Chapter Three #2
Her words were soft, tone almost…scandalous.
Finally, I understood. I knew what Maitoza’s smile had been about. What Desi’s sad look must have meant. What Celeste was insinuating.
“I’m not interested in your sister,” I scoffed, trying to brush off such a thought. Yes, I had at one point considered marriage to Tershetta, but that was for power, not because I wanted her. How had the three of them come up with that? Why?
Celeste’s eyes opened wider, her jaw slack. She looked surprised by what I said. Baffled. Almost…sad.
“Stars above,” she whispered, shaking her head and blinking rapidly. I continued to stare at her, feeling my brows pinch as I attempted to understand exactly what she meant by that. Finally, she spoke again, a sardonic smile lifting her lips. “You don’t even understand yourself.”
“And what does that mean?” I was growing defensive, voice pitched higher than normal.
“When she wakes up, you can’t come to training.”
Subject changed and my sour mood turning towards Maitoza, I groaned and finished my stretches. “Let me guess, Commander Crazy made that call?”
Suddenly, a pair of rather small hands shoved into my bent back, sending me down to my knees.
“Don’t talk about her that way. She’s going to change the world.” Celeste pivoted, facing the group of rebel fighters at our backs. “We’ll begin with free sparring. Pick your partners wisely!”
Readying for the onslaught of attacks, I rose, planted my feet, and bent my knees, waiting.
Celeste whipped in a circle, throwing her leg out and sending her foot barreling towards my hip.
I caught it, the feeling reminding me of my first fight with Little Void—of the loud, echoing crack across the domed training center ceiling.
In many ways, Celeste mirrored her sister. She was desperate to prove herself, determined to mean something, violent without remorse, and unwilling to change. But there was a difference there. A key factor that separated them, though the feeling in my chest couldn’t be described easily.
Gripping her ankle, I twisted Celeste’s leg, forcing her to turn and then shoving her lightly.
Half of me watched Celeste fall to the ground, her knees slamming into the hard rock, while the other half recalled the way Tershetta looked as she awaited my final blow on the training mats. She had smiled.
“I don’t care to hear you kiss our leader’s ass.”
Celeste let out a guttural growl as she shoved herself up to a standing position. For a split second, her stare wavered, eyes flicking to her left. I dared a look, seeing Desi standing a few dozen feet away, sparring with someone I didn’t know.
Chuckling, I said, “I wouldn’t mind watching you kiss Desi’s ass, though. So long as I can join in.”
“You’re disgusting.” Her fist swung towards me, missing as I ducked back.
Every time I sparred with Celeste, I was reminded of how suspicious it was that Maitoza insisted on grooming her for leadership.
She wasn’t particularly patient outside of painting.
She didn’t command attention. She wasn’t even a talented fighter.
But she was the sister of the one person who could speak to the stars.
“I’m serious, Azazel. You can’t come back to training until Nova’s ready.
” Again, Celeste swung. This time, I caught her fist and kicked her feet out from under her.
She crumpled, grunting as she hit the ground.
Still, she persisted, standing immediately.
“It’ll be your job to convince her to join the rebellion.
Trust me when I say that won’t be even remotely easy. ”
When she charged me, I let her swing, stopping her fist with my forearm just before she hit my chest. Then I rotated my elbow and caught her arm, forcing her to stay still.
“I don’t understand why you think I’ll be able to convince her of anything.” Her choppy eye roll had me once again picturing her sister. “I did try to kill her.”
“Don’t remind me.” With a huff, she stomped her boot into my toe, catching me off guard. I released her, wincing at the sharp pain. “Especially when I was just starting to warm up to you, Pretty Boy.”
Sounds of struggle and pain surrounded us, the rebels all oblivious to our ongoing conversation. They were all oblivious to everything. At least Tershetta would bring a semblance of sanity. Not that it was enough to convince me I was the best keeper for her.
Celeste stared me down, her brows slowly furrowing and her head tilting. I watched as the fight left her. “You wouldn’t have killed her.”
Straightening, I brought my hand to my face, rubbing away the pure exhaustion—wiping away the undeniable urge to agree. You’re right. I’d never hurt my Little Void.
“Of course, I would have. That’s who I am, Celeste. I’m not some hero. I will never be a good person. You’ve let Desi convince you of something that isn’t true. Just because she sees the best in everyone doesn’t mean you should. You know better.”
“Six months ago, I would’ve believed the worst in you, but you’re right, now I know better.
” Celeste didn’t crouch low and begin her assault again, though she did take two slow steps towards me.
“And as much as I’d like to believe I’m good, I know that I’m not.
You have to be a starless person to fight for a righteous cause.
” With one final step, Celeste was inches away, her head tilted up to look me in the eye.
Her voice pitched lower, tone ominous. “Good people don’t win wars. ”
***
Toeing the door open quietly, I moved into the cottage, balancing the heavy crate of food in my hands. Immediately, my eyes scanned the area, looking for her—for Tershetta. The only problem? My bed was empty.
Though even I knew it was stupid, my first instinct was to scream out her name as I willed the items out of the crate and to the wooden countertops. “Tershetta?”
That was when I heard the door slam behind me, followed by the cool kiss of a blade on my throat just as the floating food crashed down onto the wooden counter and the crate fell out of my grasp.
I felt the warm caress of her breath on the base of my neck before I heard her raspy voice. “Where am I?”
Jaw tense, I cleared my throat, but I didn’t know what to say to her.
Where is she? Doesn’t she know?
The blade bit into my skin, a warm trickle of blood dripping down my neck, making my eyes widen. For some reason, I wasn’t afraid.
“I said, where am I?” she croaked out, this time her voice breaking. Was she still in pain? Or was it just from disuse? It’d only been a day.
A day. She was awake way too early.
“You’re on an island just northwest of the continent,” I breathed out.
Her hold on me loosened just a smidge, but when I went to move, she pulled me into her, the warmth of her chest on my lower back a stark contrast to the return of the cold bite of the blade.
“Come on now, don’t make me hurt you when you’re already wounded. ”
“The only one who’s going to be hurt is you if you don’t answer all of my questions.
” I couldn’t help it, a chuckle escaped my mouth, rattling past my teeth in an almost guttural way.
My stomach flipped as she pulled me in impossibly closer, feeling odd and new.
Feeling…I didn’t know what. “If we’re still on Dajahim, why does it look so—so—”
“Alive?”
“Yes. Is this what the rest of the world looks like?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Why did you come here?”
“Luck.” Not a full lie. Not really.
“How did you get here?”
“Okay, I’m tired of this.” I reached up, tucking my fingers between her wrist and my throat, rotating it and then spinning around.
Her back slammed into the wall just beside the front door, her hand still tight around the blade that I now held against her neck instead.
The weird thing was, she didn’t even fight back.