Page 77 of Above
“Kill them,” came the vast and chilling order of the stars, their voices seeming to summon swords into my hands. “Kill them all, Azazel.”
So I did.
Charging forward, I began the slaughter. It was nothing to cut them down with the blades. Relentlessly I attacked, not pausing to think about their age, or their gender, or their ability. Each was only a body in my way. Again and again I screamed as I swung, blood coating me and my magic sizzling beneath my skin.
I was a hurricane. A destructive force that could not be stopped. Their screams were the wind and their bodies the trees. Blood poured like rain—rivers—seas. Pleas of help were met with shrieks of pain. Death consumed the village.
When I was done, breathing heavily and wishing I were dead too, I heard her.
She had been silent before, but I knew somehow that she had watched from the safety of her home. The shack-like place she had brought me. Where her family had fed me. A place that seemed to be so full of love that it might burst from the force of it.
Turning, I locked eyes with her. She stared at me from only a foot away, honey and venom there in her irises, and I wondered if Nova Tershetta knew something that I didn’t. If she had somehow cracked the code to this existence and was keeping it all to herself.
“Kill the akhata,” the stars urged. “Kill her and we will give you what your father lost.”
Without so much as blinking, I cut off her head.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Nova
“Today I went into the pawn shop. I was scared the owner would tell the officials about what I had stolen, but he didn’t. Instead, he smiled and gave me twice as much coin as I thought he would. It’s the first time I’ve ever felt like I could trust someone other than Celeste and our parents.”
-From the journal of Nova Tershetta, 9273 AS
“Welcome to the silver phase,” Captain Zade said. We all stood at attention, each of us ready to move on from the previous day of slaughtering everyone we loved in illusions. “This will be your most difficult challenge yet.”
How it could get worse, I didn’t know.
“Over the course of the next four weeks, your training class will be in charge of conquering planet nine-three-four.” A collective gasp swept through the courtyard, none of us prepared for her to say that. Well, none of us but the cores. My head swung toward Talon, but he wasn’t looking at me. His face remained blank, staring forward at his mother.
It was the first time in nearly twenty-four hours that he wasn’t solely focused on me. After he had been forced to kill me in his illusion, he had been determined to dote on me. I had cum three times before he did last night, and after he had bathed me,slowly massaging my body and even humming until I fell asleep. While I had told him it was all unnecessary, he seemed incapable of stopping.
Until now, that was.
“You will spend more time with your division than you have previously. This mission will take focus, strength, will, and—most of all—perfection.”
“More than that,” began General Altair. Was he always around for so much of Elite Academy? Or was he simply keeping an eye on his son? “You will need to prepare to accept the weight of sacrificing a world to the stars. This won’t be easy, but hesitation is not acceptable.”
“Mistakes,” Captain Zade added, her arms crossed as she eyed me, “will not be tolerated.”
“Get a new joke,” I mumbled, nearly silent. But Talon heard me, and I saw the twitch of his lips as he attempted to fight off the smile, his eyes darting my way. Ohnowhe was looking at me.
“We will begin today by splitting off into your companies within your divisions. You are to immediately report to the classroom where you have been doing your weekly studies.” With that, Captain Zade disappeared, General Altair offering his son a glare and nod before following suit.
“What a treat this month will be,” Talon groaned, pivoting my way. Before I could ask about his knowledge of the silver phase, he bent low and wrapped his arms around my waist, picking me up. Our foreheads were pressed together, the moment soft and sweet and wholly uncomfortable. Trainees were staring. The cores were staring. Fucking Altair was staring.
Just as I suspected, the five of them began walking toward us. “Talon, if you don’t put me down then your friends are going to lose it.”
“They aren’t my friends,” he hummed, rubbing our noses together and then kissing me. I pulled away, my cheeks heating and my stomach twisting. They all probably suspected, but stars, did he have to make it so obvious? I didn’t need to be a bigger target.
If that was even possible.
“If you don’t get off of him you stupid, fucking whore, I swear I’ll kill you!” shouted Otarn, her hands shaped like claws as she reached for me. Talon spun us just in time, lightly setting me on the ground before tugging me behind him.
“Priya, I meant what I said,” he growled. What had he said? My insatiable curiosity got the best of me, and I found myself peeking around Talon to look at the cores.
“Well, maybe you should rethink your position. Father is furious. If you don’t stop fooling around with thatthing, then he’ll cut off your head long before you can take ours.” That was Zade. She was taller than me, her frame bulkier and her face impossibly symmetrical. She was stunning and terrifying, but at that moment, I saw she was also very scared.
