Page 56 of Above (Darkness Reigns #1)

Nova

“Today I read about a planet that had women in leadership positions. One of them had worked hard to create a system where no one in their entire country went hungry. It’s sad that the stars wanted us to eradicate them. I feel like we could’ve learned a lot from people like that.”

“ F rom what we have learned from the intels that are currently on planet nine-three-four, our mission should be fairly simple. They don’t seem to be a hostile or even magical people, so the goal is to exterminate and then offer the planet, which should lead to the stars blessing your graduation.

” The educator turned, their face hidden beneath their mask and their voice flat.

Unlike them, I had a very distinct opinion about what we were about to do.

From every piece of knowledge we’d gleaned, it became more apparent that we were simply slaughtering just to do so. While I saw the merit of offering the planet to the stars in order to keep them entertained and pleased, I didn’t understand why we needed to pick such a world.

Nine-three-four was void of magic. Their advancements were far behind ours. None of them lived longer than an eadi, nor did they possess anything to deem them extraordinary. They held absolutely nothing we needed.

Yet we plotted their demise.

While I felt the need to voice this opinion, I was too scared to do so. Clearly they were aiming to test our devotion to the stars, just as they had with our final illusions. Our job was not only to take the planet, but to prove our worth and fealty.

“Trainee Tershetta,” the educator boomed.

Of course.

“Yes, Educator?”

“What do we know of planet nine-three-four’s military defenses?”

“They are a people divided. Their many continents and the countries within them keep tensions high. Therefore, while their individual military forces are mostly well thought out, they are unable to work together and will not be difficult to out maneuver.”

“Correct. And what are their weapons of choice?”

“Automatic weapons that fire small, quick moving pieces of heated metal.”

“Are they superior to our own weapons?”

“In some ways, but over the years we have concluded that such means of fighting are unreliable and directly affect our ability to focus on our magic. They take precision and talent, as well as time.” They also could be used by eadi. Core families wouldn’t like that very much.

“How many casualties are we estimating from our side?”

Shit. I didn’t know that. Had they really told us such a thing? I couldn’t remember. Maybe I had been worse about tuning things out lately.

Admitting it would hurt, but I had no other option.

“Actually, Educator, we don’t know that yet,” cut in Zura, who sat on my left. I turned to face her, a smile lifting my cheeks.

“Is that so, Trainee Roshen?” the educator questioned, their tone icy.

“While I’m sure a number has been decided, Trainee Roshen is correct, we aren’t privy to it,” Talon added, his left hand lacing through my right one beneath the table.

He was always there at the end, ready to catch me if the safety nets didn’t.

Sometimes I hated it, but at least he was there at all. Especially when no one else was.

Except Zura, that was. She had quickly become attached to me, always at my side and talking so fast I couldn’t keep up.

I discovered she apprenticed under the alchemist who invented shift—the potion I took to alter my appearance—but decided she wanted to follow in her grandmother’s footsteps and become an elite.

While she wasn’t at the top of our class, she did know a lot that many didn’t.

She was quick-witted when only I was around, eager to try anything new, and loyal to the point where I questioned why anyone wouldn’t want to be her friend.

Also, she reminded me a bit of Celeste with her love for chatter. At least, she reminded me of what my sister had been like before everything grew heavy.

“Well then, we are estimating zero casualties from our elites. Within our trainee group, we are hoping to retain at least three quarters of you, as we are eager to add to our forces post graduation.” Blunt. But at least they were honest. Problems came from the opposite.

Class continued on, the educator not bothering to call on me a second time. I took as many notes as I could, the graphite leaving stains on my hands and making the bump on my left center finger worse.

When we finished, I willed the used parchment back to Talon and I’s room, keeping hold of the graphite and fresh parchment so I could begin more notes on my other curiosity: what the other divisions were doing.

The Alchemy Division was working on both antidotes and poisons.

The Combat Division would act as the front line, which meant that Talon’s mornings after our physical training were full of weapons and combat work.

While I wasn’t a clergy, I knew that they would be preparing for the offering of the planet, which was an intricate and long ceremony, a process made more important after Iblis Altair lost the stars.

The Education Division was focused on what they would take from the planet based on what they wished to add to our histories.

Obviously the Intelligence Division was obtaining knowledge of the planet, and the cartographers were hard at work mapping out not only the planet’s position within their galaxy, but also communicating heavily with the intels to glean an understanding of the planet itself.

My eyes flicked to the infirmary, knowing that I would find the Medical Division in there, practicing any and all forms of magical healing.

That left the Logistics Division, the Tech Division, and the Strategy Division. My first target was logistics.

They would be the ones working on organizing any attacks the strategists plotted. Their job was to make sure we had the bodies, weapons, supplies, and means to carry out the attack. But what was it they were gathering? That was what I wanted to know.

I crept down the flight of stairs, knowing that we were out of class early enough that others would still be hard at work.

I had caught on quickly that schedules were being rearranged to ensure we were successful in our mission to conquer planet nine-three-four, and with how much the logistics had to do, they were likely in their war room.

Squeaks came from my boots as I attempted to walk across the shining white tile, making my jaw clench.

Only three doors to go. Focusing, I walked on my toes, holding the wall for support.

I passed by the magical defense class, then there it was, the war room, placed just before the worship center and the historian’s library.

Peeking into the small, verticle window next to the door, I tried to figure out something.

Anything. I knew why. It wasn’t only my curiosity, but also my conscience.

I needed to know that we weren’t simply taking down a planet just to do so.

If there was nothing to offer the stars, then what was the point?

Unlike the other divisions, the strategists and logistics were given plenty of help from colonels and captains—the core families forming somewhat of a force of their own.

I counted eighteen in the room, along with twelve trainees.

The room boasted the same pale walls as the rest of the classrooms, but it was different in one very awe inspiring way. The floor itself was tech.

It glowed a sparkling silver, grid lines added onto a layout of what had to be the primary target of planet nine-three-four.

All around it, people spoke, pointing and gesturing.

Mostly trainees. They meant it when they said that they were making us lead this mission.

Altair was squatting down, his hand covering his mouth and his brows knitted together.

Others seemingly looked to him for opinions, offering suggestions that he often denied with a shake of his head.

Was the planet more hostile than we were originally told? This sort of plotting looked far more intense than what they had previously suggested would be needed.

Altair’s nearly-glowing eyes suddenly rose, pinning me to my spot.

Then I was turning around and willing myself to Talon and I’s room.

He wasn’t there, but I had figured as much. He never missed a meal. I darted over to my bed, tugging three texts out from underneath and tossing them onto the green blanket. Then I tore the pins from my hair, taking some curls with them, and leapt onto the bed.

Right as I cracked open the very book I had stolen from the Altair heir, a knock sounded at the door. Lazy and loud, as if being denied entry was an annoyance.

“Little Void, I know you’re in there.”

No he didn’t. He couldn’t. There were too many places I could have gone. If I stayed quiet then he’d never know.

“Don’t make me do it, Tershetta,” he drawled. Do what? Stand there? Wasn’t hurting me any. “I will dismantle these wards if I have to. I’m not above breaking and entering.”

Could he? No. Talon and I had made them together. There was no way.

Then he shoved open the door.

“Stars above!” I shouted when the door swung into the wall. I grabbed the book, holding it against my chest like a shield. “How the fuck did you do that so fast?”

Altair stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his shoulder and head, one foot crossed over the other.

A smile was lifting his face, both dimples on rare display.

Like that, he almost seemed normal. If not cocky.

But beneath the facade was a heartless creature that I could not let myself forget.