Page 96 of The Star's Sword

Ara was walking toward me in full armor, her curvy body covered in purple scale mail, and a lance at her side in one hand.

Luren was behind her, in similar but blue armor, his water sword sheathed at his side.

“We were on a mission in the mid-realm when Mor came to find us,” Ara said, glaring at me with her rose-red eyes, her dark curls mussed and blowing in the fall wind.

Ara was tall, taller than a lot of men, at around six feet.

“Good to see you,” I said, already wanting to turn and run back to the shelter of my room before she could confront me further.

“Cleo, I need to speak to you,” Ara said, her voice brooking no refusal. There was always such a feeling of power around Ara, along with the sense that she always seemed able to almost read the thoughts of those around her, that I couldn’t help but feel intimidated.

“Good to see you, Cleo,” Luren said, raising a blue hand in a welcoming gesture. His deep blue skin bespoke his incredible level of Drorren magic, and his handsome face was always one I was glad to see.

Reluctantly, I moved forward to accept his hug even though it brought me closer to Ara.

Ara merely watched me out of the corner of her eye, and then began walking to the castle where I was staying. “Luren, go back and tell my consorts to prepare for me, I will be there in a moment. But first, I must talk to Cleo alone.”

I sucked in my cheeks, but nodded, heading back in the direction of my room.

I was staying with her, so I really had no grounds to turn her down.

But deep down, shame was building in me. Because I knew Ara had lost her mate, waiting for the Morningstar.

We’d barely entered the castle and reached my room when I heard clinking and turned to see Ara removing her armor as she walked in, leaving her in black underclothes that were fitted a bit like Sam’s bandaged slayer outfit. She took off piece after piece and then sat down on one of the beds and just looked at me for a moment, her hands resting on her knees.

I’d always known Ara as a queen and a warrior, but I’d never seen her like this, stripped down, bruised and tired. I was used to her wearing queenly satins and velvets, while commanding crowds of demons and running revelries, sometimes in her own bedroom.

A bedroom that had a picture of her mate hanging on the wall above the large fireplace.

“Mor tells me you’ve given up on your rise as the Morningstar,” Ara said, her voice so quiet it almost scared me more than if she had yelled.

I clenched my teeth. “Maybe I’m not the Morningstar. Maybe everyone was wrong.”

“You have a morning sword,” Ara said. “You ascended from hell, and only the Morningstar could. I am not wrong. But why do you want me to be?”

My throat tightened. “Samael.”

“Ah.” She was quiet. “I do not blame you there.”

I raised my eyes, which had been avoiding her. “You don’t?”

She shook her head, rubbing her hands together and staring at the floor, then out the window. “I know you would think I’d come in and yell at you, given what I’ve sacrificed. But it’s more like I know exactly how you feel.” She frowned. “Well, not exactly, because I didn’t know I would lose my mate before the Morningstar rose. But I did know I could lose her fighting. It was hard.” I could see the pain in Ara’s body. Pain I mirrored.

I stood from the bed I was on, wondering if I should join her, but she put up a hand.

“Grief is a lonely thing,” she said. “A pain for someone not there that no one who is there can abate. Just give me a moment.”

I sat back down on the bed.

Finally, Ara composed herself and raised her eyes to mine. “Cleo, I’m telling you I understand so that you know that I know what I’m asking. I know more than anyone else how much I’m asking you to give up, potentially. I mean, we don’t know for sure, and I, like the others, didn’t know when to tell you. If it never happened, then there was no need to worry. And if it did, it couldn’t be prevented.”

I nodded, throat too dry to even swallow.

Ara’s red eyes locked onto mine. “I know what I’m asking, and that’s why I want you to understand the gravity I feel in asking it.” Her hands clasped. “But I’m still going to ask it. Cleo, you have to rise. Yes, you could avoid it, and probably have some semblance of a life. But that’s a privilege many don’t have.”

“Look, what if I just fight for the demon realms? What if I protect settlements from ninth-realmers?”

“You couldn’t be everywhere at once,” Ara said. “We need changes from the top down. You need to get me to the ninth realm and clear it out so I can rule.”

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