Chapter 23 #2
Still, it was unsettling for Aela not to know where she stood with him, especially seeing as he was her only ally—if unwanted—in a room of celestials she had never met before.
While Arche was also with her, he was still operating under Tarek’s thumb and would always put the interests of the rebellion first.
She was as good as on her own.
Aela held her head high as the end of her heeled shoes snagged on the compacted carpeting, making each muted step down the aisle treacherous.
By the Fates, she joined the Taureons without cracking her teeth on the dense fibers, and the honor guard funneled in behind her.
A tense silence enveloped the room as the Houses already present scrutinized Tarek and his retinue.
On one side of the room, a moody slate gray covered the unadorned walls.
On the other, an arc of windows carried the views of Theora into the meeting space.
Amidst the gray, midnight blue tones were accented with matte silver trimmings and the cool glass of the windows magnified the starlight dotting the astral night, whether heavenly lights or Silenced Stars.
Immediately, Aela’s gaze was drawn to a tall male whose back was turned as he faced the view of Theora at the windows. He had black, windswept hair that brushed the top of his wide-set shoulders and wore a simple black suit. With effort, she tore her eyes away to study the features of the others.
Two identical males stood close beside each other, with their heads shifting slightly as if they heard something no one else did.
Their skin was nearly as white as her dress, with hair to match and pale pink eyes.
As one twin turned his head to take a drink from an attendant, a vicious scar crawled on the side of his neck, webbing across his jaw.
Even with the scar, there was an otherworldly beauty to him that matched his counterpart.
The next pair of celestials that caught her attention were shorter in stature than the others in the room.
At once, Aela sensed a pull to them, an age.
They reminded her of Tabitha, with their subtly green-hued skin.
The female of the pair was even shorter than her partner and stunning with a shock of cobalt hair that was cut bluntly at her slim shoulders.
Noticing Aela’s stare, the male next to her wound a protective arm around the female’s waist and leaned his head of wavy brown hair into hers.
Virgos, no doubt. And bonded too.
“Father,” Proxima said as she bowed her head respectfully to an intimidating male garbed in regal gray robes. His attire was more formal than the others, and with Proxima’s address, he was none other than Kaus, First Primary Star of Sagittarius.
Crafted by Sagittara, Goddess of exploration and truth. Holy Fates.
His full beard was slightly darker brown than his medium-length hair which had begun to gray, starting at his temples. Kaus passed his blue eyes over Aela and frowned. Aela resisted the urge to melt into the floor.
“Please welcome,” Proxima stated to the room, “Prime Apparent of House Taurus, Tarek and his sister, Tala, Adjacent.”
Arche and Aela were disregarded, their apparent lack of titles enough to spare them an introduction.
Each House had claimed a section of the midnight-blue seating, designed more for practicality than comfort.
The remaining area reserved for Taurus left them facing the other Houses as if on trial.
Proxima moved to sit beside her father as everyone settled into their chairs.
Arche murmured about the seating, and Tala stomped on his foot as she passed him to sit beside Tarek in the frontmost row of chairs. Aela, not knowing what else to do, sat beside Tarek, which earned her a slight flare of his eyes before he continued to ignore her.
The tall man with black hair turned away from the wall of windows. Aela’s body froze as her stranger from the ball waltzed to his section and took a seat.
When the male looked up, their eyes collided.
Liquid gold met her own turbulent turquoise, and time slowed.
Every breath Aela dragged into her lungs seemed to take years.
Her stranger took her breath away. There was a lethality to his beauty, an edge that beckoned one over its precipice into oblivion.
Time resumed its pace when the male broke eye contact to utter something to a lone attendant sitting in the row behind him.
No one has any business being that good-looking.
With each passing moment that Aela stared, the less she saw her late mortal lover. Aela narrowed her gaze at him as her thoughts whirled back to the moments before Jaelin’s death.
“Eros, glad you could make it on such short notice. It’s no small thing to leave your House behind, particularly when you’re newly appointed,” Tarek said, addressing the black-haired male in the section at the center.
I danced with the Primary of Aries. How in the hells was he in Avarice and no one noticed?
A slow, villainous smile edged onto Eros’ perfect mouth. “I wasn’t appointed.”
His voice was hypnotic, and Aela decided then and there that she didn’t trust him. Kaus ignored Tarek’s jab at Aries and began the meeting.
“Tarek, we know you have an agenda, but before we get to your request, we must address the state of Avarice.”
“What does my city have to do with this meeting?” Tarek asked, leaning back in his chair, his posture that of pure male arrogance.
“What my… friend Kaus, means, lino, is how you fractured your own citizens to fuel the jump of your city into a system of another House,” Eros stated.
Aela’s eyes widened at the insult, and she wasn’t alone in her reaction. Tala gasped softly, and Arche cursed under his breath.
Who is this male to call Tarek nothing more than a youngling?
Aela looked at Tarek from the corner of her eye. A thick vein bulged within his neck, straining under the pressure of how hard he clenched his jaw.
“How dare—” Tarek seethed, but was interrupted.
Kaus’ voice rode over Tarek. “Enough. Eros, while you are new to your position and your methods of gaining power could be seen as questionable, we are not here to discuss the manner in which we rule our constellations. Now. Tarek, your attendance at this meeting was a courtesy, seeing as you are not a Primary.”
“When I Ascend—” Tarek snarled but was interrupted again. Aela lifted her fingers to her mouth to hide her smile.
“Tarek,” Kaus warned. “Do not test us. When you Ascend, you will have the given power of your constellation like the rest of us. Though why you saw fit to jump your unrested city to neighbor instead of simply using the traveling rings from your own system begs the question, maybe your Ascension is farther off than you think.”
Tarek bristled.
“What Kaus means is, your current leadership methods leave much to be desired for a Primary,” Eros said, leaning forward.
He rested his elbows on his knees and loosely clasped his hands in front of him, playing with a golden ring on his finger.
“The reality is, you are nothing but a lino who’s playing at a role he was never meant to have. ”
Tarek stood abruptly, knocking his chair back into Arche, who leapt up to grasp Tarek’s forearm.
Eros continued, unfazed. “You are experimenting with power you simply cannot wield.” Eros’ eyes drifted to Aela, drawing the silent Primaries’ attention to her. “It’s sad, really.”
Chaos erupted.
At once, the other clusters of each House were on their feet with halos of starlight surrounding them.
Flames rippled around the Sagittarians, a haze of green wafted off the Virgos, and Aela heard rather than saw a whistle of wind coming from the Geminis.
Only the Primaries and their Adjacents remained seated, aside from Tarek and Arche.
The Gemini twins looked thoroughly amused at the flaring tempers, going so far as to grin broadly and bite their pale lips.
A booming voice broke the rising cacophony, “ENOUGH!” Kaus waved his hand, and raw energy cracked through the room, splintering the long wall of windows. The elemental magic coursing through the sentinels of each House winked out. Kaus rubbed the bridge of his nose as he took a clarifying breath.
“There is more at stake than our petty squabbles. Crystal deposits are increasingly difficult to find, and we all feel the pull toward the center of the realm that grows stronger. For the sake of all our Houses, everyone, take your seats. There is much to discuss.”
“The purpose of us gathering is my bond—” Tarek sputtered.
“Sit. Down.” Kaus said, absolute authority ringing in his voice. Tarek lowered to his chair.
“Heze,” Kaus looked over to the Virgo male—the Primary of Virgo. “Will you do us the honor of discerning our meeting today?”
“It would be my pleasure,” Heze replied.
The cobalt-haired female beside him spoke up, addressing her bonded, but Aela knew her words were for her benefit. “If you don’t mind, my love, I will discern the truth of everyone’s words while you focus on matters of the realm.”