Chapter 24 #3
After several turns around the staircase, another smaller door opened to a massive circular room, barely lit by moonlight spilling in from a small round window. Caelan led her to the center of the room, then dropped her hand.
“Wait here,” he whispered as he strode over to the wall opposite the window.
“What is this place, Caelan?” she asked, staring up at the domed ceiling, her voice echoing off the stone walls.
“This was a room for viewing the Stars before the Shattering. It is one of the only original structures that withstood the Shattering aftermath. The manor was actually built around it a hundred years after. I discovered it years ago. No one else knows about it, or perhaps forgot it was here.”
Caelan walked to the edge of the room several feet from Astraia. He halted in front of a large metal lever that protruded from the stone wall. “The Stars may be gone, but I found a way to still see them with the full moon.”
Just as he pulled down the lever, a series of loud clicking noises rang through the room. Astraia whipped her head around.
Warm hands grasped hers once more as Caelan came to stand in front of her. “Look up, Traia.”
Astraia broke his stare and cast her eyes skyward, gasping.
Metal plates peeled away from the ceiling, leaving a glass dome in its place. The glass was dark, semi-transparent, with the moon looking down at them.
But instead of moonbeams, Astraia noticed thousands of small holes had been carved out of the glass dome. As she focused on the masterpiece of engineering, realization hit her.
Stars. It was a map of all the Constellations dotting the dark glass.
“What? How?” she asked breathlessly, in awe as she stared at the replica of what the star-filled skies would have looked like before the War.
“It’s Stardust mixed with glass and some obsidian. It took me several months to figure out the right proportions and heating point. I broke probably a hundred of the glass panes before it was set,” Caelan said, staring up at the simulated expanse.
Astraia blinked, refocusing her eyes on his as he marveled at his own creation. “You…you made this?”
He lowered his face and met her gaze. “I told you my uncle helped me cope with my grief with art,” he murmured as he held both of his hands in hers. “Even when you were…gone, I still wanted to give you the world—to give you the Stars.”
Astraia sensed tears gathering on the edge of her vision. He had made this for her—a way to grieve her and keep her alive at the same time. He had given her the Stars while she had hidden away in the slums.
She did not deserve his heart, his dedication to her.
She had hurt another person she had loved, and it was eating at her soul.
Dark thoughts flickered to life again on the edge of her mind, just a hair's breadth away from dragging her into the blackness.
All she ever accomplished in this Stars-forsaken realm was causing pain.
She had inflicted so many scars over the years without even raising a hand.
Her bonds were no blessing from the Stars—they were a curse.
The instincts she had ignored earlier were screaming now. She needed to leave and disappear before she caused more pain.
“Caelen…” she started, relaxing her hands in his.
“Astraia, please… I have thought of you every moment since that…that day. Not a single sunset passed without a memory of you flooding my mind. I had resolved myself to never know love again—that I was blessed by the Stars to find love once, and that was enough for me. I blamed myself. If only I had insisted you stay here with me instead of letting you leave. Maybe… Maybe…” He trailed off, stepping away from her, pacing the room.
His footfalls echoed on the floors. “But now you’re here.
I thought Graves had gone mad when he told me you were here.
Stars, Astraia, I nearly fainted when I saw you. ”
Caelan stepped over to her, wiping the tears flowing freely down her face.
“The Stars have given us another chance. I won’t waste it.
Not again. This is my promise to you, Astraia Solenne: I will protect you from all the evils seen and unseen.
I will be your anchor. From now until the Stars take me. ”
Caelan raised his hands, placing them on either side of Astraia’s face as he declared his love. The heat warmed her as wet tears trickled down her cheeks.
She was so tired of fighting just to survive. Caelan was a constant, a harbor for her wandering spirit. He offered her sanctuary from the darkness.
Astraia felt his breath on her face as he came closer, tipping her head back, never letting his hands drop from her face. She did not balk at his advance. This was comfortable, familiar, home.
Soft lips grazed hers, and serenity passed through her, warming her bones and making her lighter. She let him kiss her deeply, a kiss of longing and devotion. For a moment, she lingered in the space between declaration and acceptance.
But she was tired of fighting—so she fell, letting him claim her entirely. Pressing into him, his kiss deepened as she relinquished her control, desperation taking over as years of longing came unbound.
Astraia brought her hands around Caelan’s neck, weaving her fingers into his dark hair, letting her resolve dissolve.
His hands circled her waist, pulling her closer to him.
The smell of eucalyptus encircled her as her body became flush with his.
Their breathing matched, breaths quick and hungry as they embraced, each claiming the other for their own salvation.
So the lord and Starborne kissed under the false stars.