Page 95 of Above
“Hi!” Talon exclaimed, waving at my family before reaching for my hand. Reluctantly, I let him take it, his hand gripping tighter when mine hung limp. “I’m so excited to meet you three! I’ve heard so much about you.”
On instinct, my lips tightened, eyes scrunching closed. Why did he need to do this?
“Dad, Mama, Celeste, this is Talon. We’re…” I struggled to find a way to explain what Talon and I were. Especially since I was beginning to think he was right. I had the stars. I would soon be forced to train beneath General Altair of all people. The chances of me being married off to Talon one day were becoming more and more likely. My future was set in stone. “…together.”
“You andthisboy?” Mama asked, her eyebrows rising, causing deep wrinkles to form on her forehead. The realization made the whispers of the stars seem louder. As if they were compelling me to act now and save them.
“Yes, ma’am. Nova and I have been seeing each other for most of academy,” Talon confirmed. He briefly turned to me, his eyes shining as they seemed to express his admiration. “I’m in love with her.”
A collective gasp came from the three of them, and I wished then that I had been more firm with Talon earlier. This was too much.
“Well, I think that’s enough chit chat for now. I should get you three home.” I rushed forward, pulling my hand out of Talon’s and darting around Dad, grabbing the push handles to his chair.
“Wait!” Talon urged, reaching over my dad to grip my wrist. “I was actually coming over here to invite you all to my house. We’re having a dinner tonight to honor our graduation, and, of course, celebrate Nova being awarded the stars’ essence. If you’ll come, that is.”
How dare he.
How. Fucking. Dare. He.
“I don’t think that’s a good—”
“We’d love to!” Mama said, interrupting me. Her small, sharp elbow sunk into my side, and I gritted through the momentary pain to step in.
“Talon is a core,” I hissed. Silence overtook our group, the loud buzz of the surrounding chatter unable to penetrate our bubble of quiet tension.
“Well, that’s foul,” Celeste deadpanned, her voice and face like a mask of disgust and anger.
Blowing out a breath of air, I looked up at Talon, who looked stricken where he stood. “He’s an amazing person, but I don’t necessarily think his family home is a good place for us all to be.”
“Nova, please, just come. I swear my family will be on their best behavior. In fact, they’re eager to discuss the future of Dajahim with you. I promise you’ll all be safe and welcomed.” I dared to look into his amber gaze, wishing I hadn’t when I realized how desperate he seemed. “Please?”
“We’ll talk about it,” I muttered, turning Dad’s chair around and heading for an empty space where I could shadow walk.
Luckily, Talon didn’t follow. But it was too late. They all knew now.
“You have a lot of explaining to do,” Dad ordered, his voice thunderous. To make matters worse, Mama spotted someone else.
“Az!” she shouted, waving her hand. My eyes found him immediately, and I was punished with the sight of him looking over his shoulder and smiling fondly at my mother.
“Mama, stop it!” I hissed, trying to grab her dress and tug her toward an opening ahead. But she smacked my hand, still waving at Altair.
Without hesitation or even an explanation for those around him, Altair began walking toward us, Dofrel smirking my way from the place Altair left. Ridiculous, heinous, foul little—
“Hello.” Altair’s voice was soft, his uniform immaculate and hair perfectly styled. A vastly different man than when he had first met my mother. Unfortunately, she seemed to like him ever better now.
“You look so dashing! We’re very proud of you all for your hard work. Hopefully now those joints can get a break. How do you feel? Did you get that tincture I sent over?”
Joints? Tincture? Stars above.
“Yes, I did. Thank you so much.” Celeste scoffed from my side, and I turned my head in time to see her roll her eyes before locking that grey gaze on Altair’s hair.
Father was studying him as well, though he seemed to be in a game of comparison. His eyes flicked from Altair to Talon in the distance, brows furrowed.
“Oh good, I’m so happy to hear that. Were you planning to leave soon? We’d love to have you over for dinner!”
“Mama, we have plans,” I corrected, wishing she would stop pushing the idea of Altair being around us. Then I realized I was trying to avoid that dinner, and my mind began to spin.
“We aren’t going to that,” Celeste hissed, her eyes forming slits.
