Page 125 of This Shattered Star

“You are a liar, Kodhan Dreadmourne,” I whispered, shakily. “A horrible, despicable liar.”

I flung the accusation at him like it burned.

But his expression, crestfallen—like I’d physically slapped him—hurt far worse.

“I’m telling you the truth. No more secrets.” He lifted his hands placatingly, palms up. “They tampered with your soul. Your memories. Your essence. It’s why you can’t remember.”

“The gods tampered with my soul, that much is correct. But my memories are fully intact. You—” Goosebumps covered the length of my body when I remembered what he and Theia had been arguing about. What he’d told me back in the tower.

Wisely, Kodhan stayed put. Watched me piece together the fractured bits of a puzzle I’d never asked for, a flicker of hope shining in his eyes.

My feet were on solid stone, though it felt like I was falling without end. “I am not her.”

“Once more, love. With conviction.” A half-smile. “If you’re going to accuse me of lying, you should do better in making sure I don’t see through yours.”

Anger shook the ice out of my limbs. “I know who and what I am. I am gods-cursed. Powerless. I am no one.” One of the two dragons roared above our heads, raising the hairs on my arms.

They would swoop down at any moment now, I thought. Especially since there weretwoof us by the temple instead of the usual one.

“That is whattheywant you to think. The poison they planted in your mind.” Kodhan hissed.

I climbed another step. “This is a waste of time. I’m going back for the vials. Follow me, or don’t. I don’t care.”

He reacted faster than my years of training could prepare me for. Clamped both of my arms to my body in what almost looked like an embrace.

“Why do you think that dragon allowed you to go inside?” He grunted as I pushed forward, forcing him down a step.

“To kill me on the way out,” I spat, and threw my weight backwards. Kodhan scrambled down two more steps to catch me, stopping my fall. Only a few more, and we would be back on solid, even ground. I just had to find a way to keep him there while I went back inside.

“Don’t do that again,” he warned with a snarl.

“Then let go of me,” I snarled back. Then shot a kick to his right ankle.

He swung us around with a force that had my feet scrambling to find purchase. Took the opportunity to lift me to his chest, and brought us back down to the grass.

“Fight me all you want. Gods, please don’t ever stop fighting me. But at least see the truth. Our powers are unique, essence ofstars bestowed upon us by the goddess that gave us life. It’s why we wield only one specific kind of magic. The goddess made a deal with them. Deals for each of us. But then you werestolen.” His voice wavered. It was enough to make me falter.

To hesitate.

Gideon’s first rule, broken by a single word.

Kodhan kept both feet rooted in the grass, but he spun me again, this time bringing my back flush to his front.

“Jareth’s real son is still deep within the mountains with a clean slate of health. The boy never stepped foot from the estate since he was less than four years old—that’s why Maverick didn’t suspect a single thing where I was concerned. The goddess whispered to Jareth, asked him to harbor me when I arrived cloaked with enough magic that made me appear human, my magic like everyone else’s, a little over one month ago.” When Jareth reintroduced him to the heart of the kingdom. “Theia and Brannon arrived much later.”

My head dropped to rest on his chest. My body was spent, still unrecovered from the effects of the glowing liquid. I couldn’t fight him anymore. Not physically.

He took it as a sign to keep going.

“He played his part well. So well that the king sent me and my closest friends into the Starlight Trials aspunishment. Which was right where we needed to be if we wanted to help you survive. We only had one chance to retrieve you.”

“Stop. I don’t want to hear any more.”

He did no such thing.

“The cost of bringing us in was too great. She couldn’t bring us out. Not all of us. At most, two could be pulled out without raising his alarms, leaving the rest of us to leave by his own bidding. So she pulled Brannon and Theia out from the top of the watchtower, his puppet being a perfect coverup for their disappearance.”

“Impossible—” I began to argue, but he plowed on.