Page 90 of Rift
Astra was three-quarters of the way through the novel Ehlaria gave her.
She had notes sprawled across her desk and several empty coffee cups forming a ring around her. She hadn’t left her study all day.
The plot had finally gotten interesting.
The Shadow Witch could summon the Shadows around her and use them to cast spells. The man, a Light Mage, was born to keep the Shadow Witches in check.
She thought they were on the precipice of confessing their love to one another when she heard three quick knocks on the study door. No thoughts behind it, no emotions to scan.
“Luxuros,” she said, setting the book down as he pushed the door open.
“You’re up late,” he murmured, closing the door behind him. He sat on the sofa from which he’d spent most of his Summer lecturing her, his eyes unfocused in a way she hadn’t seen often.
“Sleep has eluded me lately,” Astra confessed, organizing her notes so she didn’t lose her place.
Lux nodded toward the book and the translation, sitting next to each other. “Anything interesting?”
“It’s a captivating story, but I’m not sure any of it is relevant,” she sighed, frustrated. “It’s a romance story between forbidden lovers.” Lux didn’t respond. She continued, “I was just about to get to a good part when you interrupted.”
He smirked. “A good part, huh?”
“You’re foul,” she laughed. “Not that kind of good part. A love confession.”
“Ah.” He leaned back, crossing one leg over the other. “So it’s only a matter of time, then.”
Astra snorted. “I’d certainly take the payoff at this point. Though they’re forbidden from touching, so I’m not sure it would be all that gratifying. She’s afraid to eclipse him, he’s afraid he’ll expose her. It’s all very tragic.”
“Sounds familiar.” He leaned forward, his eyes hardening as his thoughts solidified. “Leona and Solan… what do you know about what happened in The Flare?”
Astra shook her head as she leaned back from the desk, readjusting her simple dress. “Only what the history books report, which isn’t much. Just another enemy bloodbath on a long list of Solar Kings and Lunar Queens who couldn’t tolerate the other.”
Lux dropped his eyes to hers. “What if they were not enemies?”
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve been thinking a lot about it. There’s only one thing that I know of that might drive two smart, confident leaders to such madness. And I don’t think it’s hatred.”
Her cheeks flushed. “Are you suggesting?—”
“Leona was your mother’s sister. Your mother is a sane woman by all accounts. Could she really have just lost her mind one day and sacrificed herself on the Solar Throne?”
Astra’s brows furrowed, a rush of orange fury like the sunset canyon above his head flowing into her veins. “Sacrificed herself? That’s not what happened.”
“Oh?”
“Solan killed her, stabbed her in the heart.”
His expression mirrored hers. “Is that how you learn it here?”
“Is that not how you learn it in Mercury?”
“No.” He stood, pacing in short lines in front of her desk. “We were told that the Lunar Queen went mad, begging Solan for a truce, for partnership. And when he said no, she slit her own throat on the throne in a final act of madness in an attempt to start a war between the Inner and Outer Courts.”
Rage flashed across her bones. “No. That’s not… no! Leona did go to Solan, but it was because he asked for a meeting to discuss a ceasefire. To open up the trade routes in the Courts Between. Leona thought it was a trap, but Selenia thought it was a genuine offer. No other Solar King had ever offered it. They thought perhaps it was time for the fighting to end. And then he had her bow before him as a sign of her commitment to the truce, and stabbed her in the heart as her eyes dropped to the floor. She didn’t even see it coming.”
Lux stared at her as she spoke, running through everything he thought he knew. “What if we’re both wrong? The truth is always the third version of the story, right?”
“It’s possible,” she sighed, her eyes heavy at the late hour. “We really need to speak with Ehlaria. She’s survived hundreds of these wars, she would know.” The clock on the wall chirped a delicate melody, drawing her attention. “I should get to bed. Big day tomorrow.”
