Chapter 54
Iyana
She brewed enough tea for everyone and handed them all a makeshift cup filled to the brim with the hot beverage.
When Iyana gave one to Emmeric, their fingers brushed, causing an electric jolt to course through her body.
He peered up at her, big blue eyes full of so many emotions.
Em was worried for his friends, but also for her.
He felt bad that he was making her wait, but thought, deep down, that it was the right thing to do.
I’m sorry, she sent him.
Emmeric shook his head. No, I am. We’ll get them back, Mouse. We’ll do everything we can to get them back.
I know, Em. Drink your tea and let’s go to bed.
He dutifully drained his cup, then tugged her into their shared bedroll, making sure to tuck her in tight to his body.
Iyana understood; he had helped her die and come back again only a few hours before.
Emmeric was needing the touch to reassure himself that she was there, and she’d give it to him.
Turning her head, she kissed him on the lips, not even caring that Altair was on the other side of the fire watching them.
Emmeric’s shock filtered through to her.
But Iyana simply smiled against his mouth, kissed him again briefly, and settled into his arms.
An hour or so later, Emmeric’s arm was heavy over her waist, and he was snoring softly.
Iyana could hear the others’ deep breathing as well, and knew they were all sleeping.
Gently detangling herself from Em’s embrace, she walked swiftly to the horses and began the process of saddling one.
It didn’t matter that she wasn’t a great rider; she’d figure it out.
“What do you think you’re doing?” a deep voice asked behind her. Iyana jumped and spun around, her heart pounding furiously in her chest.
“Phaedros take me, Altair. You scared the shit out of me.” The star stood there, staring down at her with a frown, his arms crossed over his chest. Iyana peered around him at the rest of her group, still sleeping. “Why aren’t you asleep?”
“I didn’t drink the tea. What did you put in it?”
Iyana wrung her fingers together. “Valerian root and lavender. They’ll have a really good night of deep sleep and wake up in the morning without any side effects.”
Altair was supposed to have consumed the sleeping draught as well.
“I thought you were up to something, so I dumped it.”
She just gawped at him. “And you let the others still drink it…why?”
He shrugged. “Whatever stupid plan you’re thinking about doing, you can’t do it alone. And while I wish you would listen for once in your godsdamn life, I understand your reasoning and I want to help. The others would hold you back.”
Iyana could only stare at him. He could be tricking her; telling her the things she wanted to hear in order to gain her trust, only to stab her in the back once again.
But she wanted to believe him. Altair seemed sincere, and both he and his brother had been helping them after defecting from the rest of the stars.
He’d also seen her with Emmeric and hadn’t stepped in or said anything about it yet.
Maybe he was actively trying to change for the better.
Iyana worried her lower lip between her teeth.
“Fine, you can help. You can teleport us there. Could you get inside the dungeons?”
Altair shook his head. “They have magic around the castle so that only certain people can teleport in and out. Since I’m a traitor now, they would have removed me from that permission.”
“So get us as close as you can.” Her ex-lover nodded and held out his arm for her to grab onto. Iyana reached for it, then hesitated. “If you fuck me over again, Altair, I will murder you.”
His golden eyes were serious as he snared her with his gaze. “I would let you.”
Iyana took hold of his arm, and they disappeared into nothingness.
The closest Altair could get them was just outside the castle walls. He said that was where the magic ended, but there still could be precautions in place that would alert Rigil that they were there. Which would have been a great thing to know before they left.
Iyana and Altair hid in the shadows, pressed up against the cold stone while monitoring the gate for any opportunity to get inside.
Two stars stood guard while multiple others milled around, moving in and out of the castle on various errands.
Guess they didn’t have clearance either to simply pop into the castle.
“Can all stars teleport?” Iyana whispered.
Altair shook his head. “Only the strongest of us. There’s probably around a hundred who have the ability.”
That was good to know. Iyana had assumed that it was something all the stars were capable of.
It was comforting to know that an entire army of stars couldn’t simply appear from nothing.
Still, one hundred stars were enough to take on thousands of humans, and they would probably still win despite the lack of numbers.
After an hour of staying in one spot and watching the gate, Iyana was cold, hungry, and cranky. There didn’t seem to be any way through the guards, so she started thinking of other options. Plus, the sun was going to rise soon, and they should be inside before that happened.
To get her blood moving and warm up at least a little, she began walking the perimeter of the wall.
Altair followed her without question and kept a lookout while she was focused on finding a weak spot.
There had to be a spot that was not well-guarded, and away from most of the activity of the castle.
Halfway around the wall, Iyana found it.
A tree was growing near the back of the castle wall; the roots had disrupted the stones.
They’d be easily climbable. And this area was quiet, without a lot of foot traffic.
There would be a rotation of guards doing their rounds of the perimeter, but if they timed this right, they could get in without difficulty.
Using her air magic to direct sound away from her, Iyana began to climb.
Her bare feet were able to easily find little holes to propel her upwards, but by the time she reached the top of the wall, her fingers and toes were aching and numb.
She sat on the top, surveying the area below her and making sure nobody was nearby who could spot her and sound the alarm. Altair floated up next to her on a puff of air and hovered for a moment before joining her on the wall. Iyana rolled her eyes.
“Show off,” she whispered. Altair’s only reply was a cocky smirk.
When they couldn’t see or hear anyone approaching their spot, they scaled down the other side of the wall. Altair, again, using his air magic to lower himself gently. Iyana didn’t trust her magic enough to catch her, so she had to scramble down the rough wall.
Slipping past the stables and into the actual castle was all too easy, and the hairs on the back of Iyana’s neck rose.
She had known this was a trap, but she had been hoping that they’d be able to sneak in and out and gain a small win over Rigil.
But something told her he knew they were there, exactly where they were, and what they were planning.
Still, it wouldn’t stop her from trying to save her friends.
Altair remembered the way to the dungeons from when he, Emmeric, and Talon had come to rescue her, for which Iyana was silently grateful.
Leaving the castle that day had been a blur, and at the time, she hadn’t been fully convinced that she wasn’t hallucinating.
So all the twists and turns were new to her, and she didn’t quite know if she’d be able to find her way back out again.
Iyana told herself it wouldn’t matter because she’d have Zane, and he grew up in this castle.
The lack of guards at the entrance to the dungeons raised her hackles even higher. She glanced at Altair, really hoping that he wasn’t the one leading her to her doom. Again. While she followed blindly behind him.
They walked silently down the center of the dungeons, people reaching out for them and crying for help.
Iyana remembered the young woman she had seen during her rescue, and was disheartened to find she was no longer there.
She didn’t want to think about the fate that had befallen her.
Further and further back they wandered, searching for her friends.
The deeper they went, the colder it got.
Drip…drip…drip.
Iyana suppressed a shudder at the sound and took a deep breath to keep the panic at bay. Her friends needed her—that’s what was important, and she was no good to them if she was a sobbing heap on the floor. Finally, she spotted a familiar shade of red.
“Talon,” she whispered, falling to her knees in front of his cell. Zane wasn’t with him, but a quick glance to the right showed him in the adjacent cell.
“Hey, Smalls,” Tal said, smiling. He didn’t sound at all like he’d spent the past few days in a dank dungeon with very little food or water.
Iyana could see it in his face, though. His skin was sallow, and he’d obviously lost weight.
A layer of grime covered his body and hair. Zane appeared much the same.
Altair set to work melting the lock from Zane’s prison door, and once that was finished, he opened Talon’s as well.
Iyana did not want to look further down the dungeons where a similar cell sat apart from the rest—its lock also melted.
The emperor stumbled to his lover once they were both free, and Talon wrapped him in a tight embrace.
They stood there silently for several seconds, tears streaming down three of their faces, while Altair glowered at the blatant display of love between the two.
Maybe a small amount of jealousy crossed his face, but it was there and gone before Iyana could pay it any close attention.
“Oh, well, isn’t that just adorable,” a voice near them said.
Zane and Talon sprung apart, and they all turned to see who had joined them.
Iyana’s lip curled into a sneer when she saw it was Hadar.
She’d been wanting to kill him since the day he set Imothia on fire.
His death would be by her hands; she vowed it would be so.
Between the four of them—Altair and Iyana with their magic, and even a mostly defenseless Zane and Talon—they could defeat Hadar. But then another star with golden hair stepped out from a plume of shadows, and Iyana knew they were fucked.