Page 75 of A Clash of Stars

“This is my safe haven. Where I go to put my mind at ease, just be myself. I am not the Queen here, just Amari,” she said softly.

“Do you have a safe haven, Clara?” she asked me.

I thought about it for a moment.

“Not so much a place, but moments. I know that sounds silly, but my mother and I love to bake. We would spend hours in the kitchen prepping, baking, and eating all the treats we could.” I took a breath, “That is my safe haven. Being around the people I love and enjoying something together.”

She nodded at my answer, and her eyes went dark, “I need to tell you something, but I can’t talk about it for long.”

I was intrigued as to what it was. Amari took steps towards me and grabbed my hand, bringing me into a separate room in the cellar. Amari pressed onto a wall that opened into another room. Older, emptier, but there was a singular desk. She walked to the desk and pulled out a piece of paper, old, slightly crumbled, yellow in color.

“I need you to see this. Please don’t say anything. Just look.”

When I opened the paper, I saw the drawing of a man and woman holding a young boy and a young girl. Glancing closer, I noticed a ring on the woman’s finger, the onyx ring that now wrapped around mine.

Frantically I looked over the portrait, looking at the young girl. Instantly I made the connection that this was Athiana and her family. The young girl in the portrait had been lost for centuries, and no one knew where she was. On the young girl’s left hand was a marking, a scar almost sketched into her skin near the pinky and down to her wrist. My eyes moved to Amari, and I immediately inspected her skin. Her hand.

A shocking gasp flew out of my mouth. She had the same marking as the young girl in the portrait.

It was her.

She was the lost daughter of Athiana.

The stolen one.

“If you are wondering, yes, that is me. I know what happened to me and who I belong to,” Amari took a breath, stepped towards me and whispered, “I know everything, I have beenwaitingfor you. I’ve been waiting to give you specific instructions to guide you along the right path to complete the prophecy. Your parents are aware as well, and actually, they happen to be great friends of mine.”

Those assholes lied to me.

My breathing was unsteady, and my eyebrows furrowed toward her. I knew my face screamed, ‘I’m confused.’

“I am the one that offered up the option of marrying Evander. I can’t share my reasoning with you, but…” she grabbed my shoulders gently, staring into my eyes. “You must know that he is more like me than the King. He wants to do good and be worthy of your trust. The lies hurt you when he brought you here, but it was for a reason. All of the truth will come to light when it is supposed to and he will be your protector when it is all said and done.”

She reached out, grabbed my hands, and glanced toward my onyx ring as she continued, “This ring allowed the powers to fill you. There will come a time when you must solidify your magic, but it has to be at the right moment.” She paused before continuing. “Once the curse is broken, many things won’t make sense to you, but promise me that you won’t give up. Don’t give up on yourself and please, don’t give up on my son.”

I smiled at her cautiously, and I felt uneasy when I wondered what she meant by that. Not giving up on her son when the curse was over.

I guess that brings up a valid question. What would happen when this was all over? Deep in my bones, I knew that I could fall for Evander and that scared me. As if she could read my mind, she told me a story.

“When I was growing up, I was able to witness the greatest love between my parents before I was taken. They would sit outside and watch the night sky together. One night, my mother decided to add some excitement by creating a movement of stars in the sky. She told my father, ‘No matter where I am or where you are, when we look into the sky, we will see our stars aligning perfectly no matter what.’ That stuck with me, Clara. I hold that to be my truth even now.” She took a breath, “Those stars symbolize that no matter what troubles we have, what situations we’re in, we can always look to the ones we love to keep us aligned, to know we are okay. You are just like those stars, Clara. You are what is keeping all of us together. You are our hope. My mother unleashed the wickedness of the world when she chose to love my father, but she kept hope locked away to save it for when it was needed.”

I looked at Queen Amari, she exemplified grace and tenderness and I felt like I could share something that had been on my mind. “I’ve been told before that I am ‘saving’ our land, but to be completely honest, I don’t know what I am saving it from?”

She sighed and placed her soft palm on my cheek, “It’s better if you don’t know. In time, my dear, you will figure it out. I was told that a book was placed in your midst. Is that correct?”

I nodded. How did she know that?

“I read most of it, but there is a part of that book that is missing,” I sighed.

She leaned over and grabbed a piece of paper,the missing piece. I stood there in shock holding the missing story from the book.

“Clara. That book. It is real. The stories it holds. My mother doesn’t know that I have this paper. She is the one who ripped it out. Didn’t want others to know, but you should. Every one of us has something to fight for. There are times we follow orders, and other times we do not. I’m a faithful daughter, but I am first faithful to myself.” She nodded to me as if I should understand. I gripped the paper and held it tight within my grasp.

“Thank you, Amari. I will do whatever is necessary.”

She caressed my cheek, “Marrying Evander is the first step, Clara. I know he is a rough man, and many times he is unethical. Just have patience with him.”

Later that evening, a team of women came into my room to fit me into a wedding dress. I tried on many styles and they allowed me to pick one. Although I was being forced into this marriage, I still wanted to make a good impression. I didn’t completely hate Evander, but he had significantly hurt me, and I did not trust him, but I knew that how I appear is part of the show.

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