Chapter 25
Iyana
The only other time Iyana had felt such a murderous rage was when she had first tapped into the Aztia’s pendant and lost sight of herself. But now, she couldn’t blame this anger on an influx of magic that she had no control over. No. This was all her.
“You had no choice?” she said to Altair, her voice dangerously low. His golden eyes flashed with something akin to regret, then his gaze flickered to her hands. It was only for a moment, but Iyana saw it. She was making him nervous.
Good.
“There’s always a choice, Altair. Like, right now, I’m choosing not to blast you through that wall. But that can change.”
His lip twitched into a smirk before he frowned again.
Iyana hated that her heart was racing, that he had this effect on her.
While she was mainly angry, there were so many other emotions eddying around and through her soul—grief, fear, betrayal.
Love. She loathed herself for still loving this person who had absolutely destroyed her. Who had killed Talon.
Iyana glanced briefly at Talon, not wanting to take her eyes off of Altair for too long. He was pale, and his knuckles were turning white from gripping his sword so tightly, but his gaze was fierce. She didn’t need to worry about him right then. Zane would watch out for him.
“Iyana,” Altair said, “can we speak about this privately? Please?”
“You must really think I’m an idiot if you truly believe I’m going anywhere alone with you. How do I know you’re not here to deliver me to Rigil?”
Altair pursed his lips. “You don’t. I just need you to trust me.”
A bark of laughter escaped Iyana. She honestly couldn’t have stopped it if she wanted to. “Okay, we’re done here. If you’re not actually here to capture me, then you can fuck off.” Iyana paused. “Why are you here?”
In a move that she hoped pissed Altair off at least a little, she extinguished the magic from her hands and crossed her arms. With any luck, he saw it for what it was—Iyana wasn’t terrified of him anymore.
She’d been practicing with her magic, both with the other healers in Nyr and with Emmeric and the others.
She was more confident in her abilities, especially with Emmeric nearby.
He’d also been doing well in his studies.
He now was able to discern where the strongest source of magic around was and pull from that.
There was bountiful magic in Nyr, so it was the ideal place for practice.
They had even tried taking magic from Kaz and become so adept at it that she would feel weaker afterward.
So Iyana knew that should it come down to a fight, Emmeric could drain Altair’s magic to bolster her own and they’d be able to take him down.
Especially with two other warriors and a leopard on their side.
What they didn’t want, though, was to cause enough of a commotion that other stars came running.
Because while she felt confident to take on one, Iyana didn’t think they could defeat multiple stars at once.
Which was why she was even entertaining anything Altair had to say at all.
If there was any chance that he would say his piece then leave, they had to make that gamble.
“I’m here,” Altair ground out, “because you’re here, and you shouldn’t be. Don’t you realize you’ve walked into the worst possible place you could be? Rigil is searching for you, has ordered your capture, and you’ve basically delivered yourself to his doorstep!”
“Why do you care?”
“Because you’re my astalle!”
“I don’t know what that means!” They were both shouting at each other now, but with Iyana’s words, Altair paused. He seemed to deflate in front of her, his anger running out of him.
Altair sighed and glared up at the ceiling as if it would gift him answers or patience.
He wouldn’t meet her eye when he began talking.
“Like I said before, astalle translates to starheart. But an astalle is a star-bound mate. You were made for me. The universe gifted you to me and you are mine.” He growled the last word while glaring at Emmeric.
But all thoughts had left Iyana’s head. A ringing sounded in her ears, and while she could see Altair’s lips still moving, she could not hear a word he was saying.
His mate. His mate? Iyana shouldn’t trust anything he said, but so many things suddenly made sense.
Hadn’t she been drawn to him immediately?
Hadn’t she been willing to overlook obvious red flags?
Things he’d said to her rushed into her mind.
Astalle would be your surname…It was a term of endearment.
You are mine and I’m going to ensure you never forget it.
You fit me just right, like you were made for me.
The last one Altair had said while he was buried inside of her.
Iyana’s face heated, and she flicked her eyes towards Emmeric.
He was shouting at Altair, but Iyana still couldn’t hear anything being said over her shock.
She could feel his concern, though. His fear and anger.
Iyana realized with sudden clarity that Emmeric thought this changed things.
That this meant she would accept Altair back with open arms.
Honestly, Iyana couldn’t blame him for the thought. She’d done that exact same thing before, knowing that the stars had enslaved humans and blindly accepting Altair’s word that he was one of the good ones.
“Stop.” The word left her in a whisper and sound returned to her in a jolt. Altair and Emmeric were still yelling. Em seemed seconds away from stabbing the star. “Stop!” Iyana shouted.
They stopped and turned towards her.
“Altair,” she continued. “I can’t trust a word out of your mouth. But I think you’re telling the truth about this. I can feel it here.” Iyana tapped her chest.
Emmeric’s fear intensified, and she hated the combination of feeling her Kanaliza’s emotions while seeing the naked hope on Altair’s face.
“But even if I was made for you, you destroyed any chance we had.” Altair’s face fell.
“I gave you my heart, and you stomped on it. I don’t care what the universe had in mind for the two of us.
When you made the decision to steal my magic that day in the Dead Lands, you broke us.
” Iyana shook her head. “I can’t be with you. ”
Not when I have Emmeric. The thought came to her unbidden, and she shoved it away. She didn’t need anything else to complicate her life. Hope bloomed in her chest, and she chanced a glance at Emmeric. He was staring at her, wide-eyed, like he’d never seen her before.
“Who’s there?” Zane suddenly barked, pivoting towards a dark corner.
A large, imposing star with dark hair and eyes stepped into the light, and Iyana saw surprise flicker briefly across Altair’s face.
Shadows swirled around the newcomer. There was a jolt of panic upon seeing the shadows, but Iyana quickly realized that they seemed different from Uther’s—softer, somehow.
He didn’t appear ready to attack them, but Iyana called forth her magic, just in case.
“Scuti,” Altair said. “What are you doing here?”
“Rigil asked for you,” the new star, Scuti, said to Altair. “He’s heard rumors of the Aztia being spotted within Athusia.” With those words, he looked directly at Iyana. How had Rigil heard they were there? They had been so careful to cover their tracks.
“You need to leave,” Altair said, panicked. “You need to leave Athusia now.”
Iyana shook her head. “We’re here for Talon’s parents. Once they’re safe, we’ll go.”
“Two things,” Altair said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “One, that is idiotic. You need to leave the city before Rigil finds you. Two, how did Talon survive?”
Iyana opened her mouth, but Zane beat her to it. “It doesn’t matter how, only that he did. No thanks to you.” Zane’s face had murder written all over it.
Altair looked to Talon, who paled ever so slightly. “For what it’s worth, I was aiming for Sullane. I’m pleased you aren’t dead.”
“Thank you?” Talon said, furrowing his brow.
“Please, astalle—Iyana,” he said, catching himself. “You need to go.”
“Not without Tal’s parents.”
“Why are you so fucking stubborn?” Altair shouted.
Emmeric’s sword was suddenly at Altair’s throat, his second one digging into the star’s stomach hard enough that some blood soaked into his tunic. “Watch your tone,” her Kanaliza said. His calm demeanor did something to Iyana, and a heat kindled in her core.
Not the time, she told herself. Still, Emmeric’s lip twitched up into a smirk.
“Remove your blades, Sullane, before I am forced to kill you.”
Iyana’s heart soared when Emmeric turned his attention towards her, an eyebrow raised. She gave a slight nod of her head, and he sheathed his swords.
“I will aid them in getting his parents out,” Scuti said, as though nothing had just happened.
Zane narrowed his eyes at him. “I don’t know you, and I don’t trust you. We can manage on our own.”
“It will be easier if you accept my help.”
“You can trust him,” Altair said. “He’s my cousin.”
“That makes me trust him less,” Zane said.
“Your Majesty,” Scuti said, and Zane started.
Sometimes he seemed to forget he was emperor, or that others may know who he was.
“I understand your hesitancy, but I was a part of the human resistance a millennium ago. I knew your ancestor. Rigil killed my astalle”—his gaze flicked to Iyana —“when he found out about our treason. I would like to aid you and the Aztia in any way possible.”
“I don’t think we have much of a choice,” Talon said. “If it helps my parents…”
Scuti nodded curtly. “I will return at nightfall.” He turned to Altair. “And you need to go to Rigil. He’s furious that you were not at Nyr to intercept the Aztia as she left.” Then he was gone in a swirl of shadows.
Altair walked closer to Iyana and reached up like he was going to touch her face, but he pulled his hand back. “I don’t know if I’ll see you again. Please, Iyana, please stay safe.” He, too, disappeared into thin air before her eyes.
“I hate that they can do that,” Talon grumbled. Kaz shifted back into her human form with the stars gone, and the three of them went off into a corner to rest until Scuti returned.
Emmeric touched Iyana’s arm lightly. “How are you?”
“I’m okay,” Iyana said, surprised to find that she actually meant it.
“This whole ‘astalle’ thing with Altair is strange, for sure. I was drawn to him fairly quickly in the beginning, so now I guess I can blame the universe for my poor decisions instead of myself?” She tried to force a laugh, but it wouldn’t come.
Iyana sighed. “I’m angry, and confused, but seeing Altair…
It kind of gave me a sense of closure, I think.
To know that not everything was a lie helps a bit. I still want to punch his face in—”
“Get in line.”
“But I feel better now. Stronger.” Iyana beamed up at Emmeric, and he immediately returned the smile with one of his own.
At that moment, everything seemed like it would be okay.
Iyana wasn’t worried that Altair would betray them to Rigil again.
He appeared to be doing all he could to keep her away from the Alpha Centauri.
She didn’t trust him, or Scuti, but they would be leaving that night as it was, and they wouldn’t have to see either of them again.
Iyana breathed a sigh of relief at the thought.
She could finally put Altair behind her.