Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
Outside the asteroid, Aela pulled cool air into her lungs, grounding herself on the porous surface.
A raw, unblemished view of the astral night stretched ahead.
She didn’t think she would ever get over the wonder of being in the eternal embrace of night.
To the trained eye, the black void held soft glimmers of color, not unlike the crystals buried in the mines on Prente—hidden except to those who knew of the secret beauty amidst the dark.
After a century beneath dual suns and only finding reprieve from the heat in her dreams, Aela welcomed the bitter air.
She looked down at her still-bare feet and comfortable clothing.
Before her fall, she had seen her parents and others in their court use simple magic for menial tasks like changing their clothes or tidying up.
Before embarrassment over her ineptness with non-violent magic could take root, she concentrated on her intention: setting an image of clothing akin to what Eros was wearing firmly in her mind.
Between blinks, a long-sleeved black tunic was tucked into a simple belt at her waist, paired with slim black pants complete with tactical boots that were much better suited for rough terrain than her bare feet.
Aela looked behind her at the sound of Eros’ footfalls scraping on the rocky ground.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Not really.”
“You’re about to see something no one living has,” Eros said with a quirk of his eyebrows. “Be excited.”
He approached her slowly, and Aela’s body only minorly protested as Eros wrapped his arms around her. Her stomach flipped when she tilted her head up to meet his golden gaze.
“Hang on,” was all he said before he tore them into the sky.
If the flight from Sagittarius to the asteroid was uncomfortable, her body feeling stretched and pulled while light from twinkling stars flared past them, the flight to the center of the realm was excruciating.
Her mouth opened in a silent scream as the pressure became immense.
Eros’ hold on her body tightened, and she could have sworn she heard him murmur soothing words, but she couldn’t hear them.
Her body felt as if it were being condensed, compacted into her core.
Sooner than she expected, the pain ebbed, though pressure persisted.
“Are we here?” Aela croaked.
“Yes.”
Eros turned Aela so her back was against his chest and he banded his arms around her.
She was glad for the extra stability when she saw what lay before them.
A mass of dark matter burned like polished obsidian in the night sky.
Bisected with a halo of living flame, the band encircled the mass as a river of gold.
Aela blinked, trying to dismiss the mirage she had dreamed of the After.
“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.
And it truly was. It was horrifying to be this close to one of the few things in the realm that could end her existence, yet beautiful. The slow-moving river of death churned a flaming path around the dark matter, as black as The Darkness.
“What is this place?” she asked.
“This is part of the history you have wrong.”
Aela had no words. Despite the horrific beauty, she had no desire to remain there long. Her hair scraped against his taut chest behind her as she nodded, wanting to hear more.
“You are correct that the Gods cursed the stars after they awoke from their slumber. But there is a key reason that happened.”
His voice dropped a register, sinking into a familiar place in his chest where he spoke freely. The sound of his voice and the feel of him behind her elicited a response she didn’t know what to do with.
“You see, when the Gods entrusted their domain to their celestials, they didn’t account for the fact that their nature had been passed down through their Lines: Arieset’s dominance, Taureal’s elitism, Aquarenn’s desire to detach and let nature have its course, and so on.
The Zodiac Houses received more than just elemental gifts and small magic from their Gods but also their nature and conquest. Such inherent traits became apparent as the Gods rested and the stars desired more than what they had—no longer content to remain guardians over crystal stores they believed should be theirs outright.
As they fought against each other and learned to consume one another for more power, the balance was tipped.
Their rebellion didn’t awaken the Gods. It awoke something else. ”
As he finished speaking, a ribbon of night shot out from the burning obsidian mass, and Aela pressed farther into Eros.
The Darkness.
He didn’t need to utter the next words as it became all too clear who—or what—Eros truly was.
“This is a prison. In order for Stardom to truly be free, you must break the curse of the Gods—find them and sever their connection to this realm. When the curse is broken, we’ll all be free. Break the curse. Break me.”
A chill rushed down Aela’s spine. “And how would breaking you break the curse?”
“Because I am The Darkness.”
Aela should scream. She should flee from what replaced Eros’ body behind her, hovering in the night sky. For what surrounded her now was a cool, vaporous black cloud of nothingness.
Flicker.
Aela ran. She didn’t know where she was going, only that she had to get away.
Away from Primary Stars who desired her for her power, away from it all.
Before she got far or could formulate a plan from the mess her thoughts had become, a hissing erupted from the otherwise silent air, and her breath froze in her throat, slowing her flight.
Appearing just as The Darkness had at The Games in Avarice, a blacker than black cloud condensed before materializing into two giant golden slitted eyes framed by a serpentine face.
Terror snared her in silence. Aela trembled.
Lightning seared out of her, seeking to protect her as it wrapped around her skin, her eyes shifting to a violet white.
“Now, now. Let’s talk about this like the rational beings we are,” Eros said from her left as he appeared from another black haze.
His hair was windswept, as if he had torn through the sky after her.
Something settled in her at the thought until she stomped it out.
Eros lifted his chin to assert that he was waiting for her next move.
When she remained silent, assessing him, he drifted closer, her lightning crackled in response.
“You cannot escape me, Timora. Not in your dreams, nor when you wake.”
Her core burned cold.
The mental door to her power slammed shut, and the black serpent writhed, slithering closer.
It coiled its monstrous body around Aela and Eros.
The beast was massive. It blocked out everything within sight, blending into the fabric of the realm, encircling them without touching.
Eros was a restrained presence beside Aela as he looked between her and the snake.
“Easy, Seba,” Eros murmured to the snake.
Aela was still trying to tame her fear.
“He won’t harm you,” Eros said.
Deep down, Aela knew her demise wouldn’t be in the jaws of the snake.
If Eros was The Darkness and wanted her for her power, he wouldn’t let another claim that prize.
He could have easily consumed her himself.
Why he hadn’t done so already garnered merit that he did need her help, which meant she needed to be alive for whatever task he had in store for her.
Still. The snake in front of her did not bend to the logic gradually coming together in her mind.
Aela tore her gaze away from the snake and looked at Eros. Maintaining eye contact with him, she wrestled her fear into a more manageable state.
“I’m listening.”
The cosmic snake followed Eros and Aela through the sky, stirring equal measures of curiosity and dismay. He was captivating. His full size was immeasurable due to how his scaled body blended or vanished into the perpetual night.
“He is an epoc,” she realized.
“Yes,” came Eros’ stilted reply.
“What is his name?”
“Sebaserpens.” Eros glanced at her sidelong. “Or Seba.”
“But what is his constellation? None of the Zodiac House sigils is a snake.”
“That you know of. Despite your heritage, those who taught you did not know everything.”
Flying outside Eros’ arms since they were far enough away from The Darkness’ prison, Aela shelved the discrepancy of what constellation Seba guarded in favor of focusing on her aerial maneuvers.
She hadn’t felt this free outside her dreams in…
she didn’t know when. Flying was something that should come as naturally as breathing to celestials, yet the curse of the Gods stripped them of their inherent abilities, rendering them in their mortal forms and grounding them in their starcities.
Flying in silence, Aela’s trail of starlight streaked behind them along with her thoughts. A small smile graced her face as she let her worries come and go, embracing her newfound freedom.
They arrived back at the asteroid, and Aela hovered over the uneven exterior.
“Will he… does he…”
“Does he want to come in?” Eros smirked. He turned his gaze to the astral serpent. “Well? Are you coming in?” Eros tipped his head to the side. “He says thank you for the consideration, but he would prefer to continue his hunt.”
Aela wanted to ask more questions about what in the Fates that meant, but there were more pressing matters.
Namely, who was responsible for taking her family away from her.
She touched down on the asteroid and watched with no small amount of awe at how Seba melted into the blackness of the realm and vanished.
She made her way back up the cramped stone steps and entered the narrow opening.