Chapter Ten
Nova
“Tanner told me he doesn’t want to sleep with me anymore. Unsurprisingly, it happened after he found out I’m a shaytan. I don’t really care. If anything, it just proves that all men are disappointing and untrustworthy.”
Iwasn’t too proud to admit that I was out of ideas.
Days had passed, and all I had accomplished was reading more of Celeste’s journal, tending to my garden, and wallowing in self-pity. Which was far more pathetic than it sounded, because Altair was there to witness it all.
“Time to run,” he said as he came out of the bathroom, his training wear clinging to his body like a second skin.
He was in a black set made for winter, the long sleeves and full pants left plain.
He hadn’t worn any of his usual adornments—other than his rings—since I’d arrived at his cottage, which I took to calling Snake Lodge in order to annoy him.
It was the only thing giving me any joy these days.
“I don’t want to.”
“Surprise, surprise. I don’t care.” A burst of darkness encircled his hand, and then he was tossing my set of training leathers at me, the thick fabric smacking my face and stinging my skin.
“Asshole,” I muttered. Then, just as I was about to whip them back at him, Death leapt from the dusty area atop Altair’s wooden cabinets and landed on his head, biting his scalp.
He yelped, reaching up and ripping her down by the scruff on her neck.
Her hisses were loud as she swiped at him.
Altair hissed back, flicking her in the nose before setting her down.
I couldn’t help it—I laughed.
My hand flew up to my mouth, slightly muffling the snorts as Death went for Altair’s bare feet, scratching at the shadow marks that painted his pale skin. He jumped, trying to kick her but missing, and my laughs grew louder.
“Murder, you little rodent! Get away from me!”
“Her name is Death!” I corrected, my laughs fading to soft chuckles as Death slowed her attack.
She grew bored of terrorizing him after a few more seconds, prancing away towards the bowl of water I’d set out for her this morning.
Altair swept his hand through his hair, which was growing longer than I’d ever seen it, the strands so icy they were nearly silver.
His eyes landed on me as his breathing slowed, a grin lifting his cheeks and softening his face.
He’s not to be trusted, Nova. People like him don’t change—not really.
“Surely if you haven’t convinced yourself of that yet, then you never will.”
Can you mind your own business for once?
“Everything is our business. We are the rulers of the entire universe, Nova Tershetta.”
How could I forget when you remind me so often?
“We are choosing to ignore your attitude today.”
In favor of what? Was something going on somewhere else? Would they tell me if it was?
“Ask nicely, and you’ll see.”
Fine. Will you please tell me what has you all in such a good mood?
“Of course we will. We’re nothing if not kind to our faithful servants.” I scoffed out loud at that, Altair’s pale brow rising as he watched me. “Iblis Altair has taken control of the Kawkeb District. The core families plan to enslave all eadi by the year’s end. What fun times, yes?”
A strained gasp dug down my throat, my eyes locking on Altair’s.
“What?” he asked, his brows furrowing.
“Do tell Azazel Altair we say hello before you kill him.” With that, an eerie silence overtook my mind, mirroring nightfall.
“When were you going to tell me that you’re planning to enslave the eadi?” My voice didn’t break or waver, instead it remained strong and deep. Because, for once, things made sense.
Why kill the of eadi who held the stars when it allowed them to take more planets? When it gave them the opportunity to convince the eadi they were changing? When it made the rebels pause? I was, as always, a tool. A weapon. Something to be used and abused.
And Altair knew.
His eyes widened, hands rising as he took steps, not away from me, but towards me. Did he truly not fear me in the slightest?
“Tershetta, let me explain.” He continued closing the distance between us, forcing me to step backwards.
“Why, so you can lie to me some more? Is that why you’re letting me stay here?
So you can turn me over to your father and use me to enslave my own people?
” Despite my harsh words, Altair didn’t grow angry.
He looked exhausted at that moment, though his dark circles had faded and his skin had gained a bit of color in the last few days.
It was in his abnormally open stance. In the way he left his hands up and his shoulders forward.
Altair didn’t look as if he was ready to fight, and that was not normal.
Nothing about him was normal anymore, not unless I was right, and it was all an act. My back hit the wall between Altair’s kitchen table and his bed, the small space feeling like a prison as his towering frame stopped in front of me.
“Little Void,” he whispered as he placed each hand against the wall on either side of my face.
“Don’t call me that.” Unable to stop myself, I lifted my chin, staring him in his eyes and daring him to say it again.
As always, I didn’t scare him. If anything, I tempted him to say it just for fun. His face lowered, nose grazing mine and causing my head to fling back into the wall. What was wrong with him? Did he just like making me upset?
“Maybe he just likes you. Have you ever thought of that?”
He followed me, our lips nearly touching, and even though I knew it was crazy, for a moment I believed the stars. For a split second, I feared he didn’t seek to use me, rather, he wanted me.
“I’ll tell you everything. I swear. Come on my run with me. We can talk. I’ll be honest about it all. Give me just one chance to show you that I can be trusted.” There was a husky rasp to his voice as he looked into my eyes. A faint sound of what my delusional side identified as lust.
I almost wished that was the case, because then at least I’d have leverage. Maybe I’d even be able to fuck him and get something from it. But I knew better than to let the stars trick me. They loved playing games, and I wasn’t going to entertain them today.
“Fine.”
“Fine,” he repeated, smiling down at me and letting one of his hands slide lower, a single finger twirling around one of my curls.
“Fine! Now get off me!” Shoving him away, I took unnecessarily large gulps of air, hating how it tasted like him.
“Oh, we bet he tastes much better than air, sweet catalyst. Will you take a bite? Just so we can see?”
Get out of my head, you deranged perverts!
“Why? So you can pretend like you don’t wonder too?”
I ignored them, pinching my eyes closed and gripping the chest of my nightshirt.
“What are they saying?”
“Nothing, mind your business!” Opening my eyes, I stomped over to my discarded training leathers, snatching them up and shoving my shoulder into Altair as I passed him. All I could hear were his soft chuckles as I slammed the bathroom door behind me.
How had he turned the tables on me like that?
***
“Faster!” Altair screamed back at me, his legs so long that he was practically leaping through the dense greenery surrounding the volcano. Groaning, I pumped my arms harder, willing my chest to loosen and my side to stop aching to no avail.
I ducked under a branch, almost laughing at the way Altair was forced to nearly bend in half at the lower hanging one ahead. Sadly, I was far too out of breath to so much as chuckle. In fact, I was rather certain I was going to die.
Altair slowed slightly after a few seconds of my strained wheezing, his smile so wide it made lines cut through the corners of his eyes. Psychopath.
“My great grandfather—“
“Dorsi Altair.”
“Yes, stalker, that was his name.” His elbow tipped towards me, jabbing me gently in the bicep. Was he…joking with me? “He was the one who first came up with the idea of enslaving the eadi. Well, he probably wasn’t the first, but he made a feasible plan.”
I tried not to growl out my fury at the way he so casually discussed the enslavement of an entire group of people. Then again, he probably didn’t care what happened to eadi.
“My grandfather and father were both given the same orders—keep Dajahim pure at all costs. But it wasn’t until my father lost the stars’ essence that the plan was really set in motion.
All twenty core families were brought in to slowly start the work of betraying the crown and beginning what my father called the liberation. ”
At least there was a hint of disgust in his tone. Something that wouldn’t have been there six months ago. A small sign that he was changing, even if slowly. Not that he deserved my patience or understanding.
We slowed more, Altair’s smile gone completely. I tried to quiet my breathing, but I was grossly out of shape compared to him. Which was insanity seeing as I hadn’t stopped training since the year’s start.
“The Royal District will be the first to fall. They are going to slaughter the entire Dremly bloodline. Then they’ll move back east, taking the districts one by one.
First, they’ll position more officials throughout each district, policing the eadi and forcing them into submission.
Eventually, when any rebellions are squashed and the Altair’s take over the rule, the districts will be split into twenty equal parts, each core family taking possession of one, with the Altair region being the new Royal District. ”
Stumbling, I bent over a group of vines and vomited. Whether it was from the run or the reality of the core families’ plan, I didn’t know, but the heaving was violent as my back arched and my knees shook.
Altair sighed loudly, the tips of his fingers tapping my spine in an odd rhythm. Reaching back, I smacked his hand. “Stop that!”
“Stars forbid I try to be nice.”
“Don’t be nice, it’s weird!” Standing straight, I wiped my lips with the sleeve of my leathers and waved my hand for him to continue.
Apparently, he understood, because he walked over to a damp log and sat down, the entirety of his face sagging. “From the day I was born, I was told that eadi were like animals. A cat or a dog. Useful, maybe even lovable, but never equal to their owners.”
A chill crawled up my spine as I walked towards him, the words swaying between us like a noose. Perhaps they’d hang us both.
“We were told that to restore the balance, shaytan needed to rule while eadi were enslaved. It was for their own good. For the stars’ entertainment.
For our betterment. Whatever they needed to say or do to justify their” —he cut himself off, swallowing with the type of effort that mirrored choking— “our plight. Sometimes, one of us would ask a question. Why do we need to kill the of eadi? Is there a better way that doesn’t involve torturing and enslaving the majority of Dajahim?
None of our parents liked that, and it was beaten out of us quickly. ”
“Not Dofrel,” I corrected, sitting down beside him. Sweat dripped down his neck and soaked his hair, almost hiding the single tear that was making a slow descent down his cheek.
“No, not Cal,” he agreed, a small laugh bubbling out of his barely parted lips.
Suddenly, he silenced himself, placing his elbows on his knees and toying with his long, ringed fingers.
I didn’t miss the way he twirled the snake, his brows knitted together.
“I didn’t really care about anyone other than my friends.
No one else mattered. What did I care that we were killing the of eadi?
Why would it bother me that we’d be brutally shackling eadi?
How did it affect me that we were going to other planets and slaughtering entire populations?
As long as I was alive and my friends were safe, I just didn’t care. ”
“It’s easy not to care about things that don’t hurt you.
” I said it as a reminder for Altair, but also for myself.
Because that was what I had done for so long.
It was the reason Celeste was always so angry with me.
Why I constantly disappointed my parents.
I was willing to let other people be hurt in order to save my family. How different was I from Altair, then?
“Yeah, well, it didn’t help me in the end. My father turned on me the second he got the chance. All of Dajahim did.” His head tilted, eyes on mine. “Maybe that was a good thing.”
Daring to stare back, I asked, “Why would that be a good thing?”
“Now I’m here.”
He couldn’t possibly be serious. “And this is such a great place to be? Alone on an island with no where to go and no plan?”
“I’m not alone anymore. You’re here.” He nudged me again, making my lip curl. “And who said I don’t have a plan?”
“Well I don’t count because I’m not staying.”
“Because you have so many places to go?”
“No,” I paused, trying to decide if he was worth trusting after all.
He hadn’t said he wasn’t going to participate in the so-called liberation of Dajahim.
Even if he had, look at all the lies Talon had told me, and he’d loved me—at least in some strange capacity.
No, I couldn’t trust Altair. “What’s your plan? ”
“Tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine,” he fired back.
I tried to remove all emotion from my face, letting my jaw loosen and my eyes fall half-lidded. “How would I plan anything from here?”
“I’d be stupid to believe you were doing anything other than plotting. It’s what you do.”
“Funny coming from a strategist.”
Grinning, he said, “You would have been an excellent strategist.”
“That almost sounded like a compliment.”
“Oh, it was one.”