Chapter 26 Stars AboveLack Thereof
Stars Above or Lack Thereof
Luna’s stomach growled so loudly the dead could hear how hungry she was.
It had been days since she’d had a proper meal, and it didn’t help that they’d been travelling since the sun rose without any breaks.
Damien had said this was the hardest and, unfortunately, the longest leg of the journey; he hadn’t been lying.
They’d left the forest ages ago and were now steadily climbing up steep and rocky terrain. To avoid falling off Pickles, Luna had to lean so far forward that she was practically hugging the mare’s neck. Not exactly the most comfortable riding position.
“You all right back there?” Damien called out, twisting in his saddle to look at her.
No. Her arms ached, her legs were chafed, her back felt like it was going to break, and to make matters worse, she was starving.
Was she going to complain about any of that to Damien and risk further looking like some spoiled, weak noblewoman?
Not a chance. “Couldn’t be better,” she said, her voice higher and squeakier than she intended.
Damien gave her a knowing look. “There’s a ledge ahead where we’ll stop for the night.”
The setting sun cast long shadows by the time they arrived at the ledge, which was barely large enough to set up camp for the night. They were so high above the ground that if Luna reached out, she could probably touch a cloud.
When Pickles stopped, Luna practically fell off the mare.
Had Damien not grabbed her so quickly, she would have hit the ground.
Her arms and legs were heavy and lifeless, but in Damien’s arms, she was in heaven.
Curling against him, she pressed her head against his chest, comforted by the rhythmic beating of his heart.
“Why am I so sore?” she mumbled. “It makes no sense. I can heal quickly from a cut but not from sore muscles?”
He placed her beside a stream that wove across the small plateau and over the cliff’s edge. His touch was gentle as he helped her remove her boots, seemingly unaware of the effect it had on her.
“The nature of magic can be a finicky thing. Sore muscles mean you’re getting stronger, and strength isn’t something you can cheat with magic.”
Stupid magical balance being stupid.
Leaning back on her hands, Luna took in the view while flexing her feet, stretching out her toes.
Now that she wasn’t suffering on top of the saddle, she could appreciate exactly how breathtaking the scenery was.
Numerous shades of green stretched across the land, meeting the darkening skies with its twinkling stars far in the distance.
The stream snagged starlight in broken ribbons—nothing like the still waters of last night’s black lake.
Damien scoured the rocky surface, pulling out yellow flowering plants and placing their leaves and shoots in a pile.
Once he had enough, he washed them in the stream, rinsing away any dirt and bugs.
When finished, he stuffed a handful in his mouth before passing the rest to Luna.
“Rhodiola tastes awful, but it’ll help with the pain. ”
Hesitantly, she grabbed some, took a bite, and gagged.
To say it was awful would be an understatement. The leaves were not only bitter, they also had a terrible aftertaste. Worse than anything she’d ever encountered—including Prince Kieran’s overly salty food prank.
Damien grabbed some bread from the leather pack and passed it to her.
She set the remaining leaves aside, preferring sore muscles to eating any more, and scarfed down the bread, removing the last taste of the herb from her tongue.
Once her stomach was content, she cupped her hands in the stream and drank deeply; the water was glacier-cold and refreshing.
Pointing east, Damien announced, “We’ll be out of Ghelvina soon. Kalt Ravine is just past this mountain.”
I hope there’s a proper inn there, Luna thought to herself. It’d be so nice to sleep in a bed again; perhaps restful sleep would help with the nightmares as well. Luna tilted her head, her blonde hair falling off her shoulder. “How do you know?”
He grabbed the blankets packed into the leather bag and carefully rolled them out, ensuring they were a respectable distance apart as well as far from the cliff’s edge.
Once he finished, he said, “I’ve been there a handful of times.
It’s the closest village to Eloria’s borders.
You’re almost forced to pass through the ravine in order to go home. ”
Home. Eloria was his home . . . And she was leaving hers behind.
She pushed the pain that thought brought aside, focusing on the other bit of information he shared. He had travelled this route before. Surprising, considering he used to have the ability to teleport. It now made much more sense why he was so confident that he knew his way.
“Where will we go once we get to Eloria?” she asked.
Assuming she was going with him and he wasn’t going to leave her stranded in an unknown realm by herself.
He lay down on the blanket closest to the ledge. “Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m practically dead,” she answered flatly as she lay down on the other blanket.
He snorted lightly, then replied, “The Kingdom of Shadows.” He spoke so casually it was easy to forget he was one of their royal heirs.
She supposed she should’ve guessed that, after all Harlow had called him the Prince of Shadows.
Shifting to cover herself with the blanket, she asked, “Is it nice there?”
He rested on his back, with his hands behind his head, and looked up to the sky. “There’s a curse where I live that prevents light from appearing in the sky. There’s no sun. No moon. Not even a single star . . . I’ve almost enjoyed being away.”
Luna cringed. What a miserable place—but she didn’t say that.
Instead, she followed his gaze, craning her neck to gaze up at the stars as well.
They twinkled; a million tiny dots sprinkled across pure blackness, and she wondered what kind of curse could steal them away. It must have been quite powerful.
“It isn’t so bad,” Damien continued. “Fire and magic can light the place up, and besides, utter darkness can be relaxing in its own way.”
“Is there a way to break the curse?”
“There are always ways to break curses.”
Not really an answer. She waited, silently for him to further explain, but he didn’t.
“You see up there.” He pointed to a group of stars in the northern sky. “The four faint stars next to the huntsman, Orion?” Damien said softly. “That’s Monoceros Unicornis. His constellation serves to remind all unicorns the danger humans pose to us.”
The zigzagging constellation was faint and barely noticeable next to the brighter stars. “Why would unicorns need a reminder? What happened?”
“A very long time ago, when the barrier between the magical and mortal realms was solid, there was a powerful unicorn named Monoceros Unicornis. He was next in line for the throne; a throne he did not want. Every waking moment of his life, he ran from his duties and responsibilities—always on an adventure, always dreaming of a life more than what his was. One day, Monoceros ventured far from home and walked along the edge of the magical realm. There, he spotted a human—a woman.”
Luna shifted, intrigued. “What was she like?”
“He found her enchanting,” Damien said, his gaze still on the stars above, “with her fiery red hair and emerald green eyes. But unfortunately, the barrier that separated magical and mortal lands kept them apart. They were unable to touch or even exchange a single word.”
“But they fell in love anyway?”
“Yes,” Damien nodded gently. “Every day thereafter, they’d meet at the same spot, at the same time. He would bring her objects to show her, and she’d do the same. They found ways to play silly games together and interact in their own way.”
“How romantic,” Luna whispered, picturing the quiet, forbidden meetings.
“Their love grew so powerful that eventually it tore a hole in the barrier, allowing Monoceros to cross into the mortal world. The two lovers were delighted, and they built a home together, making up for lost time. Until the girl’s mother became gravely ill,” Damien said solemnly.
“Monoceros hated seeing his lover distraught and decided to use his magic to heal her.
Her mother made a full recovery, and she was forever grateful.
“But word about a unicorn with healing powers spread quickly, and humans came from everywhere, demanding answers and their own healing. They wanted miracles, and Monoceros obliged until he was too weak to continue.”
“What happened next?” Luna asked, dreading the change in his tone.
“The humans were not understanding of his limitations. They believed he was withholding his magic from them, so they decided to take it from him. A hunt was announced to collect his horn. Monocero tried to outrun the hunters, but he was exhausted and weakened. They eventually caught him. After they killed him, they sliced his horn off and ground it into powder for medicine.”
Luna’s stomach turned.
“The murderous act was so horrendous,” Damien explained, “so vile that Mother Nature herself grieved, sending fragments of his magic to the skies above to become stars.
“His constellation is next to the hunter to always remind us of the acts humans have made against us. The stars serve to warn us to never let our guard down, especially around humans.” Damien turned to lie on his side, propping himself up with an elbow and resting his head on his hand.
“That hole Monoceros created is still the only gateway between our worlds. Thankfully, its location has been lost to humans over generations—a secret we unicorns are more than happy to keep. Eloria is dangerous enough without human kings sending armies through.”
Luna stared up at Monoceros’s constellation, envisioning the ancient unicorn; it seemed like humans have forever been the most dangerous creatures to the unicorn kind.
“Can anyone just wander through this hole?” she asked.
“Yes, but it is guarded.”
She was glad that Eloria would be a safe haven, even if it meant she would never see her family again.
A pang of sadness tugged at her heart, and she tried her best to ignore it .
. . but the idea that she would never see her sister again tore her to pieces.
Maybe once they were settled, she’d ask Damien if she could send her sister a letter somehow, tell her she had made it to safety and not to worry.
“Most unicorns have no interest in the human lands,” Damien continued. “The only few who cross are mostly criminals, or those whom the various kings have exiled.”
“You exile your criminals to the mortal lands?!”
“Not me specifically. But yes, it’s common practice in other unicorn kingdoms. It’s considered a fate worse than death.
Usually, their horns are cut off completely, and they’re stripped of their magic before they’re exiled.
We aren’t monsters, we would not unleash a magical villain into the mortal realm. ”
“What about the Darkened One? He has been causing all kinds of problems here. There’s many history books written in the blood of his victims.”
But that couldn’t be true, Luna realized. Damien had told her that Nina had cursed the Darkened One, that she’d basically imprisoned him to his lands.
At the mention of the Darkened One’s name, Damien visibly stiffened. Curious, she questioned, “Are you scared of him?”
“I’m fearful of anyone who has more power than me, as you should be.” He yawned as if to further prove his next point. “It’s late. We should try to get some sleep.”
He was right though, they should. They’d been travelling all day, and she was exhausted too. She rolled over to her side and closed her eyes, but flashes of her previous nightmares flew across her mind.
Screw this.
She picked up her blanket and placed it directly beside the only safety that had ever been real in her life: Damien.
She smoothed out the blanket and waited a moment or two for him to protest. When he didn’t, she lay down next to him.
As if he could read her mind, his arm wrapped around her, pulling her in.
Like two pieces of a puzzle slipping into place, their bodies melded together in all the right spots.
A warm sensation bloomed in Luna’s chest.
Was it possible he was feeling what she was?