Chapter Fifty
Nova
“Celeste and I tried to make a love potion today. She said she wanted to use it on this girl at school, but Mama told us love can’t be faked or forced.”
Everything was fine.
Yes, just fine.
As soon as we arrived at the clifftop, I knew that was a lie, but I couldn’t seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. Couldn’t accept that everything was once again falling apart rapidly around me, and I was the cause.
“Nova? Nova are you okay?” Azazel’s hands were warm against my cheeks, but I wondered if that was just from the cold breeze as it barreled into us, the ocean waves spraying up the cliffside and drenching the air.
I smelt the brine, saw the grey clouds, heard the nearby birds, but I still couldn’t seem to return to my body. Where was I? Floating?
“Az, she’s probably in shock. Give her a minute!” Desi was shouting. Why was she shouting? Tears streaked down her brown cheeks, making her tattoos look darker in the places they dampened. Had her blue long-sleeved top always been caked in dirt? Where was her cloak?
“We don’t have a minute, Des! They could be here any second!”
Who? Were we expecting someone?
Maybe I should have cleaned up the gore all over me. I still hadn’t changed since the fight with Talon and Iblis Altair. Now I also wore Commander Maitoza’s innards. I was so sticky. Was that how all insides felt?
“We need to get to the others then. There isn’t—”
A great boom sounded from the distance. I had just enough energy to turn my head, watching as smoke bubbled up from the remains of what was once a proud city.
“Too late,” Az growled out, turning to face me and yanking my face forward again. “We don’t have time, Little Void. If we’re going to get your sister back, then we need to get the others and get the fuck out of here.”
“What about the rebel base? Did Commander Maitoza warn them before…”
Though Desi didn’t finish her sentence, I knew exactly what she was going to say. Before Nova killed her. Just another group of people to add to my death toll. The entirety of the rebel forces might die because I decided to act on my anger. To not think when that was all I was ever good at doing.
Sucking in a deep breath, I closed my eyes and said, “We split up. Az gets the cores and Zura, you and I warn the rebels.”
“Split up? That’s ridiculous! I’m not leaving your side.” Az backed away from me, a contrast to his words as he lifted his hands to the crown of his head and leaned his face up towards the ashen-colored sky.
“You were right,” I said, trying my best to sound calm.
Despite my efforts, I was nearly positive I sounded more flat than anything.
Lifeless, even. Celeste was taken. She’s missing.
She’s probably dead. “We need to get out of here, but we also need to save the rebels while we can, or all of this will have been for nothing.”
“That isn’t your decision to make!” Stars, everyone was shouting today. Maybe I was too and I just hadn’t noticed. Desi remained near my side, both of us watching as Az stared at the rising smoke.
“We’re out of time,” she whispered.
“Fuck!” Tears began to wet his eyes, his face still strewn with blood and his hair a mess. I loved his hair. I loved his dimples. I loved his voice. I love his fury. I loved his drive. I loved his passion. I loved him.
“Go get your family,” I whispered. Then, with nothing else left to say or do, I stepped towards him, grabbed his head, and pressed my lips to his.
His mouth moved desperately with mine, his arms securing around me and tugging me so close to his chest that it hurt.
I didn’t care. I loved him. Pulling away, I muttered, “I love you, Azazel.”
In turn, he said, “I love you, Nova.”
Then I turned and reached for Desi’s hand. Just as our fingers touched, I heard it. Heard her.
“Nova!”
We all three froze, the sound of the desperate shout forcing all of our gazes to the east moments after, where Snake Lodge lay waiting.
I didn’t wait for Az and Desi to register what was happening.
I couldn’t. All I was capable of doing was running.
I pushed myself to full speed, barreling towards the cottage door, my feet slamming into the nearly frozen ground as I closed the distance.
Right as I arrived at the door, I yanked it open, practically leaping inside. There, standing in the middle of the room, was my sister.
Celeste was visibly bruised, her hair a brutal mess of dirt-caked curls and her face stained with something dark. She wore an orange top that had soaked up enough blood to be deemed red, her black trousers and black boots not showing what injuries lurked below.
Just behind her, his long fingers draped over her shoulders, stood Iblis Altair.
Whereas I’d used the hours since the protest to dig in the dirt and slaughter rebel leaders, it seemed he had chosen to clean up.
He wore standard elite leathers, the black adorned with silver snakes and stars, even some diamonds glittering here and there.
While his face was covered by his mask, his pale hair stood out in startling contrast to the scene around him.
He had only one ring on his finger, the sigil hard to make out. A snake wrapped around a star.
I heard the moment Azazel and Desi stormed inside, though the cocking of the general’s head would have given their entrance away regardless.
Celeste barely stood up, her body sagging beneath the weight of what was probably quite a few injuries.
Her right eye was bruised, her bottom lip and right cheekbone split.
Her hands were slack at her sides, her body thinner than the last time I’d seen her, though I noticed the added muscle she’d put on during her time as a rebel.
“Heavens,” I cried out, the word shaky and strained.
Celeste parted her lips in a grin as she said, “Starlight.”
“Father, let her go,” Azazel ordered, his enormous body entering my periphery as he moved to stand in front of me. I slid out my arm, stopping him before he could block me from view of Celeste.
“Oh, so you’re not only growing a soft spot for akhatas, but the pets too? Are you fucking the eadi as well then?” The general left his mask on, but I could still hear the smile in his voice as he spoke.
Of course this was all a joke to him. In his eyes, we’d die and he’d conquer. Easy to smile when the odds were in your favor.
The best thing about odds were that they could never truly be concrete, and even a one percent chance was enough.
“Don’t make me tell you again.” This time, Az’s voice was firm, the deep and raspy tenor he’d had all throughout Elite Academy making an appearance.
While I was nearly positive his father didn’t take him seriously, Iblis Altair acquiesced, using his grip on her shoulders to forcefully shove Celeste to the ground. She crumpled instantly, her body failing as she soared forward and down.
“Celeste!” I yelled, reaching for her. Az grabbed me by the waist, tugging me back.
“Go on, take her, Son,” the general cooed, flicking his hand towards Celeste on the wooden floor. “Don’t forget your friends though. I think they might need your help.”
With that, he disappeared in a cloud of darkness, leaving the room eerily silent for a few moments.
That was, until I wiggled out of Az’s grasp and dove for my sister.
Our breaths were both loud, hers strained and mine heavy.
I lifted her, pulling her upper body onto my lap.
Desi was at my side after a single heartbeat, her cries starting right back up as she stroked Celeste’s uncut cheek.
“Heavens?” I asked, shaking her. She blinked slowly, barely opening her eyes enough for me to see her grey irises beneath her dark lashes. My sister is alive. She’s in my arms.
“I was getting nervous I’d never see that smug face of yours again, Starlight.” A laugh burst free of my lips, bubbling out of me without intention.
“Yeah, well, I was pretty nervous too. I have a lot of yelling to do, you know. Starting with you being a selfish liar.” My words had her grinning, the smile wrinkling her cheeks.
For the first time in what must have been my entire life, I relished those lines.
Sure, they meant she was aging, but they also meant she was alive.
“Rain check?” she asked.
Nodding, I leaned down and hugged her, feeling my heart swell when she held me back. It took me a moment to pull away, but when I did, I slid Celeste into Desi’s arms, watching with true joy as they kissed and hugged.
My sister is alive and in love.
Right as the word love entered my mind, I whipped around, trying to spot Azazel. But he was already gone, the door still hanging open and smoke still painting the air grey.
“Desi, Az is gone!” Apparently, we were still shouting. I stood, wiping the tears from my eyes and darting to the doorway. “Take care of my sister! If anyone but me shows up, then hide!”
I didn’t give her the chance to argue or agree, too focused on getting to Azazel. My boots gripped the solid ground, my legs flying at what had to be a record speed for me as I darted to the top of the slope, looking at the ruins and searching through the smoke to find him. To find any of them.
Everything burned. The patches of forest I had foraged in. The greenery Az and I had run through. The wooden structures left behind by people thousands of years ago. Only the concrete seemed to hold, though the sounds of it cracking beneath heat and magic could be heard.
Heads bobbed, masks flashing. The face coverings had been crafted to match our shadow marks, the silver shade of the swirls used to highlight our unique blessing from the stars.
What they really did, though, was strip us of our identity.
Our autonomy. Our sense of self. That was what it seemed to accomplish as hooded, masked figures appeared through the grey smoke, making it hard to identify anyone.
Then a flash of golden hair caught my eye.