Beneath the Silent Stars (Celestial Court #1)

PROLOGUE

HELL MIGHT LACK THE FURY of a woman scorned, but its keeper had vengeance to spare. Too long had he waited for justice. Too long had he held his shadows at bay as the cosmos kept turning, while the realm below cycled through generations without even a pause to grieve the absence of Unity—of her.

He would wait no longer.

Black wisps curled around his fingers, inching up his arms as he walked down the golden hallways, threatening to consume the obscene opulence with his wrath.

His black cloak billowed behind his steps as he marched to the gold double doors ahead.

There was shouting from the other side, muffled but clearly agitated.

Narrowing his gaze at the armed guards on either side, he coaxed more shadows to his side, blocking out the light from the walls and plunging them in gray darkness.

“If you value your meager existence, I suggest you open the doors,” he growled, encircling their necks with shadowy hands, threatening to snuff them out of existence.

One of the guards swallowed beneath the shadows, gasping as he struggled to breathe. Loosening his dark grip slightly, the guard coughed and croaked as he spoke.

“Your Excellency, the Empyrean have already started the Council.”

“Then I suggest you open the doors with haste. I would hate to think you played a part in keeping a Constellation from such an important event,” he snarled, gradually pulling back the shadows, allowing the light to filter through and the guards to draw breath.

One guard fell to the ground, wheezing, while the other placed his golden gauntlet on the door.

A light shimmered across the door at the guard’s touch followed by a soft clicking sound as the locking mechanism unraveled.

Before the guard could push the door open, a shadow lurched forward, shoving the doors aside and bursting into the massive circular room.

A woman shrieked as blackness seeped into the brilliant white, tainting the golden aura of the Constellations.

In the center of the space was a circular glass table suspended in the air.

All around the table were ornate chairs inlaid with gold, thirteen in total.

One chair for each Constellation. A few Stars stood, clearly caught in the middle of a heated discussion, while others looked as though they had seen a ghost as he entered.

His steps echoed across the golden floor as he strode toward the table, his venomous gaze peering into the faces of each and every Star.

He was met mostly with fear, but some dared to show disgust or disdain.

Only one face was missing—the only face that mattered.

He slunk to his seat, sinking down slowly onto the cushion, but his eyes lingered on the empty chair as his thoughts teetered between fury and despair.

“Ahh, Sceptra. So pleased you could join us,” a sultry voice sang across the table, directed at the shadowy figure.

The few Stars who had been standing lowered themselves into their chairs, muttering under their breath.

“It would appear, brother, that my invitation to this Council was overlooked,” Sceptra replied, allowing more of his wisps to slither along the top of the table, eliciting grumbles from the Star on his right, Eros. “I should hope it was an oversight, rather than intentional.

Leo smiled in return, resting his hands on the arms of his chair.

His gold-plated armor glistened in the sunlight, as did his golden hair that fell below his shoulders.

The white cloak that typically shrouded his head was pulled down, revealing the shimmering golden star marked on his forehead—a proud display of his self-elected role to maintain order over all the cosmos.

Control disguised as order.

Sceptra gritted his teeth, the sight of his brother only fueling the flames of his anger.

“Of course, a mistake. I shall have the guard reprimanded for his negligence.” Leo spoke firmly, but the duplicitous smile never left his mouth.

“By all means, do not stop the Council on my account.” Sceptra waved a hand nonchalantly, leaning back into the chair as he calmed his nerves.

He had waited a century for this moment, had planted many seeds of doubt over the years to finally break the trance his brother had over the fools surrounding him.

He would not ruin it with his temper, no matter how justified.

Leo paused, nodding then gesturing toward the entire Empyrean. “We were just discussing the separations of the realms.”

“You mean the divisions!” the burly man next to Sceptra bellowed, slamming a fist the size of Sceptra’s head down on the table. The table shook, but did not break, despite the force.

“Constantia?” Leo’s brow raised, eyeing the Star, a clear look of disapproval on his face.

“You heard me. The humans call you ‘Balance,’ but all I see is your way of controlling the realm. Your plan divides us all!” Constantia spat, leaning forward in his chair, his knuckles white from clenching his fists.

“I agree with Constantia,” another voice boomed across the table, strong and commanding. A younger Star with short blazing white hair and silver eyes straightened in his seat, a sense of calm assuredness on his face.

“Lupus? You wish to share your sentiments with the Empyrean?” Leo narrowed his eyes on the Star, the smile wiped from his face.

“My sentiments are not merely my own, Leo. Most in this Council agree—you are stretching the confines of your supposed order.” Lupus glared back at him, with a confidence Sceptra wished more of the Stars could possess. No wonder the realms gave him the name of Power.

“You dare contest my motives? I am the Star of Balance.” Leo turned his head to address the entire Empyrean as he spoke, clinging to the deception.

“I bring order and harmony to the chaos of the cosmos. When there is a pull, I push. I am simply pushing for more simplicity, to keep the realms at peace.”

“You go too far,” a woman with silver hair braided down her back replied before Lupus could argue.

Her eyes glistened with stardust, pale white in the golden glow of the room.

“Chaos begets growth. Creates a will for the cosmos to keep spinning. It gives creation the motivation to seek harmony. Without it, there is no will to build or change.”

“My esteemed Sophia, even your wisdom must see that my greatest wish is to give the realms the strongest chance of peace and prosperity.” Leo softened his voice, playing on the hearts of the weaker Stars.

“By separating parts of the realm for each of your Starborne and stewards, it eliminates feuds and wars and death.”

“It also eliminates choice and cohesion. Without choice, there is no will to live,” Ira growled at Leo, flames licking his hands and his yellow orange eyes blazing with heat.

Sceptra smirked, relishing in the rebuttal. Ira was his closest friend and had been there in his despair, as he grieved the only one who truly understood him—the one who had seen the soul beneath the shroud of death.

“It is for their own good!” Leo shouted, his chair toppling over as he stood. Gold sparks of light danced around his hands and feet, crackling across the glass table. “This is for order. I will have order.” His face was fuming now, staring down the Stars, daring them to challenge him.

“No,” Sceptra replied, his voice only slightly louder than a whisper, yet the entire room stilled.

“No? You who relish in death? Of course you would choose chaos. It only brings you more bodies to Solrend,” Leo spat, clenching the edge of the table as he stared at Sceptra.

“I do not rejoice at death, brother. Unlike you, I believe in choice as I also believe in justice. And, unlike you, I do not manipulate my duties to the realm to suit my wants. I was charged with shepherding the dead, so I do.” Shadows curled around his hands as he answered, his voice placid despite the growing hatred inside him.

“Justice? You mock me, brother. I am the embodiment of justice, for justice creates balance.” Leo smiles again, puffing out his chest.

“Like the justice you so graciously bestowed on Cordia?” Sceptra rose from his chair, no longer able to fight back his wrath. His hands shook with anger, shadows pouring from his palms, enveloping him in darkness.

“That is not the same!” Leo shouted, control slipping from his voice.

“No? Then tell me, oh Star of Balance, what judgment did you cast on her killer? Her own steward who betrayed her?” Sceptra’s voice rose with every word, shadows billowing around his feet and crashing around the chairs of the Stars next to him.

Constantia rose as well, looking at Sceptra and back at Leo, bewildered.

“What does he mean?”

The soft melodious voice cut through the heated argument as a painfully beautiful figure dressed in navy robes rose from her chair, her body quivering as she looked at Leo.

Before he could reply, Sceptra answered first, “Tell her. Tell Andromeda how her beloved sister died and how you did nothing to avenge her.”

“No, please. Leo. Tell me this isn’t true?” Andromeda’s voice cracked as tears welled in her eyes.

“She went against my command! She wasn’t supposed to be there!” Leo yelled, golden light arching from his hands and his hair.

“What do you mean?” Sceptra paled as he stared at Leo, his heartbeat quickening. The shadows continued to creep along the room, slivers of black slithering over the windows and dulling the golden room.

“I… I…” Leo stuttered, his eyes widening.

“Answer me!” Sceptra shouted, feeling his eyes turning their devilish red as more shadows filled the air.

“I sent the Leviathan,” Leo blurted out.

“It was me. I sent her steward to destroy the ships. The mortal ships were straying too close to Solrend. She did not know I sent it, and she went anyway. To save them. To save the pathetic mortals. It is her fault. If she had only listened to me, understood the necessity of control, she would not have been destroyed.”

Leo’s eyes darted between the Empyrean, seeking vindication.

But all that met him were the stares of disbelief and malice.

“You…you killed her,” Sceptra muttered in shock.

“It was not my fault. I was doing it for the good of—”

Leo’s words were cut short as shadows burst from Sceptra and ensnared the Star of Balance.

Long tendrils of blackness blasted through the chairs and shattered the table, glass flying in all directions.

The thick wisps latched around the golden-armored figure, curling around his entire body until only his face was visible.

The other Stars scattered backward, some screaming as they fled.

Sceptra could faintly hear Ira yelling at him to stop, but that was simply not an option.

Not now.

More waves of shadow erupted from his core, flooding the entire room until there was barely any starlight left.

Leo gasped, choking as tendrils wrapped around his neck, cutting off any more worthless excuses.

The guards outside the Council chamber pounded on the door in a feeble attempt to break through the shadows, but it was no use.

Sceptra’s feet crunched over broken glass as he stepped in front of Leo. The golden Star’s eyes widened, fear glossing over his pupils. He struggled against the black constraints, trying to summon his golden light to no avail.

There was no amount of light that could fight off the darkness of a broken heart.

“You may not believe in justice, but I do,” Sceptra seethed, his voice low and sinister. Raising his voice, he looked around the room at the other Stars, none of whom had tried to intervene in his assault.

“Leo, Star of Balance, you have defiled your duty and position as an Empyrean, murdering a Star twice your worth. You will no longer sit as one of the Council.” Sceptra finished his decree and turned to face Leo, lowering his voice once more, fury dripping with every syllable.

“Now you will learn why the mortals call me Dominion.”

And with a flick of Sceptra’s wrist, the Star of Balance exploded, stardust erupting from where the shadows engulfed him.

A loud boom echoed through the circular room, blasting the windows apart and throwing any remaining chairs across the room. The Stars shouted, covering their faces as stardust pelted them.

Sceptra breathed deeply, reeling in his shadows, but just as the last of the darkness dissipated, a rumble hummed beneath them.

The golden floors cracked, and the floor shattered beneath them, collapsing into a swirling dark hole and pulling the Stars out of the Empyrean. Screams were silenced as the destruction of Balance brought the cosmos to its knees and slowly devoured the deities.

And then, the Stars fell.