Chapter 16
Altair
Altair had been sitting in the meeting with the heads of houses and Hadar for hours, listening to them drone on and on about how well everything was going with the new human slaves.
The slaves Altair himself had brought into the castle for this purpose.
He could barely look at humans now without guilt eating away at his soul.
Iyana had done this to him.
A swirl of shadows in the corner alerted him to Scuti’s arrival, but the spy stood silently in place, waiting to be called upon. Rigil’s eyes flicked in that direction, so Altair knew he’d noticed his arrival, but it was another solid hour before he was finally acknowledged.
“Scuti,” Rigil drawled. “What news do you bring where you felt it was pertinent to interrupt our important meeting?”
Important. Altair wanted to laugh. This meeting was all about sucking each other’s dicks and stroking egos. But after being in this position for hundreds of years, he’d learned to school his expressions to hide his true thoughts.
“My lord,” Scuti said, saluting with his fist over his heart while stepping out of the shadows. “I would not have interrupted for anything that was not vital, but I have seen the Aztia on the border of Nyr.”
Altair’s heart stopped momentarily at the news. Iyana was alive. Dread roiled through his stomach at the expression on Rigil’s face.
“Word on the elusive Aztia, at last,” he said, shooting a glare in Altair’s direction. There was a promise of pain in the Alpha Centauri’s eyes. “Who else accompanied her?”
“The Kanaliza, Emperor Zane, Crown Princess Zoara, and the redheaded soldier, my lord.”
Talon is alive? Altair was shocked—he knew for certain his blast of magic had broken Talon’s neck.
Iyana… Clever girl. A smirk found its way onto Altair’s face before he could school his expression and realized Rigil was studying him.
“Since you find this so amusing, general, you can be the one to retrieve them.”
“Yes, my lord,” he said, bowing his head.
“That may prove difficult,” Scuti said, “as they’ve entered Nyr.”
“Altair will simply need to find a way around the wards. Understood?” Rigil’s eyebrow raised, but his shadows belied his calm exterior as they swirled around him. Altair knew better than to push the Alpha Centauri. He’d seen others attempt it and it only ended in pain.
“Understood, my lord.”
“Secure things here in Athusia, and then I expect you to figure out a way to capture the Aztia. I want her alive, though, Altair. Everyone else, I couldn’t care less about. Kill them all if you have to.”
“Yes, Alpha Centauri.”
“You’re both dismissed.”
Altair and Scuti both bowed low, then excused themselves from the room.
Scuti motioned for Altair to follow him into an alcove.
Once inside, his shadows created a barrier around the entry, sealing out all light and sound.
Altair threw a ball of fire to hover in the air and light the space.
Scuti was appraising him silently, his head tilted at a slight angle.
The firelight turned his hair into an unsettling color of red—the shade of dried blood.
“What?” Altair asked his cousin.
“What is your plan for the Aztia?”
Altair furrowed his brow. “Exactly what Rigil asked—find her and capture her, alive.”
“And after that?”
Scuti saw too much; intuited too much. Did he know? There was no possible way he could know Iyana was his astalle, and yet his eerie dark eyes peeled Altair back layer by layer until he was sure he was gazing into the secret center of his heart where Iyana lived.
“Are you questioning my loyalty?” Altair growled.
“Not at all, cousin. You are Rigil’s creature, through and through.”
The shadows dropped from the alcove entrance, and Scuti left without another word. Altair breathed a sigh of relief. He had to be more cautious—make sure nobody was questioning his loyalties.
He’d see to his business in Athusia, then travel to Nyr to find Iyana.
Getting past the wards would be difficult, but he’d figure something out.
Iyana needed to know that Rigil was aware she was alive, that she was in danger, and that she’d be better off staying in Nyr behind the wards where it was safe.
Altair would promise never to bother her again as long as she stayed where Rigil didn’t have access to her.
It would kill him to never see her, never touch her, but as long as she was alive, it would be worth it.
He would talk to her this one last time, just to warn her, and then he’d leave her alone.