Page 48 of Born of Starlight
“You back with me?” My whisper was tender enough to surprise me—and her.
I became acutely aware that both of our hands were now entwined as she nodded. Her expression softened. For a moment, it looked as though she was going to kiss me right there in the chaos.
“You two need to get it together. Come on,” Emmerick said quietly over his shoulder as the Helos guards began to violently break up the assembly.
It was growing more dangerous by the minute.
Shields were used to shove people away from the square. A guard stepped up onto the platform to wrestle the man who spoke to the ground, beating him mercilessly as he cried out.
“They will kill us all! Let magic reign!”
Emmerick pushed through the crowd. I let go of Asterie’s unbound hand and dragged her by our cuffed hands to follow him.
Two soldiers now restrained the man on the platform, continuing their battery. Each strike drew more blood, and the man’s screams of defiance rang through the town square. His shrieks were silenced when one of the guards slit the man’s throat in one swift, exact motion. Asterie gasped and stilled. It took force to uproot her from the spot.
“They…they killed him.” She gasped. “Fen, they killed him.”
I pulled her through the upheaval of rioters and soldiers colliding.
“I know...” I tried to keep my voice reassuring, but my heart was in my throat.
We finally reached the edge of town, headed East. By our luck, it was the same guard we’d encountered upon entering Kullworth. He waved us through, giving Emmerick a gentle nod of approval as we passed.
“Safe travels.” The guard’s voice was too cheery—asshole.
I stayed silent, mute, as I was supposed to be. Asterie looked haunted—her hand trembled in mine.
* * *
Noneof us spoke for at least a mile. Asterie held my hand long after the sight and sound of Kullworth were behind us. She mouthed numbers quietly to herself.
“Only a couple miles,” the boy said before he tilted his head to meet Asterie’s gaze.
“I’m fine,” she said in return. That metered tone irked me.
Emmerick shook his head. “Whywould you use that name?”
Asterie paused and then pulled her shoulders to her ears in the weakest shrug. “They were royal guards. I thought surely if they just knew who I was, they might help us. I didn’t understand—”
“No. You didn’t and that was foolish.” Emmerick cut her off. Asterie’s mouth momentarily hung open.
“Why were the people so angry? I have heard of small uprisings. But that was awholetown.”
The boy sighed and stopped. He looked between us before he ran a hand through his dark curls.
I watched as Asterie grappled with a truth I’d already known. The Order was a calculated way to oppress people into submission under the guise of peace rather than a way to make any real compromise or progress. It was precisely the type of world I had imaginedhercreating.
Yet here I was, holding hands with one of her allies. Asterie’s heart beat so hard that I could feel it in her palm. Maybe that was my pulse. I couldn’t tell—they were tangled.
“The Sisterhood puts the principles of a peaceful realm above all else.” Emmerick frowned. “You just witnessedabove all else. Give me your hands.” Asterie let go of my hand to allow Emmerick to unbind us—losing her touch felt wrong immediately.
“What do you mean?” she asked him bluntly, voice incredulous.
“Some weeks ago, a radical group was killed at the northwest border town of Kruthin. Kullworth is on the other side of that border. They watched as hundreds of Kruthin townspeople gathered along the West Corridor border. The Kruthins were killed by attacks from above—eastern soldiers on Griffiths. A hundred more were slaughtered by western soldiers on horseback.
“The town of Kullworth saw firsthand what happens when the Order is enforced.” Emmerick paused. His expression grew grave. “But the Kruthins…they were not armed.”
I watched as Asterie’s back stiffened.
