Chapter 11 Astraea
Astraea
I hadn’t expected to be in the comforts of my rooms in the castle again. The thick red abrasions that already formed around my wrists itched like hell.
Auster lingered near, a predator in the shadows. My manacles had no chains, so I didn’t need aid or to be released from them to undress for the bath that awaited me. I eyed the milky steaming waters with suspicion.
“Honey milk soap is your favorite, I recall,” he said, stalking closer.
Every measure of swallowed distance between us turned my stomach.
“Times change,” I lied, to starve him of any piece of me.
His body warmth radiated into me from behind while his hand slithered across my nape. A hand that had once been a reach of safety to me, a touch I once considered dear, now roiled repulsion in me. His proximity crawled my skin, making me want to abandon my own flesh to escape him.
“You will bathe, and you will dress in the clothing brought for you,” he said, a rumbling warning close to my ear.
My gaze slipped to the bed, finding layers of stark white material against the deep purple sheets.
“What for?” I dreaded to ask.
Auster always loved me in white. He would say it was the symbol of my grace and devotion as the star-maiden and insisted I always wore it in front of my people.
“We’re going to show the world you can be saved. That your heart isn’t beyond returning to righteousness.”
He wanted to parade me as a lie. Compliant by his side to atone for all he had condemned of me.
“I won’t.”
I hissed with the tight grip he took of my hair.
“It wasn’t a request. You either kneel or bleed.”
“Then bleed me dry, Auster Nova; I will never kneel for you.”
He twisted me around by my hair until our loathing clashed in our battling stare. A cool breath of metal touched my collar, but it was my tunic, not my flesh, that tore, his blade cutting down the material to my navel, and my hands lashed up to keep my breasts covered.
“It’s not like I haven’t seen every inch of you,” he said in a shadowy tone.
I hadn’t considered the possibility of Auster wanting to violate me, but standing here vulnerable wavered my composure.
“You lay a hand on me and I will kill you,” I promised.
“You have already threatened me that way. So laying a hand on you makes no difference.”
The handle of the blade twisted in his palm so as not to cut us when both his hands split the rest of my tunic.
I stumbled back from him, knocking into the vanity unit in the washroom, keeping myself covered with my arms and the ruined fabric.
My heart thundered, but Auster didn’t advance for me again.
I stared at him wide-eyed; my blood coursed hot and furious. Auster’s unfeeling gaze slipped down my body, and the only relief I had was that he bore no lust or desire. No—if he decided to do something reprehensible and evil against my will it would only be to prove his sick dominance over me.
I swore to every god I would not let him get that far, no matter what I had to do.
In those thick, tense seconds, neither of us moving, I was preparing for the worst.
“Servants will be with you shortly,” he said, so cold and calm. “Resist or refuse the attire and this summons, and you will severely regret it, Maiden.”
I had words of acid and disdain for that parting statement but I kept them burning in my mouth as I watched his navy cloak billow slightly with the force of his march out of my rooms.
Alone, I felt the tension dissolve from me and dropped my arms and my tunic, leaving me bare-chested.
I took a moment to collect myself before floating toward the water, dipping my fingers in.
It didn’t burn; instead it relaxed me with its soft caress and that irritated me irrationally, simply because Auster had provided the blissful bath.
No, this was my castle, and he was the invader with no claim on anything.
Reminding myself of that, I bathed in peace.
Servants did come, and I couldn’t let any of my outrage out on the gentle hands of the fae who helped me dress in the white garb.
The final addition to the long gown of beaded silk and lace was the veil that was draped over my head to cover my face.
Was this Auster’s idea of punishment? A symbol of my shame?
Or did he merely hope to hide my cold loathing for him from the people he was to put me in front of?
I was escorted by two guards in front, two behind, toward the front entrance of the castle. Auster was already outside, along with Zephyr and Notus, standing exactly as they had been when I saw them days ago.
The citizens had gathered again, flooding the courtyard save for the huge crevice from the impact of the meteor. Their quiet chatter increased when I strolled out, and I’d never felt more ashamed than I did as I was presented like an obedient pet to Auster, veiled and hidden.
Still, I kept my shoulders squared and my head held high.
With Auster’s hand held out to me when I was close enough, I hoped he could feel the heat of my eyes on him through the lace when I slipped my white-gloved hand into his, glad for the barrier between our skins at least.
Auster’s voice amplified to address the people.
“I can only take our disruption when last we gathered here as fate. Though lives were lost in the tragic imbalance that is shaking our world, with our Maiden back and willing to reform, we have more hope than ever to stop the stars falling and to restore nature’s peace. ”
I was itching to tear off my veil, not out of rebellion, but to speak to my people rather than through a proxy who had his own selfish goals woven in the name of restoring peace.
My hand lifted toward the hem of the veil that reached my navel, but Auster’s fingers tightened against mine in warning.
Auster went on. “It is why Astraea Lightborne has agreed to marry me.”
I didn’t need to utter a sound when the crowd erupted with shock and cheering at that declaration.
Now the veil made sense, since I couldn’t keep my utter abhorrence of the idea from my expression.
It would be clear to all who gushed and gasped that I was not in favor of this movement in the slightest.
Daring to twist my head a fraction, I saw Auster’s endearing smile for the crowd, which seemed laced with cunning to me.
How could the people believe this so easily after our confrontation mere days ago? I was beginning to spiral with hopelessness—Auster had won their hearts, their loyalty, so they would always follow him, not me.
I had abandoned them for centuries.
My slip into despair halted when someone stood on something that lifted them a head above everyone else.
Their arms thrust into the air, and my symbol—the key staff with my constellation over it—was embroidered on the deep purple banner they held in their defiant grip, and what had previously been silver wings were now sewn in black.
Pride burst in my chest like a new heartbeat as I looked at the symbol of silent rebellion. It slammed again and again when more purple banners were thrust into the air, littered throughout the crowd as proud beacons of support. Not for Auster. For me. These were people who believed in me alone.
A smile began to lift on my face and unburden a piece of my soul. That was until soldiers started pushing through the crowd, and when the first person who’d stood was pulled down from their small vantage point, I broke.
Throwing the veil over my head, I didn’t get one step forward before Auster took a tight grip of my elbow, trying to yank me back into the castle.
“Leave them alone!” I yelled, but my cry and struggle were swallowed by the crowd’s unrest.
The gathering quickly became a rowdy scene of distress with celestial soldiers pushing through forcefully and rebels being pulled out. My magick hummed despite the shackles laced with nebulora. I wanted to burn the wings off any celestial who acted to Auster’s cruel demands.
I was pulled into the castle, and the doors were swiftly closed, cutting off the sounds of the people. Ripping my arm out of Auster’s grip, I blazed at him.
“If you harm a single one of them, I’ll make sure their pain is inflicted on you twice as punishingly.”
Auster’s expression was quietly simmering with resentment. He hadn’t expected that display, and that made it all the more satisfying.
“They will be reminded that you are nothing without us. You will be my wife, a counterpart to the House of Nova, nothing above that. The age of the star-maiden is dead.”
I dared to shorten the distance between us, never taking my determined stare from him.
“My age is just beginning, Auster Nova. You see that—you feel it. All of this is a desperate grapple for what has already slipped from your fingers. Control.”
His hand wrapped around my throat, pushing me against the wall.
The sudden aggression shifted the guards around us.
Auster didn’t hurt me despite the tremble in his hold, like he was refraining from choking me.
Despite our eyes piercing each other, I didn’t think the thread of our past, our friendship, would ever fully burn out in our hatred.
That was a torment that plagued us both.
Auster lowered his voice as not to be overheard. “This marriage won’t just be in law. You’re quite educated about bargains, aren’t you? You’ll be familiar with the Greciea Bargain, known as the marriage bond in the common tongue.”
My blood ran cold. I did know of it—it was used by those who weren’t fated to one another to forge a similar mating bond. It gave them a strong emotional connection and the ability to mind speak to one another.
“That bargain can’t be forged without full intimacy.”
“That’s correct.”
“Willingly,” I added through my teeth. “And that will never happen.”
“You’ve lost your memories once before,” he said.
Auster’s throat bobbed as he released me. I wondered if that small reaction was an indicator of disgust over what he implied.
“That’s no different than taking me against my will and you know it,” I seethed.