Page 108 of Darkness Births the Stars #1
Kyree’s grip on my arm tightened, anger flaring in his eyes as he glanced first at Noctis and then at the old silvery scars on my legs, revealed by my shortened skirt.
“You lost everything because of him once—your power, your position, your name. Do you really want to risk also losing the peace you’ve found here? ”
I didn’t answer directly, knowing he wouldn’t understand. Some risks were worth taking. Instead, I asked, “Since when have you known who I really am? ”
A wistful smile crossed the healer’s proud features.
“Since the moment you bent over me at the side of the road, shining like a beacon of hope in my fevered dreams. Enlial’s spell is flawlessly woven, I admit, but as you know, I possess quite a bit of Air magic myself.
I’ve seen you fight on the battlefield more than once, even if you don’t remember me. Your face is hard to forget, my lady.”
Enlial had warned me about this possibility. While the magic was powerful, those who had previously encountered me and retained genuine memories of my features would gradually see through the enchantment.
“Wait…” Tristan, who had remained blissfully silent during our tense confrontation, now stepped forward, confusion clouding his face. “Who you really are? Rada, what is happening here?”
Curse it! I struggled to come up with a plausible story that could explain everything he had witnessed and heard.
“Tristan,” I began, “I am truly sorry—”
His brown eyes widened in growing horror.
“So Kyree speaks the truth?” he asked, his voice trembling slightly as he glanced at Noctis.
“He is… the Fallen One.” Instinctively, I reached out to comfort him, but he recoiled from my touch, fear flashing in his eyes.
“But that means,” he continued, voice strained, “you are the Sky Lord’s wife. ”
Oh. I had never considered how it would feel for him to have courted me, believing I was Human, especially with his family being devout followers of my husband.
“At this point,” I tried to soothe him, “I don’t think Aramaz and I consider ourselves still married.”
“Really?” Noctis immediately perked up at this revelation, a broad smile spreading across his lips—entirely inappropriate, given the situation .
Not that Tristan seemed to notice. He had buried his face in his hands, muttering, “Oh lyr ! Oh lyr !” repeatedly.
“Realizing how far out of your league you are, Farm Boy?” Noctis quipped with an amused laugh.
“Noctis!” I snapped. Could he not behave for a moment? The hurt look on his face made me realize that in my frustration, I hadn’t used his true name.
Thankfully, Briseis intervened, putting one arm around Tristan and speaking to him in a low, soothing tone. I used the brief respite to turn toward Kyree.
“We cannot allow word of the truth to get out,” I said as I pulled one of the Air stones from my pocket.
If only I could trust Tristan to keep our secret.
But the risk of him revealing something in his distress was too high.
Deira and Kaius were not the last of Noctis’s enemies who would come after us.
Kyree spun to face me, disbelief in his gaze as he noticed the lyr -stone in my hand. “You’re not seriously considering—”
“I’m asking for your help,” I interrupted, gripping his arm.
“As a friend.” I gestured toward Noctis, my voice imploring.
“He’s the only one who understands Chaos magic.
And you can’t deny that it’s rising again—not after everything that’s happened here, not with the Chiasma seeking power once more.
” I looked up at him, willing him to understand.
“You can trust me, even if you can’t trust him. ”
But the Aerieth’s striking hazel eyes were filled with scorn. “Do you really think the Chiasma would have come here if it weren’t for him?” he asked sharply, turning away.
Panic coursed through me. We were teetering on a precipice. The life I had painstakingly built, the peace I had found, were shattering into a thousand pieces, slipping through my fingers despite my desperate attempts to mend the cracks .
“I command you to honor your vows to your queen, Commander Cloudspirit of the Western Wings,” I declared with finality.
Kyree froze at the use of the title he had abandoned a decade ago.
“You swore to protect this realm,” I added, my voice hoarse, aware I was crossing a line but seeing no other way. “Oh, yes, I remember you,” I confirmed when Kyree’s surprised gaze met mine. “Your face is hard to forget as well, Commander.”
I remembered every single one of those who had served the forces of Order during the war. Their faces were burned into my memory, for so many of them were forever lost.
“You are not the Queen of Aron-Lyr anymore,” Kyree retorted, stepping away with an angry shrug. “And one could argue it would serve the realm better to hand him over to the Council than to let him roam free to indulge in his evil schemes.”
“You owe me a life.”
It was a low blow, and I knew it, but I was running out of options.
“Don’t ask this of me, Rada.” Kyree’s voice trembled, his feathers rustling with a violent shiver.
“You leave me no choice.”
“There is always a choice.” His every movement radiated betrayed trust and barely contained fury as he stalked back to me. “And you’re making yours.”
I stood my ground, refusing to flinch under his glare.
“Give me that Air stone,” he growled, snatching it from my hand.
I closed my eyes as I felt the first stirrings of Air magic, unable to watch as he wove the spell that would shroud part of Tristan’s memories in a hazy, impenetrable fog.
But I could still hear them: Tristan’s confused questions; Kyree’s patient voice explaining that there was nothing to worry about, just a minor aftereffect of the blow that had broken his nose.
Guilt surged within me like a storm. Tristan was my friend, had briefly been my lover, and he did not deserve this deceit.
Once more, I was falling with nothing to catch me.
When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was Noctis’s face. He wisely refrained from touching me or saying anything, his gaze soft. Despite everything, it warmed me. Kyree was right; I had made my choice, and I could not regret it.
“You should be careful,” Kyree warned Briseis as he and Tristan prepared to descend back to Dalath, the Human’s eyes still unfocused. “In the end, the gods do not care about the lives of mere mortals.”
I resisted the urge to react to the barb. Briseis moved beside me in support, her voice calm. “Don’t worry, my friend. I know how to look after myself.”
The Aerieth nodded curtly, not sparing me another glance as he led Tristan away. He had not returned the Air stone, but I knew better than to ask for it now.
“He might come around,” Briseis said, pressing my shoulder.
Watching Tristan and Kyree’s shadows grow smaller in the fading sunlight, I couldn’t suppress a shiver. Something had ended today, and I was certain there would be no return to it.
Bane pressed against my leg with a sad mew. “Somehow,” I murmured, picking him up, “I doubt that.”