Page 52 of Voices in the Stars
“It won’t be more than a couple of days, but yes.” He refused to look at me.
“Where are you going?” I asked, though I was afraid I already knew the answer.
“To Kilrest. He’s been getting away with this shit for way too long.”
A laugh escaped me, though it sounded humorless even to my ears. “So, you’re going to go face the man whose people almost killed you yesterday,” I grumbled, trying to find the sense in his plan. “At least take me with you. I proved that I could be some help,” I argued before he had a chance to respond.
It was his turn to laugh before he turned to face me. “Yesterday?“ he questioned, his face twisted in pain. “You’ve been asleep for days. I thought you died in my arms while I was carrying you here.” I opened my mouth to argue, but he quickly cut me off. “No. You aren’t going anywhere near the psychopath.”
“Yet, you’re going to?” I yelled back. “He’s going to kill you the moment he sees you without me. Neither of us is stupid. Those men were supposed to take us to him. What’s going to happen when you show up, conveniently without them, and more importantly without me? Nothing you say to him is going to matter.”
“I don’t plan on saying much to him.” His words were a quiet promise that I wanted to scoff at.
“So, your great plan is to what, charge in there and kill him? I might have never met him, but I have a rather strong suspicion he isn’t going to let that happen.”
Atlas stood from the bed; a rumbling growl sounded from somewhere deep inside his chest. “I have been planning this for most of my life. Don’t treat me like some foolish child just running into danger.”
“Well, right now, you sound like one,” I argued back, refusing tostand down from him. “I’m the best chance you have at getting close to him.”
“That might be so, but I refuse to risk your life anymore. I’ve done it enough,” he argued back, some of the heat leaving his voice. “I would rather lose my own life knowing you’re safe than take you and risk what he is willing to do to gain power. You don’t know what it felt like carrying you here. At one point you were completely still. Your heartbeat was so dull I could barely sense it. I didn’t think there was any chance you were going to make it here. Then…you didn’t wake up. The only thing that kept me mostly sane was imaging the things I would do to my father for making you go through this journey.”
Atlas’ eyes were red by the time he finished. There was a lump in my throat as I choked back the few tears that threatened to spill. His mind was completely made up, and for good reason. I still couldn’t help the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that something terrible would happen to him if I let him do this alone.
“Okay, I’ll stay here while you get everything figured out.” I tried to sound as convincing as possible. There was no way I could stay here while he faced his father on his own.
He smiled, leaning down to plant a gentle kiss to my lips. Guilt gnawed at my insides as I saw the grateful look in his eyes as he pulled away. Everything was going to be okay. He said he had a couple days before he left, which meant I still had time to convince him. It also meant I had time to figure out how to stop burning myself out. I was going to help him fight against Eris, no matter what he thought. Atlas wasn’t the only one hurt by what his father had done, and I certainly wasn’t going to let him face Eris on his own. Even if I had to fight Atlas every step of the way, I was going to be by his side when he went to Kilrest. We were going to end this together.
Leon was quick to return.A door slammed open, his footsteps giving the house a slight shake. Atlas pulled away from where we had been laying together on the bed. Even after sleeping for several days, my body was heavy with exhaustion. He placed a kiss against the top of my head before sitting up.
“Get some rest, little witch. I’ll be back before nightfall,” he promised before leaving the room.
I stayed in bed, listening to the mumbling of their words before everything was cut off by the sound of more doors closing. There was just the occasional sound of heavy footsteps as Leon moved through the house. I closed my eyes, focusing on where the flames seemed to start from. Everything was calm in my chest as I raised my hands into the air to what I hoped was a safe distance from any soft, flammable materials.
Several deep breaths helped steady the nerves I had at setting this very nice room on fire. I needed to learn, and I didn’t have much time to do it. I kept up the rhythmic breathing as I maintained all my attention focused on myself. I tried to picture a ball of flames resting in the palm of my hand. Every little flame was envisioned in my mind, how it would twist and turn. There was a small spark inside my chest. My eyes slammed open in excitement only to be met with nothing.
Maybe a ball was too complicated. I shifted against the bed until I was as comfortable as I could manage. My eyes closed once more as I tried to think of something simpler, though nothing about this seemed simple. I could do all these impressive things without meaning to, yet Icouldn’t even create a simple ball when I wanted to. I took a deep breath. Doubting myself certainly wasn’t going to help myself or Atlas. This time, I tried to picture just my fingertips on fire. The way the flames would flicker and dance between each one. Peeking with one eye open, I was met with nothing. Closing my eyes again, I moved on to the entire hand on fire. Still nothing. My entire arm wrapped in twisted flames. Nothing. Flames running along my entire body. Nothing.
I huffed out a groan, throwing my arms over my face. The only change was the burning of anger that was coursing through my body.
“Everything okay in here?”
I jumped at the sound of Leon’s voice, uncovering my face. I offered him what I hoped was a pleasant smile. “Yes, everything is just fine in here.”
It wasn’t a complete success, as his face twisted with concern.
“How long have you two known each other?” I rushed to question him before he had enough time to truly question what I had been doing.
“Since we were lads in the soldiers’ training camp,” he answered, walking out of the room.
My mind wandered with more questions than answers. I bolted from the bed, my attempt at magic temporarily forgotten as I followed him out of the room. He was quick as he made his way through the house, stopping in the kitchen. There were vegetables laying around the counter next to a knife that I was certain would look more like a sword in my hands. I was momentarily thrown off by how large everything in this house was. The ceilings were high enough that I could’ve been standing on his shoulders, and I wasn’t certain I’d be able to touch them even then.
Though, the table pressed against one of the walls seemed barely taller than a regular one. It made me question if he could properly sit underneath it without raising the table. There was one regular sized chair and another on the opposite side that was easily three times its size. That seemed to be the general theme throughout the kitchen. I looked over to see a cupboard that was cracked open. It had two large cups that took up their own shelf with several smaller cups sitting on the shelf beneath it.
“Atlas spends a lot of time here,” Leon spoke as he started cutting the vegetables.
I nodded along with his explanation as I sat in the smaller chair. “Do you know where he’s at now?”
“With Bekah” was all he offered, letting the sound of cutting fill the silence.
