Page 81 of Darkness Births the Stars #1

My eyes instinctively went to the ceiling above me, just in time to see the next drop fall, narrowly missing me and joining the rest on the floor.

Fuck. We had found the missing farm workers.

“May the Sky Lord protect us!” Tristan cried out, pacing helplessly up and down, his gaze fixed on the ceiling.

Aramaz won’t help you here , I could have said, my eyes roaming over the pale faces contorted in pain and terror, stiff limbs bent awkwardly into a grotesque shape meant to mock us.

They had bound the five Humans to the ceiling, their bodies forming a distorted star.

The last one, Tristan’s brother, by the looks of it, hung in the center, the same black vines Rada had shown me piercing his arms and ankles, keeping him suspended as his blood dripped down.

Deira’s attempts at humor had clearly not improved .

“Why use the ceiling?” Rada asked me in a low voice as the others joined us with loud exclamations and curses.

I kept my answer just as quiet, not wanting anyone else to hear. “It’s closer to the sky.”

The stark horror flitting across her face told me she immediately grasped the implications.

I had been right. Deira did not possess the power to conjure a Chaos storm.

But with her dagger and—the macabre sight above us drew my gaze again—the right kind of sacrifice, she had managed to tear open the Veil, allowing the Other’s magic to seep through and rage across the land.

“He is still alive!”

The healer’s alarmed outcry snapped me out of my musings. Indeed, Khendrik’s chest barely rose, the faintest whisper of breath escaping his lips. In an instant, Tristan sprang into action, racing outside to the shed with the tall Northerner to grab a ladder.

As he made to climb it, I grabbed his arm. “There’s still Chaos magic in the air. Cutting him loose carelessly could do more harm than good.”

Tristan’s eyes darkened, flaring with determination. “He’s my brother,” he growled, venom in his voice. “I won’t leave him hanging there a moment longer than necessary.”

Who would have thought. Farm Boy had more steel in him than I’d given him credit for.

I nodded. “Stay right behind me. You’ll need to catch him when I cut the bonds.”

Wasting no time, I sheathed my sword and swiftly ascended the ladder, two of the soldiers steadying it.

Tristan followed right behind me. The closer we got, the more intense the presence of Chaos became—an uncomfortable tingle that turned into a sharp sting.

Even Tristan seemed to feel it, a gasp escaping him as we reached the top of the ladder.

I cautiously reached out and brushed my fingers against the blackened vines.

Instantly, memories coursed through me as Chaos sizzled over my skin.

Black vines lancing through the air, burrowing into soft mortal flesh with sickening wet sounds, screams echoing off cold stone walls. My own voice, icy and unfeeling, echoing in my mind. “Well done, Deira. Your work here is exceptional.”

Hazel eyes glowing with feverish devotion beneath a dark hood as I tilted her chin up in approval.

A wave of nausea overwhelmed me, and I clutched the ladder to center myself.

“Can we free him?” Tristan asked anxiously from below, having noticed my hesitation.

“It’s only a remnant of the spell,” I replied, forcing the shadows of the past away. I drew my dagger. “It should be safe to cut him free.”

Easier said than done. The moment I sawed through the first vine, blood bloomed on Khendrik’s tunic like dark red flowers, a low groan escaping his cracked lips. I had to work faster—the healer needed to tend to him immediately.

First, I freed his legs. Tristan leaned over and cradled his brother’s lower body. We couldn’t have gotten Khendrik down safely if it weren’t for Kyree and the two soldiers waiting below. They caught his limp body and laid him gently on the ground.

When the healer bent over him to assess the severity of his wounds, Khendrik awoke without warning. He moved with astonishing speed, his hands shooting up, clutching the front of Kyree’s tunic like claws.

“She’s here!” he cried out, dragging the Aerieth closer, his face a ghostly mask of fear. “She’s here. She’s in my mind.” He clawed at his own cheeks, his nails leaving bloody trails on his skin .

“Quick! Help me with him!” Kyree barked at the soldiers, who immediately seized Khendrik’s arms to prevent him from inflicting further harm on himself.

“Khendrik!” Tristan nearly toppled off the ladder in his frantic rush to reach his brother. The distressed Human didn’t even react to his presence. His dark eyes were unseeing as he thrashed violently against the grip holding him down.

“Cold, cold, so cold,” he whimpered again and again, shivering despite the warm summer day.

“I need some space,” Kyree commanded, tendrils of Air magic coiling around him. “Rada, if you could assist me. Bele, stay and hold him down until the magic takes effect.”

The healer’s authoritative voice left no room for objection.

Everyone complied, though Tristan’s face clearly showed his reluctance.

To my surprise, Rada immediately pulled out her Water stone the moment the others were gone.

Kyree took it without comment, so he clearly knew she had it in her possession.

With a swift spell, the Human was rendered unconscious once more.

Rada and Kyree deftly passed the lyr -stone between them as they treated Khendrik’s remaining wounds.

They were not as severe as they had seemed at first glance, the bleeding stopping as the pair bandaged Khendrik up after a few healing spells.

Yet I suspected that what truly plagued the farmer was far more sinister than the physical wounds inflicted by Deira’s vines.

After we had brought Khendrik outside to the wagon, I made space for Tristan, who immediately hurried to his brother’s side.

“He’s been touched by the Other. Its magic has seared through his mind,” I murmured, watching as Kyree and Rada prepared the wounded Human for the return to Dalath.

While the Water stone had been able to heal part of his physical injuries, the aftereffect of having too much magic flow through his mortal body was something else altogether.

Not even Namtaz had been able to mend a mind broken that way during the war.

“You’ve seen this kind of thing before,” a voice said beside me. It was the soldiers’ commander, Adesh, his sharp green eyes assessing.

“I saw many things in the war,” I replied evenly.

“I don’t know if Rada mentioned it yet, but the mayor asked her to train our soldiers.” He eyed my simple dark tunic and the broadsword at my side. “Would you help her?”

I grunted in surprise. “You don’t even know me.”

“If Rada vouches for you, that’s enough for me.

You both fought in the war, right? We need someone with actual combat experience.

” A slight smile tugged at his lips as he gestured to the three soldiers who hovered nearby.

“I’m the oldest of this bunch, and I could barely wield a sword when the war ended. ”

I glanced over at Rada, weighing my options.

Part of me still believed that leaving the area swiftly was the safest strategy.

Yet she wasn’t wrong: we had to confront the Chiasma eventually.

And… I couldn’t deny that I had been moved by her plea for me to be her ally.

To fight at her side, to face whatever the world threw at us together, no matter the odds.

“It wouldn’t be the first time she and I trained together,” I said slowly.

“Oh, really?” asked Ria, the small brunette, whose pointed ears hinted at an Elvish heritage.

“That would be amazing. Dolores said you’ve been a merc for years.

I bet you have a lot of tricks up your sleeve.

And Rada knows how to fight. On the day of the last farmer’s market she took out that Cave Troll all by herself—”

“She did what?”

My harsh tone made Ria stop abruptly, her brown eyes widening. Stars above! I could strangle that impossible woman. She hadn’t forgotten to mention that little detail by accident.

“Oh, good, I see you have already talked about us coming to Dalath.” Rada had approached us, clearly unaware of my rising anger.

“Would you excuse us for a moment?” I forced out between clenched teeth, grabbing her arm to drag her off to the side. She went along for a few steps before digging her heels into the ground, pulling against my hold.

“What are you—”

I did not give her any opportunity to complain. “You can’t honestly expect me to allow you to risk your life like this,” I snapped, barely remembering to keep my voice down. “Again, if what I just heard about you fighting Trolls on your own is true.”

Rada’s face flushed with indignation as she faced me.

“Allow me?” she exclaimed, a fierce light awakening in her silvery eyes.

“I am the mistress of my own fate. I fought and bled to make it so, and I won’t let anyone else dictate my path ever again.

” A deep intake of breath, her lips a thin, uncompromising line. “Not even you.”

I knew that look. She wouldn’t relent, no matter what I said or did.

She was determined to save this bloody village, even if it meant her life.

And since I wouldn’t abandon her, she had me well and truly cornered.

This was the catch to her offer of allegiance.

She would be my ally and fight with me against the Chiasma, but only on her terms.

“You’re the most stubborn creature in all of Aron-Lyr,” I growled, my helpless frustration only stoking my anger.

Her expression hardened, my ire doing nothing to weaken her resolve. “You should know,” she retorted.