Chapter 8 #2
After passing through the lounge, the entourage crossed bridges that were exposed to the warded air above.
The gentle murmur of Avarice resounded around their footsteps.
The rose-hued stone used to construct the city was mined to extinction; its native planet was stripped bare and left to rot.
As the city expanded over time, the Taureons used their earth magic to replicate the material to maintain continuity throughout the city.
Where once abundant green spaces decorated each sector, buildings took their place.
As crystal stores grew scarce and the Asterism and ruling family tightened their hold, many celestials resisted tending things that grew—afraid the cost in power would not be returned.
Once Tarek came of age to Ascend, he delegated groundskeeping to the lowest of their society.
“No wailing or gnashing of teeth,” Proxima remarked, making a show of looking around.
Delicate freestanding bridges led them from the outbuildings that surrounded the arena to the main palace.
Tarek’s retinue came to one of the many sets of traveling rings placed strategically throughout Avarice.
As a sentinel activated the ring, Tala trailed her gaze up to the night sky.
The sight of the Aurora Sisters, once again reflecting their beautiful colors, steadied her. The Darkness was nowhere in sight.
“I need a status report,” Tarek said as the traveling rings hummed.
“It’s being handled,” Tala replied.
Together, Tarek and Tala stepped into the center of the ring.
Tala nodded at Proxima, who came to her side.
A handful of the Asterism that had kept to the back of their entourage from the lounge shuffled forward.
As the ring vibrated, a few hurried forward and crowded inside the circle.
The singular traveling ring separated into many as it rose, containing them in a hollow banded column.
A blue glow swelled around the group, and in the next instant, the rings lowered to the floor, having released its occupants.
The party quickly dispersed as they arrived at a large junction hall in the palace. Asters that hitched a ride with Tala and Tarek darted away, likely seeking their own shelter rather than checking on the clusters of common class stars in their charge.
Tarek assumed a commanding pace toward the Sagittarius quarters of the palace.
Tala and Proxima followed a step behind him.
Escorted by fewer members of the elite guards now that they were within the stronger wards of the palace, the Heirs of Taurus and Sagittarius walked in silence.
The grandeur of the Taureon palace went unappreciated by them as they made their way through its winding halls with vaulted ceilings, as it had been and would be for millennia.
Made from the same stone as the city, the palace’s walls and floors were rosy tan and shone with a pearlescent sheen.
A subtle light pulsed from within the walls, like a tired heartbeat.
Even though she had departed an age ago, the Goddess Taureal’s presence lingered in the stale air.
The fresher scents from the various districts of the city failed to pervade the dull smell through the openings spaced throughout, giving the illusion of freedom.
House Taurus was one of the handful of original constellations left, and Avarice was one of even fewer capital cities that survived the War Before.
Time passed differently for beings whose lifespans were incomprehensible to the mortals they were once charged with protecting.
But that duty, in addition to stewarding the realm and all therein for the Gods, had been forsaken in favor of survival.
They came to the guest quarters designated for fire elementals.
The cavernous room was circular, and the soaring walls were open to the midnight sky above.
Three rounding halls branched to the suites for the Aries, Sagittarius, and Leo Houses.
Since the time the Gods had walked among the stars, it had been a longstanding custom for each Zodiac capital to reserve apartments for the other Houses to neighbor in.
It was a tradition the reigning constellations adhered to, if not for the Gods, then for the tenuous peace that had been brokered when they formed the Senate after the Gods abandoned them.
Proxima hesitated at Tarek’s side. “Not quite The Games my father or I expected,” she said, embers simmering within her vivid eyes that were a mix of deep pinks and oranges as they settled on Tarek.
“Where would the fun be in that?” Tarek replied, feigning indifference.
Tala, ever observant, retreated a few paces to offer them a semblance of privacy, though she was close enough to hear Proxima’s hushed tone.
“You’re not fooling anyone, Tarek. What you’re doing with the crystal bands is not right—”
Tarek’s booming laugh erased the next of what Proxima was going to say, and Tala’s shoulders relaxed.
“Proxima, you had your chance to give your opinion about such things. The Senate—namely your father—denied me your bond. And with it went your right to speak to me about affairs of my House.”
Tarek leaned toward her as he looked down at the Sagittarius Heir, all charm gone, and in its place a cold, calculated Primary who would do anything to protect his House.
“Don’t let it happen again,” he threatened.
Tarek eased back as Tala came to his side. Proxima regarded them both with a firmness of unspoken words behind her lips.
“All I’ll say is this: what I just witnessed out there, what we all witnessed, that display of power won’t go unnoticed,” the Sagittarian cautioned.
Tarek sucked in a sharp breath, but Proxima held up a hand to forestall him and said, “I will do you the courtesy of not alerting my father about the lightning caller—or how my forces were detained without my permission—until we know more about what is going on.”
Tarek exhaled the breath he held. “Thank you, Prox.”
Proxima dipped her head to Tarek and Tala, then vanished into the hall of her guest quarters.
“That went well,” Tala quipped after Proxima left. “What was that about Sagittarians being detained?”
Tarek huffed a curse. “Some idiocy in the city.” He rubbed the back of his neck, and his eyes trailed around the empty hall and entrances to the other House quarters.
Sagittarius, Leo, and Aries. There were three other wings of the palace designated for guest apartments for the remaining Zodiac Houses, neighboring like elements together.
The constellation patterns of each House adorned the curved walls, and each sigil claimed space above their archways: a half-man and half-stag equipped with a bow for Sagittarius, the venturer; the majestic lion of Leo; and a mighty ram for Aries.
As younglings, Tala and Tarek had often loped between the guest quarters in the palace, and by the time their legs had covered the distance between them all, a sheen of sweat covered their skin.
Their aunt would then chastise them for something, and they’d do their best to shrug off her disapproval, though it left its mark on them in different ways.
The memory danced away from Tala, and a somberness replaced it.
So few of us left.
The War Before ensured that. Some Houses were completely silenced, forever set as twinkling lights in the sky, mindlessly occupying the realm, having their consciousness and will stripped from them—not like the surviving Houses, whose constellations were also set in the Gods-cursed orbit, all too aware of their impending doom.
It was enough to give the illusion of freedom before reality came slithering back as the Gods’ parting gift of control sank its venomous bite into them, rendering the surviving stars trapped and circling their demise.
They were nothing like they used to be. So much energy trapped.
Confined. Forced to exploit and manipulate what they could around them to survive and extend their lifespans.
Forced to obey. Tala knew it was all Tarek could do to defend his House against The Darkness and their own light from being snuffed out, leaving behind a shallow legacy of nothing but dust on a stale wind.
A light touch on her shoulder pulled her from foreboding thoughts.
“So few of us left,” she shared the thought aloud with her twin. “Yet, our House remains. Our House remains strong because of you, Tarek. Don’t forget that.”
Tala reached for his hand that lingered on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. She silently left the fire quarters, her selenite crystal clutched in her hand again.
Tarek’s whispered words floated to Tala as she left: “Our House remains strong because of you, dear sister.” She didn’t think he had intended for her to hear them.