Chapter 6
“Luxterra will not withstand another assault. The wraiths do not weaken, though we exhaust our forces. The Bears and Wolves have joined from the south, but the Phoenix has abandoned us. You must advance. Send your best Drengr with their Drakari. Look for my falcon.”
Celestial War Correspondence of King Illias, Ruler of the Celestial Court, King of Astradeon to Lord Fafnir of the SkyForge Peaks, Steward of Rage
“NOT A CHANCE, BOUNTY HUNTER.” Astraia shook her head, crossing her arms for extra emphasis.
“We only have one horse, Starborne. And although your charm rivals that of a bear, I do not trust you. So, you can either put them on yourself, or I will force them on you,” Draven replied, his hand holding the same iron manacles that had bound the baker’s son in Tenebris.
An ancient language from before the Shattering was etched on the metal cuffs.
She stared at them. “You want to bind me?”
“Your bonds flare when you're emotional. I’m not risking your powers turning me into ash because you get a jump scare.”
“How about I just stab you, take your horse, and leave you for the Starfell Woods to claim?” Astraia quipped, absently feeling for her dagger, still not completely convinced it had returned.
“Very funny. We don’t have all day. I would rather not be in these woods come nightfall. Would you?” His hand remained outstretched, waiting for her answer.
Astraia weighed her options, none of them inviting. Slowly, she stepped closer to Draven, raising her hands in submission.
Draven closed the distance between them, opening the manacles and holding them in both hands.
Before she could rethink her decision, Astraia grabbed the outside of his forearms and drove her knee upward with enough force that it threatened to give out.
“Stars!” he shouted, letting go of the manacles and falling to his knees, grasping his pants.
She wasted no time. In one fluid motion, she slapped the horse’s flank hard. The beast reared in shock, then bolted down the Starfell Woods road. Without a second glance, Astraia broke into a run off the main path, directly into the black abyss of the cursed woods.
She could hear Draven shouting her name behind her, but she did not stop running. Her breath evened out as she maintained a steady cadence, avoiding rocks and logs obscured by dead leaves.
Astraia was not sure of anything right now, but one thing she did know was that she would not trust a single soul again. She made plans of her own.
She spared a glance upward at the canopy to see the sun was already beginning to leave the Astradeon sky. A starless night was closing in, and she was running through the Starfell Woods alone.
She was headed the same direction those betrayers had come from when they attacked her. If she could just keep running north, there had to be another side path that they had used to cut through the forest.
It was her only chance.
She kept running, never looking back to see if Draven pursued her. The only sound was that of her boots crunching leaves as she ran. The glimpses of light that flickered through the forest canopy were dwindling.
Astraia took a deeper breath and dove into her bond.
It awaited her, always ready to answer her call.
She pulled back the lid to her tether, and Elion’s face flooded her memory.
Warmth, immeasurable and calming, blanketed her in an instant.
It filled every sinew, every vein, every bone of her body.
It took only a few seconds and suddenly, her strength was renewed, her stamina refilled.
She peered down at her body, and her skin glowed a faint soft light, a beacon in the onslaught of darkness encompassing her.
Her pace quickened tenfold, her feet a blur as she bounded through the forest. Breathing came easy now. Euphoria enveloped her. She had not felt this free in so long. Had not let her other bond freely flow in over five years.
Astraia kept her eyes focused ahead as she flew with unnatural speed, leaping over boulders and fallen pine. Until she spotted it.
Just ahead, another trail cut through the forest maze.
She stumbled once, her boot catching on a gnarled root hidden beneath the bracken. Pain bloomed up her shin, but she pushed onward, lungs searing, the woods swallowing her footsteps. When she dared to look up again, he was there—a shadow rising from the mist, ears perked and waiting. Orion.
Orion’s eyes met Astraia’s in recognition. He lifted his head and walked over to her as she placed a hand on his head.
“Hi, boy, I missed you,” she said, stroking his head. “Let’s get out of here.”
Astraia patted Orion’s neck and walked to his side, mounting her horse in one smooth motion.
Orion had found her, by whatever odds. The only true companion she had left in the world.
Pulling the reins, she guided Orion down the road, out of the murky woods and east to Virellia.
***
Astraia awoke with a start. She was slumped over in her saddle, holding onto Orion’s neck. Painfully, she straightened her back and rubbed the back of her aching neck. She must have fallen asleep while riding.
It was still dark out, so she could not have been sleeping for long. Based on the moon’s travel across the ebony heavens, it was around midnight.
She glanced at her surroundings. Orion had continued to follow the Hydraneas River north, staying beside the riverbank, away from the Starfell Woods.
Astraia patted her steed. “Good boy, Orion.”
The horse merely snorted in reply.
Her roughly concocted plan was to reach the river town of Aquarian, which bordered Virellia and the Shardlands.
There was a stone bridge there, built a century ago, that allowed passage and ensured smooth trade between the two regions of Astradeon.
It would be the easiest way to cross the unforgiving waters into Virellia and get as far away from Draven as she could.
The only downside to the plan was the prospect of another bounty hunter finding her and dragging her back to the Celestial Court to be tried by King Maelrik. That, and the river town was still a few hours away and despite her persistence, her body needed more rest.
They would have to make camp for the night by the river. It was not ideal, sleeping out in the open, exposed. But it was better than facing the perils of the woods.
Astraia pulled on Orion’s reins to stop and gingerly slid from his saddle. Her body ached from travel, battle, and pushing her bond to its limit. Orion even sighed and made his way to the river to drink.
She had left all her supplies back at the previous campsite, including her mat, yet this did not deter her from lying on the grass and allowing sleep to overtake her.
Dreams did not come that night. Fatigue kept those distant memories at bay.
***
A piercing pain lanced her back. She was dragged from the recesses of her resting mind back to the starless world in an instant.
She bolted upright from her grassy bed, eyes focusing in the dim light of early morning. Her bond had awoken her—warning her.
Astraia rose, drawing her bow and nocking an arrow as she surveyed the tree line.
Orion was close beside her, his eyes also fixed on the shadowy forest before them, his ears shifting in alertness.
A silence as thick as stone pressed against her ears…until red eyes opened in the dark.
Astraia could not make out the outline of the figure, but the eyes were too low to the ground to be a man’s. No, it was definitely a beast of some kind.
Her breathing quickened at the realization, just as two more sets of red eyes appeared alongside the first. They were fixed on Astraia.
She raised her bow, aiming for the first set of eyes.
What are they waiting for? she thought, afraid of the answer.
The first set of eyes began to move, slowly and deliberately, closer toward the river. Astraia remained motionless. She was not sure what it was yet, or where her aim would be deadliest.
Before her eyes, the nightmares of children’s stories and folklore materialized.
A massive, otherworldly wolf crept from the trees.
His fur was solid black, as void as the starless skies.
His paws were the size of a man’s skull, carrying his enormous frame with grace and power.
And his teeth—his canines shone bright in the dusky morning, glistening white and sharper than any blade.
The other two flanked it. Massive, rippling beasts with eyes like molten embers and pelts darker than pitch.
Astraia held her breath, afraid to move.
“Hail, stewards. I am Starborne, bound to Power,” she spoke firmly, though her voice quivered slightly at the sight of the unnatural red eyes boring into her.
And still, the wolves approached.
Something was wrong. The wolves were her stewards, guardians of Power’s Starborne. They should heed her call.
The alpha tensed, muscles twitching in preparation to lunge. A low growl reverberated through the wolf’s bared teeth.
Astraia had no time to contemplate. She took aim, feeling that electrifying sensation filling her mind—time slowed, senses heightened.
She could smell the iron of old blood coating the wolf’s fur, a prior triumph over his prey. Her eyes narrowed on the drops of saliva falling from the beast’s mouth. The sound of lungs expanding and paws clawing dirt and leaves echoed in her ears.
With a final exhale, she released her arrow.
The world around her pitched as her senses rebounded.
A loud thud resounded from the direction of her aim, her arrow hitting its mark. Directly between the red eyes of the wolf.
A whimper escaped the wolf’s mouth before the enormous animal succumbed to death, falling on its side.
The remaining two wolves took a step toward their fallen leader, sniffing the motionless body.
Astraia grabbed another arrow from her quiver, taking aim once more. If the beasts attacked at once, she would not be able to fend them both off.
Her pulse quickened as the wolves turned and faced her, their eyes aflame.
“Come on, then!” she screamed. If she was to die today, she would do so fighting.