Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Aela was surprised to get Tala’s invitation to join her on a walk into the city the following day. Her moments under Tala’s ministrations were still too recent for her to be anything but wary of the Adjacent.
Lavender streaks in Tala’s hair glistened in the ethereal warded light that came from everywhere and yet nowhere as the two females ventured out of the palace into Avarice.
They were unaccompanied aside from Zosma, who stayed a discreet distance back, giving Aela and Tala a semblance of privacy as they strolled through the palace grounds.
Once they passed through the finer district of the Taureon city, Aela commented on the mystifying ambiance.
“It is unique, yes,” Tala said. “Twilight clung to Taurus’ home planet’s skies longer than any other time of day. I suppose it was my father’s way to honor its memory.”
“Did you have much time with your father?”
“Unfortunately, no. Sadly, my mother and father’s energy wasn’t enough to birth Tarek and me, so the nebulae chose her as payment for us.
I’m told my father was unwell after she was gone.
” Tala shook her head, dispelling the aching family history and continued her more pleasant reverie.
“I would have loved to see our home planet. Of course it expired before I could. Not that it matters. I wasn’t born Primary and couldn’t survive the atmosphere. Odd, that.”
Aela managed not to stumble at the casual revelation. Either her parents and tutors had left that out of her lessons, or Solara was different from other planets. Tala continued her recount as if she didn’t notice the way Aela’s gait restarted.
“Which makes it all the more interesting how you managed to survive on Prente all on your own for… a century you said?”
Aela’s eyes were calculating as she turned her head to face Tala. Cold. “I didn’t say. And yes, quite interesting.”
“Still,” Tala quipped, moving on from Aela’s omission, “as our beloved planet is nothing more than broken pieces of rock, Avarice honors its memory. At least we have that.”
They were silent for a time as they passed by townhomes and greenery that dotted the street on the way to Tala’s favorite crystal shop.
“The realm contains much that I would like to see,” Aela remarked, leaving Tala’s train of thought well behind.
“I know what you mean,” the Adjacent mused. “If only we could travel freely as our ancestors did. And without tactical suits.”
At her words, a pair of sentinels flew overhead. Tala’s breath caught, and her eyes took on a far-off look as her mind seemed to whisk her across the vast black expanse that cradled them.
“Imagine what we’d see, what we could do, where we could go.” A heartfelt whisper delivered the last of what she said. One Aela felt to her core.
“Where would you go if you could?” Aela asked just as quietly.
“Anywhere but here,” the Adjacent exhaled. “Where would you?”
“I think you know.”
Tala chuckled, their brief moment of shared vulnerability gone in a flash. “I have my suspicions. But it would be easier if you told us. The longer you hold out, the more I believe you must be hiding something more than just your Line. Otherwise, why would you guard it this fiercely?”
Aela met Tala’s intense gaze, unflinchingly. Her secret sang beneath her skin as if wanting Tala to discover it.
It’d be a relief for someone to know.
The traitorous thought clanged through Aela, and she went blank.
She had never once questioned her commission from her parents.
Never questioned them. Was it right to keep her secret safe?
She hadn’t let herself think such thoughts on Prente.
Whenever similar doubts cropped up, she pulled them before they could take root.
The next thought that took hold iced over her gut.
What am I without my secret?
They drew nearer to their destination where common class stars moved with purpose, seeing to their businesses and errands farther from the palace.
Soon enough, Tala stopped by a quaint shop.
A bell above the threshold chimed as Tala pushed open the glass door.
Large yellow blossoms sagged the awning over the door, and Aela spied the name Tabitha’s Crystal Shop etched in a flowing script upon the glass.
Zosma stationed himself outside while Aela followed the Adjacent in.
“Tala?” Arche said as he came around one of the display shelves boasting a diverse assortment of crystals.
“Arche, this is a pleasant surprise,” came Tala’s melodic reply. “I got your message. I didn’t realize you would be joining us.” Another celestial bustled in from behind Arche, crowding Tala and Aela just inside the door.
“Adjacent,” the female bowed as the term of respect left her lips. “What brings you to my humble shop?”
The shopkeeper was stunning in an exotic way as opposed to the refined elegance of Tala that Aela had come to admire.
The new female before her had a subtle verdant complexion, and as she noted Aela’s attention, a deeper green flush crept over her cheeks.
She had intricate rope-like hair the color of the vibrant ochre blossoms hanging above her shop, and she wore a simple brown dress with an apron tied in front.
“Tabitha, such modesty is beneath you.” A genuine smile graced Tala’s ebony features, one that snared Arche’s eyes. “I’m here on official business, I’m afraid, though I understand it’ll be quite a load we will be returning to the palace with. I would love some of your tea while Aela shops.”
“Excuse me?” Aela sputtered.
“Shop. Take your pick. Tarek was very clear about needing you to be outfitted appropriately for an Aster of the House,” Arche interjected.
“And being of the House means a shopping spree at a crystal shop?” Aela asked dubiously.
“Something like that,” Tala said.
Aela turned apologetic eyes to Tabitha. “I’m sorry to put you out. I had no idea—”
“Never mind all that. You came at the perfect time,” Tabitha said as she disappeared behind a curtain sectioning off the rest of her shop.
When the shopkeeper emerged, Aela nearly drooled at the aroma wafting from the tray Tabitha carried.
She had smelled nothing that compared to that since she had lived in Linteum, the city sphere that had once hovered over Solara’s ocean.
Laden with four delicate cups, all hand-painted in different styles, they ringed a bell-bottomed decanter in the center of the tray.
A rich, spicy yet floral aroma drifted from the carafe.
Tabitha passed the tray to Arche, who relieved her of the tea service with practiced ease.
There was so much to take in, so much to study.
Tabitha’s Crystal Shop was a charming, eclectic, and tidy space filled with tumbled crystals ranging from elaborate pieces of jewelry to carved palm stones and small towers.
Aela filed away every variety she could to examine later, while also cataloguing the expressions and mannerisms of the three celestials with her.
Arche poured the caramel liquid into the porcelain cups, extending the first one to Tala, then Tabitha. He served Aela next, saving himself for last.
Interesting.
Tarek, ever one for proper behavior and protocol—which was a laughable expectation from a male whose fuse was shorter than his eyelashes—had instructed Aela’s personal attendants to teach her the modern hierarchy and how things were done in his Asterism and his city.
His underlying motivation was clear: Aela needed to have impeccable behavior and understand the subtleties of his court. Otherwise, the consequences for any embarrassment reflected upon him or his House would be severe.
Within moments of entering the shop, Aela had sensed that she herself was the most powerful being in the room, so the order in which Arche served the tea spoke volumes.
Where a star of the Asterism would flaunt status, Aela had never found that the pull of her power or celestial class got her what she wanted.
Instead, it had been only a curse. She had yet to see a positive change from being capable of wielding insurmountable power.
“I can see your mind spinning, dear. You are among friends. Let your hair down. Have some tea,” said Tabitha.
Aela smiled at her, though her eyes lacked any warmth.
A sitting room of sorts was set off to the side of the main shop floor.
Parting a set of sheer curtains, Tabitha settled into one of four woven armchairs complete with hand-stitched cushions that surrounded a low table.
Light filtered in from high-set windows on the wall above shelves holding crystal pendulums and other carvings.
Arche followed her and placed the tea tray down, sitting beside Tabitha.
Tala sat next, crossing her long legs and adjusting her white pantsuit while gracefully holding her teacup.
Aela joined the others in the cozy sitting area and took her measure of the wares on the walls as she sipped her tea.
Striations of light filtering in from the high set windows above the shelves behind Arche and Tabitha carried sparkling motes of dust. Aela tracked the tiny glimmers as they floated aimlessly, touching down unseen wherever they pleased.
She couldn’t help her gaze as it snagged on the verdant star across the low table.
She reminds me of Renee.
Her adoptive mother had the same gentle, earnest presence that Tabitha embodied.
The star almost made the walls Aela had built in her youth lower a hair.
Unfortunately for Tabitha, or perhaps herself, Aela wasn’t a little lina anymore, and her mental walls had far surpassed anything she could ever hope to pull down, even if she wanted to.
Sensing eyes on her, Aela lowered her chin. “Forgive me if I am not doing this right.”
Tabitha scoffed. “None of that. We see enough of it when he’s around.”
The insult, however far removed, fired off two different reactions from Arche and Tala that Aela marked simultaneously.
Arche choked on his tea and scowled at the crystal shop owner.