Page 163 of Starside

His hood is still up, of course, mask still on. His clothes are washed. His boots aren’t covered in mud anymore. I can see by the set of his shoulders that he’s on guard and irritated. He’s very noticeably turned away from the two people next to him.

Este and Gallie bow. “Elders. May we present Aris.”

A man and a woman turn, and I’m momentarily stunned by their brilliance. Their skin is smooth as stone. There’s a soft silver glow around their bodies, and their hair and clothes float in a gentle wind reserved just for them.

The man wears a suit of silk, with glowing leaves accenting his shoulders. His buttons are made from acorns. His skin is dark, his eyes a searing amber. The woman is wearing a dress of glimmering, slightly transparent gossamer. It hardly covers much. Pink roses are stuck on the fabric and on her moon-white skin. She wears several layers of glittering necklaces around her neck.

She smiles, and it’s like a ray of sunshine. “You were asleep for a while. We were starting to worry.”

By we, I suppose she means her and the man next to her, because I don’t see a hint of worry in Raker’s posture. If anything, he looks angry.

She picks a flower from the plant next to her and offers it to me. It has a long green stem and curved, bulbous, light pink petals, shaped like a goblet. Inside sits slightly silvery water. “Drink,” she says, her voice slightly resonant and drawn out. “It will help the thirst and hunger.”

I’ve never drunk from a flower before, but I bring the petals to my lips, and they’re soft as velvet. The liquid smells sweet.

I tip it back like a cup, and the moment the nectar hits my tongue, sweetness melts through my mouth. It’s not just the taste. Instantly, I feel the balm in my bones, the energy through my limbs. It’s as if I’ve slept a full month and eaten a feast.

I throw my head back, draining every last drop. When I finally put the flower down, the Eldress is smiling. “Better?”

I nod, then look around, my vision sharper than before somehow. “What is this place?”

“For us, it’s home. For others … it’s known as the Traveling City.” The paradise that is constantly moving, appearing in various woods. The one Xara spoke of. The place Kira’s sword came from.

“You’re the faelings,” I say, looking at them with even greater notice than before.

The Elders both bow their heads in confirmation, the diadems they wear sparkling beneath the moonlight.

Moonlight. I look up, only to be greeted by a blanket of stars. Panic grips my bones. “It’s night. Shouldn’t we—”

The Eldress studies my brow, the fold in it, as if worry is unfamiliar. “Ah. The demons.” She shakes her head. “They can’t come here. The light keeps them out.” She motions around her. There’s a shimmer over everything, like a dusting of stars. There are tiny puddles of it, between the crooks of trees, and smeared along branches. Orbs of the light are threaded through some of the treetops, larger versions of the strings she wears around her neck.

“Starlight. We’re descended from the stars themselves. Their glow is in us.” She takes me in with curiosity … and a bit of hesitancy. “A human hasn’t found us in centuries.”

I lift a shoulder. “I can’t take credit for finding you. I was led.” I can almost feel Raker’s questioning gaze on me.

At the Eldress and Elder’s obvious interest, I continue. “There was a woman. She came to me, almost like a dream. She … could fly. She floated right above me.”

There’s a sharp inhale, followed by shattering glass. I turn around as Este apologizes, picking up the pieces of what looks to be a vial.

“Is … is something wrong?” I ask, searching their faces for answers.

But the Elder and Eldress simply share an unreadable look before he says, “What was the color of her dress?”

“Silver,” I say.

The world seems to go silent. I do too, remembering the worst night of my life. Remembering the woman wearing silver. Silver. The color of the gods.

But this woman’s hair was blond. And her eyes weren’t hardened with cruelty.

“Was she a god?” I ask.

“No,” the Eldress says. “That was the Astral Queen.”

I blink. “Is she … one of you?”

She shakes her head. “She belongs only to herself. She’s older than these lands, than any of us, than many of the gods.” Her brow furrows. “She must want you to complete your journey. Helping a human … how curious.” She looks at the Elder. He nods gravely.

“What—”