Page 44 of Above
“Azazel Altair, you look at me and listen right now,” Priya demanded, sliding off her bed and grabbing me by the ear. Hersmall face was stern, slanted eyes nearly closed as she glared my way. “Here’s what’s going to happen. You’ll kill the akhata, we’ll graduate academy, our parents’ plan will be set in motion, and then by the time it’s our turn to take over, we will rule the entire stars-damned world.”
I blinked, not sure which of us she was trying to soothe. Because that future was both imminent and horrifying.
“When all is said and done, we’ll find happiness. Okay?” She didn’t look like she believed it either.
“Yeah, okay,” I agreed, nodding despite the fact we both knew it wasn’t true. No core ever found happiness. Only power.
“Do you want to stay in here tonight so she can’t come for you?”
“No, I have a little birdie to talk to and hopefully save from an untimely death. That will require planning.”
“I love you, Az,” she whispered, leaning down to hug me.
“I love you too, Pri.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Nova
“Celeste told me today after the hangings that if she could, she’d slit the throat of every core man, woman, and child. I’ve never heard her sound so angry. So murderous. I hope the stars weren’t listening.”
-From the journal of Nova Tershetta, 9277 AS
Sharing a bed with someone other than Celeste was awful. Talon, suave as he was when awake, snored like a beast. Even worse, the gigantic manmoved.Tomorrow I would need to find a way to get my old bed into his room. There was more than enough space.
Tonight, though, I was utterly fucked.
Better than dying, I guessed.
When he turned and pressed his face near my ear, mouth open and heavy arm falling onto my waist, I lost it.
Growling, I shuffled out of his grasp and did my best to roll away from him, my elbow slipping and causing me to plummet to the ground. A rattling thud sounded as my shoulder slammed into the wooden floor. Biting my lip, I forced myself to be still, not wanting to wake the overbearing core boy. Moments came and went, a clock ticking somewhere to signal each passingsecond, but Talon didn’t wake. In fact, I could have sworn his snores grew impossibly louder.
Heaving a breath, I ordered my shadows to take me to my lab, eager to achieve something productive if sleep was out of the question. Within seconds I was outside of my home, the chilly air causing bumps to rise on my skin where it was exposed from my short sleeved shirt and bare feet.
Hoping to preserve my toes, I made my way to the door, willing the latch to unlock and then shoving it open. What a blessing that shaytan and eadi were separated by borders, seeing as the former were forced to rely on fallible locks.
Doing my best to be quiet, I darted through the kitchen and to my lab, snatching Death up on my way. She was growing bigger, but I had a feeling she would always be rather small and unassuming. Maybe I could teach her to eat core family flesh and then sic her on them so she could live up to her name.
Just as I was about to summon the door to my lab, the wooden floorboard that creaked outside of mine and Celeste’s room alerted me to someone’s presence. It was all I could do to dart back through the kitchen and into the shadows of the entryway. Hoping that my mind wasn’t too loud to affect my magic, I willed my body to blend into the shadows.
Moments later, Celeste turned around the corner, snatching her favorite creme cloak I had gotten her for her last birthday off her hook and slipping on her only pair of boots. Not necessarily proper clothing for the chill. So she wouldn’t be venturing far then. And by the look of her flitting gaze and worried lip, she didn’t want to be seen.
Quietly, almost silently, Celeste closed the front door, my chance of following her growing slimmer by the second.
“Dammit, Heavens,” I hissed, scaring Death. “What? I was practically speaking your language.” As always, the kitten looked unamused. Huffing, I gently set her on the ground and snaggedmy old hooded cloak off my hook. Mama’s shoes were too small, so I was forced to slide into Dad’s unused pair of leather ones. They were too large, but at least my feet fit into them. “Stay here, Death.”
Her half-lidded gaze seemed to sayas if I would go anywhere else.
With no time to think up a better plan, I quickly darted out the door, my eyes just catching Celeste’s burst of chocolate curls rounding the corner of a nearby house. Huffing an aggravated breath, I began stalking her, weaving between homes rather than taking the dedicated paths.
Not long and we were at the shops, the cold seeping into my bones. My cloak was thinner than hers, but only marginally. I could use a heating charm, but I felt guilty at the thought of being warm when she wasn’t.
Magic always seemed to come with guilt.
My feet were aching much sooner than I thought they would as I continued to trail her, watching as she seemed to second guess every turn. She didn’t know exactly where she was headed then. Or, perhaps, hadn’t taken this odd path before. Meeting someone, obviously, but in a place she wasn’t familiar with. Maybe a person she didn’t know well then?
At last, about thirty feet ahead of me, Celeste stilled, her head leaning back to read the sign above the entryway of a modest sweets shop. Interesting. Celeste loved taffy, but we rarely splurged on it. Plus, everything was already closed for the night. Officials could be seen paroling the area, but they were tired and lazy, uninterested in hunting the shadows. Imbeciles.
