Kismet: A Cosmic Affair

1. Life of a Star

Chapter one

Life of a Star

“ T he life of a star is way too long and also not long enough.” I can hear the words but I don’t remember who said them to me.

Maybe it was my mother, a long time ago.

But seconds, minutes, hours, years—they all occur differently up here where we exist in constant motion.

Heat and energy twisted so tightly, it always feels like we’re on the edge of psychological collapse.

Humans think stars die when we run out of hydrogen, and I suppose the belief is a simple one to digest. But from where we sit, our experience is a lot more nuanced.

Maybe if humans were able to see us, really see us, to know that they know us and that many of them have held us, they would see that the death of a star shouldn’t be boiled down to one chemical act.

But people aren’t allowed to remember.

“You’re going to be late.” My sister, Ambra, always looks like she’s waltzing on top of clouds when she moves; her blue starlight shimmering around her as she goes.

I ignore her because I don’t want to go. I don’t want to marry Uziel. Not even a little bit.

Six royal families exist in the enormous labyrinth of the cosmos—the Andromedas, the Aquila Family, the Dracos, the Eridanus Clan, the Lepus Four, and the Cassiopeias. My name is Leeahla Adhara, and I am the brightest Andromeda.

Before we’re born, our parents enter into agreements that exist only among the six families. The brightest stars of each royal house are promised to one another. Our betrothals serve one purpose: the expansion of the cosmos.

When two bright stars are wed, they create a binary star system, and once an offspring is born, new constellations spring to life.

It’s a simple explanation for a process that’s not simple at all.

Compatibility for constellation creations are only found between the brightest stars, or the “Incandescents”, of the royal families.

But merely trying to produce a new constellation does not guarantee success.

Failures happen, and they’ve been happening a lot more recently.

It’s been a while since a union has resulted in galactic growth.

In short, we’re not producing constellations quickly enough, so the galaxy is in trouble.

I can feel my sister sizing me up—her movements reminding me of a thunderstorm looming on the horizon.

She eventually makes her way towards the dresser I’m sitting at and starts brushing my hair.

Her white-blue starlight swirling around the soft, yellow glimmer of my own.

Ambra doesn’t speak. Instead, she waits for me to respond to her declaration of my tardiness while she continues fidgeting with the thickness of my mane.

“I just—Uziel is an ass.” My exasperated tone elicits a chuckle from her.

“An ass you used to date.” She hasn’t stopped chuckling.

“Then you get my point. Because that’s why I don’t want to marry him.”

“Well, yeah. But you’re not marrying him today. It’s just a party, Lea Pea.” She finally decides to leave my hair alone and moves to sit down in my window seat.

“But eventually, it will be a wedding. That’s how engagements work.” An involuntary sigh escapes me. “In both instances, I lose.” I slump my shoulders downward.

“Keep going.” Ambra is no longer looking at me. She’s staring out of my bedroom window, down to the lights of Earth. I know she’s watching as some lights flicker to life while others go out; the constant changes creating a twinkling effect.

“If I marry him,” I explain, “I carry the responsibility of copulating for the galaxy’s sake. And if I don’t marry him, then I’m the selfish twat who couldn’t put her shit aside to help with our cosmic expansion.”

“Are you both decent in here?” My mother comes out of nowhere and is now standing in the doorway.

She glides in and sits on my bed, and I hate how much Ambra looks like her, while I don’t. White-blue glimmer surrounds their long, dark brown curls; the soft, shimmering illumination dancing off their golden amber skin.

I haven’t moved from the dresser. My gaze keeps flickering from the colour of their starlight to the yellow glow encircling my rich, sepia brown complexion.

“I could take my first journey before the wedding.” My sister whips her head around so violently, she almost falls out of the window.