their physical repulsions.
Stoicism was a shared value amongst the monarchs of each court, but beneath the robes and crowns, the two couldn’t be more different. The rigid natures rooted in proven logic and facts of Solarians often butted up against the softer, more intuitive minds of the Lunar Court. Political differences aside, the chasm between their ethos on just about any other facet of life would drive them apart at best, to madness at worst.
“You look lovely,” Ameera sighed, smoothing the last ruffle on Astra’s gown.
“Thank you.”
“Are you ready for your debut?”
“Don’t call it that,” Astra muttered.
“Question stands.” Ameera folded her arms over her chest.
Astra inhaled, letting the air cool the burning fears in her spine, fighting the urge to escape from a window and run off into the Rift, despite her lack of knowledge about how to traverse it.
“Born ready,” she laughed, hearing the wobble in her false confidence.
“One last touch,” Ameera said, fussing with Astra’s hair outside of the Celestial Hall’s mezzanine.
The crowd below buzzed and hummed with dozens of feelings so intensely Astra could see the colors from outside the room. Her family waited at the bottom of the staircase, she could sense their unique signatures on their feelings—or in her mother’s case, the lack thereof.
She’d practiced this entrance all morning with Ameera, but they’d planned on a slinky silk dress, not a bejeweled ballgown with dozens of layers. The weight was staggering.
“Just a little something so you truly shine,” Ameera whispered, puffing a fine mist over Astra’s collarbones.
“That’s fun,” Astra murmured, marveling at the way her skin lit up.
“Archera and I found it in the village market last Summer.”
“Tell me everything. Spare no detail—even if it takes all night!” Astra begged. Ameera rolled her eyes, backing away.
