The Stars are Dying : (Nytefall: Book 1)
The Stars are Dying: Chapter 24

The prince imposed his company on me much sooner than I’d hoped. As I headed to the final summons of the king, Drystan fell into step beside me, and Zathrian fell back a couple in reluctance. He talked about the most mundane things. I found out the prince was glad for long winters and found the nights peaceful. Small things I could relate to, yet I found myself wanting to deny our common desires. I didn’t want to know these personal things about him if it would shorten the distance between strangers, edging me closer into his waiting trap.

“Your attendance here has caused quite the stir. We have never had someone so high in status as a reigning lord’s daughter competing.”

I wrung my hands, hoping we were almost there since I’d avoided the topic of my upbringing so far. “I’ve heard,” I said. “My mother lost her life far too soon because of a soulless attack. You say they are bound by law not to kill, but when a human is left with only a few years of many decades, how is that not a death sentence?”

Drystan contemplated for a few strides of silence. His hands were clasped behind him in a dominant poise, but he was not intimidating. “I too know what it’s like to lose a parent too soon,” he said.

My breath came shallow. Of all the new customs and faces and lands to overwhelm me, I hadn’t considered the absence of a queen. Before I could voice my condolences, he went on.

“Did you replace the vampire responsible?”

I wasn’t thinking of my lie as I answered quietly, “Yes.” The image of Cassia in the grip of the soulless weakened my knees.

“Did it help…?” Drystan stalled, and I shifted my gaze to replace his brows drawn in contemplation. “Ending them, as I assume you did. Did it help you?”

A layer had been peeled back on the prince that was both heartwarming to glimpse and terrifying. I wondered who had wronged him so truly to have inspired this unfulfilled sense of retribution.

“No,” I said honestly.

He met my stare, and for a heartbeat there was no distance, just two desolate souls who didn’t know what it would take to feel whole again. A few seconds of exposed vulnerability.

Until we firmed our guards.

We walked into a massive domed hall. It wasn’t the size that daunted me, but the exceedingly large round table illuminated at the far end, hosting the four other Selected, who stood upon our entrance while the king remained seated. Their impassive gazes slipped from the prince to me with distaste.

Arriving with him was not my choice.

As if it matters what interest the prince has in me.

I was doused with a heat that slicked my skin when the prince didn’t move away from me. To my horror, he escorted me right to my seat, his hand hovering on my back, just shy of touching. It didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. I wanted to run from that room with their attention targeting us, wondering why he’d cared to seat me as if I were a lady of the court.

Until forms grew from the shadows.

Humans.

“My Golden Guard,” the king announced.

Drystan hadn’t moved from behind me. His presence vibrated my awareness through the tall back of my chair. One by one the guards stopped behind each of the Selected in the same manner. My attention slipped to Rose, but she remained unyielding to the man that loomed behind her.

Inside I was shaking. I couldn’t place what was off about their stillness.

“You have each been assigned a guard to ensure your protection as you traverse the city. The vampires beyond can’t always be…checked. You won’t often see your guard, so don’t bother trying to seek them out for help.”

It dawned on me then. There were only four in the Golden Guard…

Is Drystan assigned to me?

I would rather take my chances, but that didn’t seem to be an option. Yet why would the crown prince accept a role below his station? Amusement, likely.

My palms were clammy and I wrung them as a servant leaned over, placing a small ornate glass in front of me. I skipped my gaze across to notice the others had one too, and that theirs were empty.

I blinked. My mind was reeling so far and fast that I was absent and at risk of missing important information.

“Drink, Cassia,” Drystan said, though he didn’t lean down; his words blew sand across my neck.

I picked up the glass, bringing it to my lips.

The liquid stung my throat, and I put in every effort not to make a twisted expression as I set the glass down. Taking a deep breath, I caught the king’s small smile, not sure of why he watched me, but I curved my spine with false confidence nonetheless.

“As you are all fed and rested and have had the opportunity to become acquainted…” the king sang, and I couldn’t be more grateful that he’d drawn the attention of the room. The tall stained-glass windows behind him reduced the visibility, making him no more than a dark form. “I want to formally congratulate you on getting here. You represent the best of each of your kingdoms, and it is now down to you to prove the life within them is worth saving.”

My fingers curled at my sides at the way he spoke of us like cattle.

“For too long humans have indulged on this land and sullied it. There was a time of peace—the Golden Age—before they turned on each other, savaged the lands, and not even those who were deemed their guardians had control over the plague they were becoming. But since the Libertatem, each kingdom has thrived on its own.” The king sat dominant. I could admit I was highly intrigued by his tale, though I didn’t think it factual when I’d only heard it from the evil ruler of a species who preyed upon us. “It is through these trials you will be tested against mankind’s great flaws. One victor will succeed at proving humans can refrain, that they can be civil.”

“The vampires are not civil,” I said. It spilled from me before I could think logically. I couldn’t help it when everything he said was hypocritical, and my mind flashed with Cassia’s last breaths, urging me to speak out. But when all eyes snapped to me, I realized my error. I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me whole.

The king didn’t react in outrage. He leaned back casually, propping his elbows on the velvet-clad arms of his chair. “Why don’t you speak your mind, Cassia Vernhalla?” he said, gesturing with a hand to pass the room’s attention to me.

My breathing came short, but I could only blame myself. “The soulless have been killing,” I said, and I had to force down an ocean of grief at the flashes of raw memory my words dragged forth. “Not just leaving humans with years, but minutes. That is against your law. We play this game to prove ourselves, but there will be four kingdoms still at the mercy of the soulless when it is over, and it is not just shortened time they fear now. What will you do for them?”

The room grew thick with tension, and maybe it was my lack of experience, but I didn’t know if I’d spoken out of line. Only that it felt right.

“Sometimes you have to set aside what is right to be smart.”

I nearly shivered at the silvery voice in my mind. My fists clenched on my lap. Get out of my damn head.

The king rose slowly, and I realized then what Nyte meant. He hadn’t been giving me an opening to speak freely, and I was naïve to have walked right into it. Foolish. His cold eyes pinned me with a threat that rattled me.

“Sometimes a person has far less years than they hope for. Accidents happen when a soul vampire doesn’t detect their host only has a short time left.”

My heart stopped. My blood turned cold. In those seconds where time was suspended I wondered if the air had been sucked from that room entirely.

What he implied…

No. I refused to believe Cassia didn’t have many, many years ahead of her in which to experience life and turn old and gray. To live a fulfilled existence before it was robbed from her. The soulless were monsters, and the king would say anything to justify it.

“There was a time humans begged for the aid of the vampires to end their suffering. They existed in peace, working together with the celestials. But in all species there are always those who will take too much.”

The king stood and everyone’s eyes followed his to a robed man who approached carefully. His hair was navy-blue, tied with braids to show his rounded ears.

He was human.

I blinked at him as though he were some foreign species until I found out exactly why he was in the king’s service. Likely not by choice.

He raised his hands and a blue glow entranced me from his palms and lit up his irises. His fingers were poised, and when I looked back over the table to where he held his focus, I couldn’t believe the magick I was seeing. I’d never seen a full map of the city, but from what I’d glimpsed upon the hills, the human mage had created a top-down view of it over the round table, detailing the three levels of distinguished wealth from his proximity.

“The Libertatem will commence at dawn,” the king announced. “The city is your game board, and the winner will be determined through trials no two contestants will face the same way. Each of you will have until sunrise on the twenty-fourth day to follow the clues, complete your trials, and gain every piece of your key.”

As he spoke, five fragments of metal appeared in the air above the shimmering city. They joined to create a key like no other I’d seen before—not one with teeth, and it could be mistaken for a dagger or a short staff. Then it was duplicated to create five whole keys, which split off to hover before each of us. Mine was beautiful, glowing a transparent purple I refrained from reaching for.

The cityscape moved until only a long flight of broken stone steps leading up to a set of large twin doors remained.

“The first to make it here and try their key is the Victor—and will have the honor of becoming my fifth Golden Guard.”

My gaze slipped to the guard behind Rose again. He appeared ordinary. Human, but with something still and cold about him. Immortal. Honor was the last notion on my mind. The sun kissed his dark skin to no effect. I saw his shadow cast behind him and couldn’t figure out what was so lethal and feared about the esteemed role or the price they’d paid for their immortality. It was hard to believe he’d once sat at this table, and I wondered if he’d harbored the same dark caution that was creeping up inside me. As his green irises caught mine, I settled my focus elsewhere.

I blinked when the room tilted for a second. My vision doubled.

“There are only two rules.” The king’s eyes drifted to me, tunneling into me as if this were a personal declaration. “The first is that your body belongs to this city dead or alive now. Your guard will stop any attempt to flee should you lose your composure. Second, you cannot kill another Selected unless they have their complete key.”

My blood froze. I couldn’t look to the others out of fear that completing the trials would be nothing compared to the final game of survival. Instead I tried to study what I could of the massive tiered city, nothing short of three levels of a spectacular maze. The first landing bustled with trade and humans and workers. The second had a stark advance in wealth. This was where the vampires lived. Then at the top…the castle of glass and black stone.

My chest tightened in a panic. I imagined myself as no more than a speck planted in the lost labyrinth. Though we had our guards, the thought of roaming through a level teeming with those who thirsted for my blood and soul…

I became hot under my dress. Too hot, and the air thickened.

As a parchment was laid in front of us, the king continued. “The castle gates will be locked every day at twilight. That is when your protection ends. The vampires are bound by law not to kill you, but I have not denied them such entertainment should you wander into their path after dark.”

I shook my head against a dizzy spell. Picking up the parchment like the others, it was a mild relief to see we’d been given the map. But while the others looked satisfied by the aid, I was beginning to sweat. I had no clue how to read one.

My vision peppered. I watched Draven wipe his brow and Rosalind give a few tired blinks. Then the empty glass before me turned to three. They’d made us drink something, and the thought of falling unconscious at their mercy slicked my skin with dread.

Something warm and reassuring pulsed in my chest. My hand rose there, and I calmed a little, feeling like someone was holding me back.

“I have a feeling this Libertatem will be one to remember,” the king said, but his voice became distant. “Good luck. I look forward to greeting one of you at the very end.”

My head felt weighted under water, but then several chairs were scraped back as the others began to leave. I wondered how they had the strength. I planted my hand on the table and stood but fought the urge to fall right back down.

“You’re just fine,” a low voice rumbled like vibrations over surface water. I focused on it for just long enough to confirm my humiliation at who it was. I didn’t want the prince’s help, knowing his favor could come at a far higher price than anything else in this wretched game.

“I can take her.”

Yes. I wanted to be in Zath’s safe embrace more than anything. But Drystan didn’t let me go.

“No need.” He brushed Zath off.

I cast Zath a sorry look, barely making out his full features, only his unmistakably broad silhouette. Then I caught a flicker of pink as it swayed. “Zath,” I rasped. Tiredness clawed at me, but I was determined to stay awake for as long as I could. “Rose doesn’t have anyone.”

About the strategy of the game I shouldn’t care. Yet I couldn’t stomach the thought of her being alone and vulnerable right now.

Zath gave a firm nod of understanding. I’d always admired his protective nature no matter who was in trouble.

I leaned on the prince, not having much other choice.

“When you wake up, you won’t have the faintest idea where you are. You can’t panic. You’ll be somewhere in the city,” Drystan said, his breath blowing across my ear as he spoke so quietly. “You need to make it back here every twilight. It is the only place truly safe for you. Trust no one, as everyone can be bought for the right price.”

“You-you’re not supposed to be hel-helping me,” I said, barely a slur of words. I tried to cling onto his voice, the scents of wood and vanilla, anything to stay present, but I was drifting fast.

“I’ve never really cared for my father’s rules.”

I decided I wanted to discover how many layers the prince had.

He helped me inside, where I quickly recognized the layout of my rooms. I wanted to stay seated, but Drystan helped me lie back. “This one will help you far better,” he said. Taking the map from my lazy grip, he slid something flat and folded into my leathers, skimming my chest—which in my right mind might have made me blush.

Drystan leaned away, and out of instinct I reached for him. My grip around his wrist was weak, and I didn’t really know what I intended with it.

“You’re going to get through this just fine,” he said.

My lids fluttered, and as I was drifting, my hold slipped from Drystan, and so did his presence from me. Because another took his place. I wasn’t sure why, but I needed to know—

“The prince is right about one thing. Don’t trust anyone, especially him,” Nyte said to my mind. There was a certain strain of irritation in his tone. “I’m not leaving you. You still owe me your bargain, Starlight.”

I thought I nodded, letting my head fall and my eyelids with it.