Page 27

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Crystal Vision

EMILIA

M y hair was just the beginning of the changes I was making in my life.

I was done being the timid, clueless girl who knew nothing about our world. My mother had said she’d purposely left me in the dark and well, I couldn’t say I resented her for it anymore. I didn’t need her biased filter when it came to the truth. I wanted it to be on my own terms.

From now on I was going to spend all my free time in the Athena Library.

Now, before the sun had even risen, I sat alone at a table, the entire library dead silent. I’d woken up early to steal an hour of reading before Intentions.

A single white candle, perched in an ornate holder, cast a warm glow upon the open book in front of me. The topic I was fixated on right now was “Star Origins”—a concept I had a hard time wrapping my head around.

When I’d first arrived at Luna, I’d cut my palm and let my blood drop into the Reflection Pool to be read by the Water Priestess. She had said that I was of Lyra origin.

Based on my reading, our Star Origin—commonly referred to as our starblood—was like celestial ancestry. Our zodiac birth chart and our ‘big three’ ruled our personality and our magic in this life, but our Star Origins were the constellations outside of the zodiac wheel that our souls were made of before we incarnated on Earth. It was disorienting, but the more I read, the more I started to understand.

I was born in America, but my ancestors came from Italy. So even though I was an American girl, born in the Pacific Northwest, I had Italian blood—Italian roots . I gathered that was sort of how Star Origins worked.

I stared down at the old book, my eyes losing focus, the words all blurring together.

It all felt like too much. Too much star influence—but what about Earth? I was here, now. I was flesh and blood and bone. How could I be made of stars?

Rays of golden light spilled through the stained-glass window.

“Shit,” I muttered, closing the book. I didn’t want to be late and draw more attention to myself than I already had to endure.

I hustled my ass out of the library, merging with the river of girls making their way to the Sphere. Some of them noticed me but most of them were too busy chatting. I half-listened to their conversations, noting their lightness.

For those girls, today was just another day. Envy coiled through me like a heavy green snake.

“Hey! There you are.” Destiny appeared at my side, looping her arm with mine. Faye strolled up beside her, smiling at me. “Where were you?”

“Library.”

“Sheesh, you nerd.”

I barked a laugh. “Shut up.”

“What were you reading about?” Faye wondered.

“Star Origins,” I admitted, feeling like a toddler. Eons behind them in the knowledge department.

We entered the Sphere together, greeted by the beaming constellation of Ophiuchus rising over the horizon. The Luminary stood in the center, her bright eyes finding mine right away.

An electric shot panged through me, but I offered no external reaction.

What I had said to the High Lord that day was true. My sister and I were the same in some ways, and different in others. If mine and Nyx’s roles were reversed, there was no way she would be silent and bide her time. She would have erupted instantly, declaring war in my name. And while that was one way to go about things, it wasn’t my way.

Something was going on that I didn’t understand.

The Luminary had stood in front of all of us and lied . She had pushed a narrative she knew was false. But why ? Despite everything, I couldn’t help but sense that there was something deeper going on. Maybe I should have written her off as a wicked, manipulative tyrant, but something in me—as foolish as it may have been—just didn’t believe it.

Why was she doing this?

Why had she charmed the Sphere to beam my sister’s constellation down upon us every day?

Was it a mockery? An omen? A promise?

She held my gaze now, a beam of pride shining in hers. Could she sense my inner qualms?

I dropped my eyes, focusing on my yoga mat as I unrolled it. Maybe I was grasping at straws, denying the truth of just how corrupt this world was.

I didn’t look directly at her for the rest of Intentions.

After we finished, the Luminary gave us our schedules and then dismissed us. I was relieved that I’d be with Destiny and Faye, spending the day practicing Kinetic Arts. Telekinesis was something I hadn’t spent much time on, so I was excited to dive in. What a relief it would be to express my power with something other than ice. I imagined flinging things around with my mind would be therapeutic.

Just as we were about to head toward the door, I felt a hand grasp around my arm. I turned to see a petite blonde with big gray eyes who I recognized from classes, but I couldn’t place her name.

I went to ask her what she was doing, but she pressed her finger to her lips. Without a word, she slipped me a small, folded-up piece of paper. Then she darted out of the Sphere.

My gaze darted around, ensuring no one was looking before I opened the note.

We believe you.

I waved my hand over the magical lock on our door, still not over the fact that it could tell it was me somehow. There was so much I still didn’t understand about this world.

I’d survived the day. I had ducked out before elemental duels, though. I couldn’t stand to be in such a large group right now, not with the way they still stared and whispered about me. It was exhausting. The Luminary had watched me leave and said nothing, so I assumed my absence was permitted.

The note had been swimming at the forefront of my mind all day.

Who believed me? Everyone? Or just a select few?

The sweet aroma that greeted me in our room made me pause, snuffing out my reeling thoughts.

It was different from the usual smoky smell that clung to Destiny and all her things. The window was open, a light breeze wafting in. The wind must have been bringing in the scent of flowers from the garden. I inhaled deeply, for once not hating the balmy air.

I tossed my things onto my bed and started to remove my shoes when a crash from behind me made me jolt but not quick enough to avoid the sack that was thrust over my head.

The scream got stuck in my throat. Through my open mouth, the pungent stink of sickening sweetness disoriented me. My brain short-circuited, and my senses suddenly became a mess of volcanic confusion.

I flailed around uselessly while the ground disappeared from under my feet. Coughed and sputtered while being manhandled and carried by two unknown psychopaths. I couldn’t scream, couldn’t call for help. The sweet stink harassed me to the point of oblivion.

By the time my ass crashed down in a chair and the sack was aggressively removed, I had almost lost consciousness.

A wild breath soared through my open lips. I blinked rapidly at the red curtains smothering out the daylight while clusters of red candles glowed in replacement. Cherry incense burned somewhere. I was sitting at a wooden table, a huge crystal sphere propped on an ornate stand in the center, clear enough to see right through to who sat on the other side.

Venus St. Claire.

Grinning at me through her blood-red lips and cat eyes. Crimson hair tumbled in loose waves down her chest, glistening with countless crystals hanging from silver chains. Her henchwomen, Bianca, and Cassi, stood on either side of her, glaring maliciously at me.

“Little Morningstar!” Venus sang, her smile as putrid and sweet as whatever had been in the sack. “I love the new look. Short hair suits you.”

I coughed, scrubbing my hand over my face. “What the actual fuck was that?!”

Venus’s brows jumped. “I didn’t take you for a potty mouth.”

“Seriously, what the—”

“Alright, that’s enough chit-chat. This is a council meeting. Perhaps you thought our alliance was off, but I can assure you, it’s not. Now that we’ve both had time to recuperate after the blasphemous Clash of Spirits, it’s time to get serious.”

Shit .

“Unless, of course, you’ve found your own way of getting your sister back?”

I couldn’t muster up a response. My lips were parted, my brain trying to force me to tell her about the High Lord’s threat.

I didn’t.

“Thought so,” she muttered, then her attention flicked away from me. “Leave us.”

Her words dropped like a dinner plate to the floor. Bianca and Cassi startled, looking down at Venus as if they had misheard her.

Venus’s impatience was palpable. “Did I stutter? Leave!”

Disgruntled, the two girls obeyed, leaving me alone with the red queen herself.

She leaned in slightly, her honey eyes raking me up and down. “Yes, I do love your new look. Much better.”

I swallowed. “I didn’t do it to look good.”

She cocked her head as she studied me. “Of course not. It was a power move—or perhaps a rebellion. Either way, it works for you. As did your little show last night at dinner.”

My cheeks warmed. I shrugged one shoulder, wishing I was anywhere but here.

Venus wore a low-cut top, exposing the pale skin of her busty chest. She had the Libra scales tattooed in glittering red right in between her breasts. Over her right breast was the symbol for Virgo, and over her left, was Leo. My brows raised slightly. Even Venus St. Claire was partaking in this new astrological trend. I’d seen enough to know that the sun sign was always in the middle, with the moon sign on the left and the rising on the right. I considered her placements for a moment, wondering which sign was dominant for her.

Her gaze dropped to the clear crystal ball between us. More raw gems were scattered over the table among short red candles and spilled herbs and dried flowers. “My crystal vision tells me your sister is in the sky.”

My heart froze before sinking into my stomach. “What?”

Venus gestured to the ball. “I have been scrying for as long as I can remember. Even before I Emerged.”

Intrigue had me steeling my spine, leaning in slightly. “So, you’re a Seer?”

She shook her head. “No, it’s different. I have this…bond, you could say, with crystals. They show me things. They’re not like premonitions because the things I see have already happened or are currently happening.”

“And you saw Nyx?”

“Briefly, vaguely,” Venus sighed. “She is cloaked, but crystals have a way of clearing the smoke, so to speak.”

“And you saw her…in the sky?”

“That is how I read it.”

My heart thundered behind my ribs, threatening to burst free and destroy the table. I imagined it all over again just as vividly as the day it happened. Solaris’s enormous wings, my sister in his arms, vanishing into the clouds.

They couldn’t still be flying .

“You know more than you told me.” Venus’s voice was even, but I didn’t miss the sleeping threat hiding within it. “You should beware, Little Morningstar, that with the life I live, there are very few who can deceive me. Why don’t you tell me what you really saw that day?”

Everything in this room was red. The bedding, the pillows, the furniture and décor, the throw rug. All different shades of red. Everything but the espresso-colored table we sat at. I let my eyes wander, taking in the obsessive nature of the girl in front of me.

When I met her eyes again, I could see she already knew.

“Solaris is the High Lord’s son,” I offered.

She didn’t wince with shock as I’d expected her to. “I know of his past. I have seen pieces of it.” She waved her sharp, scarlet fingernails at the crystal. “I don’t care about any of that. I want to know what he is now.”

I cleared my throat, fidgeting with my fingers.

“Tell me what you saw.”

“He grew wings,” I breathed, barely audible.

Venus leaned back, letting that roll over her. “I thought so. That video that was circling was him. And Nyx?”

I hung my head.

“Where do you think they are now?”

“I honestly have no idea.”

“Nyx is your bloody sister. You’re telling me you can’t feel her? You don’t have any intuitive notions hinting at you?”

“We haven’t been close in a long time,” I rallied, suddenly defensive. “Why are you relying on me for this? You’re the one with ‘crystal vision’!”

“What I see doesn’t make sense. It didn’t seem like flight. It felt like…like a place. Like a lair in the sky or something. I saw glass walls, and—”

“Oh my Goddess!” I cried sharply. “The penthouse of the Sun & Moon Hotel. Solaris has summoned Nyx there before. I saw with my own eyes.”

Venus’s face fell.

Silence invaded the room with a vengeance. Even the candle flames stopped dancing. My heartbeat was the only break from utter stillness.

The red-haired girl schooled her features and squared her shoulders. I caught a glimpse of reeling light in her eyes. Her wheels were turning, internal puzzles clicking into place.

“Well, she could be anywhere now. My vision was from two days ago, and now the crystals show me nothing.” Her voice was dislocated from emotion. “You should know, your little tantrum last night at dinner easily could have made things worse for Nyx. Thankfully for you, I have set some rumors loose, in favor of your sister, that made your words sound true.”

I perked up. “Rumors?”

“Yes, Little Morningstar. From whispers over steaming tea cups to the chatter in the corners of exclusive parties, to the undercurrent of social media.”

“What are the rumors?”

“That your sister is being held captive by the Darkbringer. That she is innocent and being framed.” She smiled impishly. “As you said.”

My heart roared in my ears. I thought about the note again.

We believe you.

We were playing with fire here.

The penalty for treason is death.

I thought of Michael. Of Faye and Destiny. I leaned back in my chair, trying to breathe slowly.

“You do not appear pleased.” Venus’s face twisted in a frown.

I swallowed thickly. “Listen. You should know. I spoke with the High Lord, right before I went back home. He…he knows things. I don’t know how but he does, and he threatened mine and my friend’s lives if we keep ‘meddling’.”

She took the revelation with grace. Her honey eyes fell on the crystal ball. “I do not care about the High Lord. I care about eliminating his bastard son.”

“I thought Solaris was the main problem, too. But now—”

“Rumors are untraceable weapons.” Venus cut me off, not acknowledging my words in the least. “They take root and spread and fester. If you want your sister back, you have to convince the world she is not what they say she is. The real enemy right now is the narrative. The rumors will poison it.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

She leveled me with a stare. “Forget about the High Lord. Seats of power inherently corrupt those who rest upon them. It doesn’t matter who it is. If it wasn’t Aries Vanderbilt, it would be some other overbearing tyrant. He’s not the problem, trust me. Empires rise and fall. His will run its course. We need to make sure someone worse doesn’t ascend his position.” She leaned closer over the table, her expression turning severe. “Someone like Solaris.”

To her credit, she made sense. I nodded again. “You’re probably right.”

“Of course I’m right. I’m always right.”

I scoffed. “You sound like Nyx.”

The ghost of a smile almost touched her lips and her gaze lit up as if I had just bestowed the ultimate compliment.

She quickly schooled her features and became severe once more. “Don’t underestimate Solaris. You don’t know him, Little Morningstar. I do. He is evil . And scorned. You have seen into his past? Well, so have I. He’ll send the entire world into darkness and ruin to avenge himself.” She sat back in her chair, a challenge in her eyes. “Your sister will go down with his ship. We need to take him off the board completely.”

My tongue was dry. “How are we going to do that?”

“First, we need to locate him. I highly doubt they would be at the Sun & Moon. They’ll be somewhere outside of the city.”

Made sense. “How do we locate him?”

Venus St. Claire gave me a Cheshire grin. “Leave that up to me.”

There was a knot of uneasiness in my chest that wouldn’t relent. “Solaris…did he ever…?”

“Ever what?”

I cleared my throat, looking down at my fingers. “Well, you said he Compelled you and made you be his girlfriend. Did he ever…?”

She gasped. “Oh. No. No, he never touched me. Not like that, anyway. He… He never seemed interested in that kind of thing. Not with me, anyway.”

I couldn’t decide whether that made me feel better or worse.