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Chapter Fifty-five

Asteria

One of my favorite books as a child was about Queen Malika. A touching romance about a Fae queen who overcame the odds, facing down armies to protect her kingdom right alongside her soulmate. I never imagined I would one day do anything remotely similar, and I now found myself taking issue with the author.

They wrote of these grand, epic battles, but never about the soul-deep terror one felt facing such a daunting task.

After waking up curled around Calix like a cat, we’d woken each other up fully with frantic kisses and fumbling hands, desperate to touch and taste before the sun rose and the day truly began. That hour felt unmoored from time, as if nothing but it existed. Just Calix and I, and the unending passion between us.

Inevitably, though, the time came for us to get on with the day. We quietly helped one another into our respective armor and then made our way out into the camp.

Everyone seemed equally subdued. Even as we began gathering everyone into their units and preparing to march onto Evenfall. We’d snaked our way past the border patrols Cyrus had set up, not an easy task for a force this vast, but we’d managed it thanks to the brilliance of Titan, Arien, Eryx, Nithe, and, of course, Calix. Their combined knowledge giving us an edge. It wouldn’t do to give away the surprise, after all.

Mounting up onto Arianrhod, she nickered softly, like she could sense my anxiety. Her lilac-colored tail twitched, and I brushed my hand over the silver hair down her back to calm her. Elatha was watching intently, his green tail swishing unhappily at his mate’s distress. Calix snuck him a sugar cube, making me snicker quietly at him.

It was truly adorable the way he indulged our horses.

Calix mounted up on Elatha after a moment, and we rode our Faethren’s over to where the rest of the army was amassing on the other side of camp. Sweat slicked my palms as I looked out over everyone present.

Harpina stood beside my brother, and I narrowed my eyes briefly at the way she was smiling at him. Thankfully, Titan distracted them as he pulled Arien aside to talk. Eryx and Baach walked up and down the forming lines, helping and directing the warriors where needed. Callisto was standing in front of the human half of the army, looking more than ready to lead them against those who’d kept them enslaved for so long.

The lords of every city in Night were scattered around, as well as half of Day’s. Ndrita was with Sterling, rallying the people from Keris. Prince Altan was glaring at Prince Zakat as the two argued. I rolled my eyes. It was impossible for the two to be together longer than a moment without such a sight.

Calix helped me gallantly off Arianrhod, and we both unfurled our wings, flying up into the air and hovering where everyone could see us.

“People of Celesterra!” Calix shouted, and the din went quiet, everyone turning to look at him. “Today, we are not Night Kingdom, Day Kingdom, Sunrise or Sunset, Dusk nor Dawn. We are one people, united . The balance of our world is at stake, and it will take all of us, working together, to fix it.”

“Some of you hoped to fight to end slavery, while others cared only for the balance,” I yelled, looking around at the many different people who’d joined us for this fight. Meanwhile, I fought my own battle, pushing down and burying my fear, as well as my rage at what was to come. I couldn’t let my chaotic emotions lead us astray now. Chaos was what would see the end of us all.

If I let myself feel that chaos inside, I would be lost—and so would we all.

“Let this battle bind us all together. Let us not be human or Fae, but equal citizens of this realm. Today, we fight for balance, but we also fight so every man, woman, and child can live in that balanced world freely!” I spoke passionately, my desire to see the humans free nearly overwhelming in that moment.

A loud cheer rose up, and the soldiers before me raised their swords in the air. I took a deep breath. This was really happening. These warriors were about to risk their lives on my say so. I was about to walk into a battle, wielding sword and magic just like the queens I’d read about as a child.

The battle in Day was small scale in comparison to what was happening now, and I found myself completely unprepared for the reality of it.

I breathed in—terror consuming me and gnawing away at every bit of confidence I’d built up since escaping Dusk.

I breathed out—and reminded myself that I was strong. That I could take whatever this fight threw at me. I rebuilt my confidence brick by brick as resolve hardened my features, looking out on the faces of those I was fighting for.

My friends. My family. The humans. The other Fae.

I turned my head to the right, catching Calix’s eye.

My mate. My love.

We did this together , connected through a bond I understood even less than the day I discovered it, yet somehow understanding it on an instinctual level that went beyond word and thought.

Blood and soul.

“We are stronger together than we could ever be apart!” I announced, Calix’s eyes heating as he watched me rally the troops. Those lilac eyes raked down my armor-clad body, and I shivered. It almost felt like his fingertips followed the path of his eyes.

“And we will use that strength to crush Cyrus’s forces!” Calix took over, his face hard and resolute as he appraised the cheering soldiers before us.

“For King Calix! For Queen Asteria!” Titan shouted, his sword high and face proud. “For The Star Queen and the Night King!”

“For King Calix! For Queen Asteria! For The Star Queen and the Night King! ” they chorused, and a lump formed in my throat.

“For all those still in chains! For the balance that our free world will rest on!” I managed to get out roughly. “For freedom!”

“For freedom!” The others bellowed, and Calix and I flew gently down, straight onto our horses. We kicked them gently into motion, leading the charge out of the camp and toward a battle that would decide the fate of our world.

I couldn’t begin to contemplate what might happen if we lost. Chaos was so insidious, sneaking its way into this world and leeching it of everything I loved so much. The color. The magic. The life.

Fear was a second passenger on the horse with me as we rode toward Evenfall. It beat in my heart like the pounding of the horse’s hooves on the ground. Calix’s strength and confidence came to me in a wave, and I took a deep breath, letting it fill me and slowly easing away the terror I struggled to keep down.

Facing down the man who abused me in front of thousands, with the fate of the world riding on it.

No pressure at all.

* * *

We stopped well outside the gates of Evenfall, out of sight of any guards who may be watching. We dismounted and readied to shift, but Calix quickly gathered me in his arms, his lips finding mine with a ferocity that made it clear the fear I felt wasn’t only mine.

I leaned into him, kissing him with every ounce of love in my heart that my lips couldn’t form in any other way. I clutched at him, wondering if it would help if I just held him a bit tighter. Would that do anything to ensure he stayed with me always? That this battle or the next wouldn’t take him from me?

His forehead fell against mine when we pulled back, and his whisper was hard to hear with the noises of the army surrounding us, even with Fae hearing.

“Promise me you will be careful,” he asked, eyes creasing in worry. “That you won’t take any unnecessary risks.”

“If you promise the same,” I countered. Calix smirked slightly, though it was clear his heart wasn’t in it. But he nodded, so I nodded back in agreement. I swallowed hard, hoping I wouldn’t make a liar of myself.

We stepped back, our hands lingering until just the tips of our fingers touched, trying to hold onto the warmth of one another before facing the cold of battle. But we’d never truly be apart. The bond would keep us connected in a way nothing else could. Soul to soul.

I closed my eyes, unable to bear looking, and allowed my dragon form to come forth. Fingers became claws, and skin became scales. My wings flapped upward, pushing me into the sky. Calix and Arien flanked me while Altan and Zakat flew behind us.

We flew out in five different directions, each taking a side of the city to scope out any defenses. We stayed high in the cloud cover to hide from any scouts looking for us. I flew to the right to cover the north end of the city and circled around the perimeter, my Fae eyesight straining to make out everything down below.

Cyrus had indeed been busy.

New fences, buzzing with lightning, circled the city. Grey spikes were outside the gates, hidden from the front but more obvious from the back, sticking up to catch anyone who approached.

Iron.

“ Do you see it?” I sent to my brother and mate, and got their affirmative responses back. It took another minute before Arien sounded once more in my head.

“ We’ve got some kind of catapult here. I’m guessing filled with iron, ” he told us grimly.

“ Light it all up,” Calix directed, his bubbling rage like a siren song in my chest, coaxing my own higher and hotter.

I let it fuel the fire inside me, spilling out in a wave of flame that washed over the fences and spikes, melting them into heaps of scrap. The loud howl echoing through the city had me smirking, as best as I could in this form, anyway.

The alarms began to sound within the city, our presence now obvious. Dusk’s warriors spilled from the palace and surrounding areas, just as we knew they would. And the first wave met our flames as we dived down, our fire taking the entire line of soldiers to their deaths.

I shifted mid-air, letting my bulky dragon form slim down to my Fae form, pulling my sword from my sheath before my feet hit the ground. Calix and Arien now flanked me while Altan and Zakat remained in the air, catching fire to key buildings we knew Cyrus was using for the transport of humans and iron in and out.

When the next wave of Cyrus’s soldiers came, our forces were ready. Calix had sent the signal to Lilith, who’d been waiting in her wolf form to get the message. With her howl, our warriors began to flood the streets like a plague upon Dusk.

They came from every gate, but also from within the city itself. I smirked, knowing Nithe would be leading warriors up from below the tunnels running under the city. They were meant to be an escape for the royals, part of the same system running beneath the palace I’d once found. But now, we were able to use them against those same royals.

I swung my sword as the first man rushed me, clearly thinking me the weakest link. My blade found his neck, and his head hit the ground, leaving another man behind him blinking in shock. My starlight rammed into him, throwing him into the far wall.

Darkness and sunlight flew by me, but I couldn’t let myself be distracted as more soldiers rushed forward. The fighting was thick and fast, with the vanguard of both armies clashing, but our numbers were greater. Sunset’s men had added to ours, and they’d been joined by a bit less than half of Sunrise’s as well.

As promised, King Tieran had been waiting for us before we made camp last night, and his soldiers and the rogue Sunrise men following Altan had blended in with ours until we became one army.

A massive, glowering man spotted me, and he snarled in disgust, approaching me with the promise of death in his eyes. I recognized him immediately. He’d come with King Tariq when Cyrus and Zerlina were betrothed. Tariq’s commander. The same commander Harpina’s friend Tesha had been brutalized by. He’d tortured her, taking her arm, her eye, and her sister’s life.

In short, this was a man I’d absolutely love killing.

I smiled slowly, which clearly enraged him. He rushed me, bellowing his rage. I ducked under his swing, knowing his size and strength were going to be too much for me. I danced around him instead. I sliced at the back of his legs, making him growl. He turned quickly, and I bent backward to avoid the intended swipe across my chest.

He barreled down on me, and I was forced to roll quickly out of the way as what would have surely been a killing blow came down. He shouted, and I watched as his hand became a paw, his arms slowly overtaken by fur until a large brown bear was before me. I swallowed slightly, reminding myself that I could do this.

I was fierce. I was strong. I was Asteria fucking Earendel. The blood of gods ran through my veins, and I was more powerful than any of these bastards.

I would never again be at the mercy of anyone. Let alone an abusive prick of a man.

I’d had quite enough of that for one lifetime.

I twirled my blade tauntingly, circling him casually. He was already so angry that he’d shifted, if I could just get him sloppy enough…

I jumped upward, my wings ripping out and pushing up quickly. Just barely missing two meaty bear paws grabbing me by the neck. He managed to grab my foot, however, dragging me back down. I jabbed my sword down before panic could take hold, feeling it sink slowly into the top of his head. Only my wings saved me as he dropped, stopping me from going down with him.

Instead, I gently lowered myself to the cobblestone, tearing my bloody sword from his head. I smiled, watching the blood pour out. They say head wounds bleed the most, and from the amount spilling out, I knew that must be true.

It was a beautiful sight.

“Back in the game, girl!” Harpina appeared out of nowhere, stabbing a man who’d been sneaking up on me. I sighed, my wings disappearing as I gave her a quick nod.

I wasn’t used to the insanity of this battle quite yet. The one in Day wasn’t anything like this madness. Men were fighting over every inch of Evenfall. The organized assault lasted all of a few minutes before it devolved into chaos.

The thought gave me a chill up my spine, but I shook myself. We were doing well. Our forces were slowly beginning to overtake them. I nearly smiled, but a shout escaped my lips, and I hissed instead, turning my head to see a dagger embedded in my shoulder. The pain was so intense it burned like the fires of Tartarus, and I could feel myself quickly weakening. A man with long, dark hair in nickel-plated armor with the Pegasus of Dusk on it smiled cruelly, pulling the dagger out only to go for another blow.

I looked briefly at the wound and then the dagger. Iron . It had to be.

A loud growl broke the man’s concentration on me. I looked to the left to see Calix stalking toward us. The rage on his face was plain to see, and his sword was gripped tight in hands now tipped with sharp claws. He looked like an avenging warrior god, like Anann himself come to seek revenge.

The iron dagger shook in the soldier’s hand, and I couldn’t blame him. Even as relief at my mate’s presence filled me, the pain in my shoulder was incredibly distracting. Thanks to my Fae healing, it was getting better with the iron now removed, but it was so achingly slow.

The soldier crumpled before me, shaking his head as howls of pain filled the air. I could feel the steady energy flowing from Calix to him. The pain of Tartarus funneled from the depth of the abyss and straight into this man who dared to hurt me.

“Stand. Up,” Calix growled at the quivering creature before us, his fangs long and sharp. The man moaned in pain but forced himself to his feet despite it. He wavered in meeting Calix’s eyes, and the fear on his face once he did nearly made me feel bad for him.

But seriously, fuck this guy , I thought, holding my aching shoulder as my body fought to heal the wound.

Darkness spilled from Calix, slithering over the ground and over the man’s boots. The soldier shook as the shadows moved up his body, inching up to his face. As they did, they entered his body wherever they could, filling his mouth, his nose, his ears, even his eyes. I watched in stunned shock, having never seen his shadows do this before.

His screams were muffled by the shadows, but plain, nonetheless. Suddenly, the man’s form seemed to almost buckle inward, before it exploded outward in a shock of shadow and blood and bone. Calix’s shadows had destroyed him from the inside out, and pieces of the man rained down around us in a dark mist.

Calix’s eyes met mine, rage and fear overtaking the bond as those eyes filled with green, blue, and pink, joining the purple until his orbs were all Aurora. He grabbed me by the hair, pulling my lips to his in a fierce collision. My own hands snaked into his hair, holding him tightly, ignoring the blood streaking his silver locks as our tongues fought for dominance.

I pulled back with a gasp for air, and Calix immediately stiffened, swearing under his breath. I looked up, finding that in our distraction, the enemy forces had noticed us and were taking advantage of the situation. They were barreling straight for us, too great in number for any two normal people.

But we were hardly normal.

We both gripped our swords, our eyes meeting as the thought passed between us. Matching smirks formed as we both summoned our magic, building it and building it. Starlight and darkness formed around us, increasing in density until they began to swirl into one another. Our magics began to spin faster and faster, until a tornado of starlight and darkness surrounded us. The soldiers approaching us seemed to hesitate finally, but we sent the cyclone of starlit night straight for them.

It tore through their ranks, decimating the men as it ripped through flesh and bone, until many fell to the ground, dead. A cheer rose up from our forces, and I couldn’t help the smile that formed on my lips. Even as I panted from the exertion of magic.

The cheer quieted as something began to be rolled out from the palace. I growled as I spotted Cyrus at the helm of a wooden-framed contraption. His wavy shoulder-length dark hair left down and brushed the nickel plate of his armor. He wore a long cape affixed to his shoulders, bright pink to match his feathers, with Dusk’s sigil in charcoal grey in the middle of it. Grey embroidery also surrounded the edges in an intricate design, studded with grey gems I was sure had come straight from Gemaria.

Calix stiffened beside me, and his tension bled into my own. Cyrus’s pink feathered wings flung out, his cape falling between them as they brought him into the sky. He looked over the battle below with a cruel smirk.

As our eyes met, his eyes flared with something I couldn’t place before he smirked widely. Calix flew upward before I could do anything, heading straight for Cyrus. Cyrus’s head snapped to him, a cruel sneer taking over his face.

But I noticed something important at that moment. Cyrus looked… awful .

His blue eyes, once so full of passion and intrigue, were now bloodshot and dull, while his tanned face had grown wan. The blood magic was obviously taking a toll on him, whether he realized it or not.

Did Calix? He took off before I could say a damn word to him. His rage at Cyrus’s treatment of me too great for him to hesitate. As he reached Cyrus, he was forced to zig and zag to avoid the bolts of lightning that arced out at him, Cyrus attempting to fry Calix mid-flight.

But Calix got to him despite his best efforts, crashing into him at speed and forcing the two of them to fly backward into the palace’s marble wall. They grappled, and I heard Calix’s growl as he dodged a blade. It was the same grey as the blade that got me, meaning Cyrus was armed with iron, as expected.

I let my wings unfurl, and I flew toward them immediately. I twirled my blade to get it in the right position, and as Calix held Cyrus to the wall, I flew in a rush, my blade sinking deep into his stomach. The howl Cyrus let out was music to my ears, the blood dripping from the wound a beautiful sight.

I gripped the blade and ripped it back out while Calix let go of his hold on him, letting Cyrus sink to the ground, clutching his stomach. His wavy hair was mussed from the fight and covered his face, but I needed to see his agony for myself.

When he looked up, however, instead of fear or pain decorating his face, he instead smiled widely.

My own fear came not a moment later.

Cyrus removed his hand from where it covered the wound I’d created, and the rapid healing—faster than a Fae’s even—I witnessed as the wound closed right up had to be a result of blood magic.

“Now!” Cyrus yelled, and I watched as whatever contraption he’d brought up was aimed right at us.

I watched in complete stun as a lever was pulled back, and shards of something were sent at us in a blast. Calix dived in front of me, trying to fly us away, but the shards hit him full on, and his agonized scream as we slammed hard into the ground was haunting.

I ignored whatever pain I felt from the impact and rushed to see where he was hurt. Moving him off me as gently as I could manage, I crawled onto my knees to see the damage.

Shards of iron were embedded in his skin and armor. I cursed the finger holes in my armbands. If my fingertips had been covered, I could have just grabbed the iron and started helping him right away. He couldn’t begin to heal until it was all out, and I wasn’t wasting time.

I scrambled for a solution for a moment, until I found the cape of a dead soldier nearby. The bright gold cape was obvious, even with dirt, dust, and blood all over it. I wrapped my hands in it and used it as a shield as I began to quickly pull the iron pieces out of my mate despite my shaking hands. Calix’s eyes were creased with pain, his body writhing and arching as I worked. Tears filled my own eyes, the agony in the bond too much to take.

Once I got all the pieces I found sticking out of Calix completely out of his body, I looked up, fully aware my distraction could have put us in a worse situation. Cyrus was watching us, however, and his men had clearly held back from engaging for a reason. My eyes narrowed on Cyrus, his smirking form nearly bristling with contempt.

“Asteria!” he called, a smile filled with sharp canines looking down at me. They were pitiful compared to Calix’s fangs, the effect of the chaos within Cyrus obvious. “ This is what happens when you disobey me. Don’t you think you’ve let poor Calix suffer enough for your obstinance?”

“Fuck you, Cyrus!” I called up to him, making him chuckle as he shook his head, feigning amusement for the benefit of his people. But I could see it for the farce it was. He had been right about one thing: I did see him . I didn’t think he’d appreciate what I saw, however.

“Why don’t you come down here and face me like a man? Or are you too scared?” I taunted, tilting my head to the side, gaining strength from the way Calix clutched my hand. I just needed to distract Cyrus from Calix long enough for him to heal.

“Oh, you don’t want me to do that,” Cyrus said, looking down at me with a frown that was as fake as his conciliatory tone. “After all, if I die, so do they .”

I looked at him in confusion, but he just flew down, and four guards made their way out of the palace, straight to him. Two humans were held up by the arms between them, chained at the hands and feet. My heart started to race double time, and when their heads were forced upward, I shot up from Calix’s side to my feet.

“Mom? Dad?” My voice wavered, and I cursed myself for the weakness. How the fuck did he find them?!

My hands shook, and it was all I could do to stop the rest of me from shaking, even as my claws shot out. Fear and rage were a terrible cocktail within me, smoke beginning to billow from my mouth as I considered what he could have done to them already.

I should have gone to them. Protected them. What use was any of this new power if I left those I loved to flounder?

Worse was knowing it was my fault. My fear of their reaction to the truth kept me away, and Cyrus was able to take advantage of my hesitation. I never thought that he would consider them at all, let alone go after them. But I should have. He was deranged and would do anything it took to get what he wanted.

Cyrus tutted, “Remember what I just said. You kill me, then mommy and daddy dearest die with me.”

“What the fuck do you want with them?” I demanded, “What did you do to them?”

“Now, now, Asteria. You’re in no position to make demands, are you?” Cyrus tilted his head to the side, a large smirk taking over that punchable, haughty face. “You’re going to call this attack off and come home. Where you belong.”

I snarled, Calix’s growl echoing it, but Cyrus wasn’t deterred in the least. “You’ll even have your parents here to keep you company!”

“And what about Aelius?” Calix demanded, slowly standing up from his sprawl. “You promised him her death.”

I raised a brow at him, cocking my hip as my hand curled tightly around my sword, starlight swirling around it in unruly spirals.

Cyrus sighed exaggeratedly, as if Calix was too dull to even entertain. “Come with me, Asteria. You can save all these people. Your friends. Your parents .”

His pointed look at them had me switching my gaze back to my parents as well. I hadn’t seen them in so long now, and had thought I never would again after Placement Day. My emotions were so mixed, I didn’t know whether to be scared or relieved or pissed off.

My parents were both bruised, surely, but they looked mostly okay, thank the gods. My mother’s chin was up defiantly, while my father openly glared at them. When our eyes met, his fierce stare left me taken aback.

“Don’t you dare do it, sweetheart,” my father yelled to me, and one of Cyrus’s soldiers punched him, making me lurch forward to intervene, but Calix grabbed my wrist, keeping me in place.

“Forget this charade!” someone yelled, and all heads snapped toward the gold-clad man storming toward us. “She needs to die, now.”

A golden sword was pointed straight at me. The man’s sneer was ugly, out of place on such a beautiful face. But I recognized those sky-blue eyes immediately.

“Hold your blade, Aelius,” Cyrus demanded, eyes getting a bit wild as they shot between us.

“I don’t answer to you, boy,” Aelius spat at him. I noticed movement just behind him, but kept my eyes forward purposely. “I’m King of Day, and it’s time I rid myself of this pest to my rule.”

“A pest?” I asked dryly, raising a brow at him. “How kind, Father ,” I spat right back at him. “You think I relish being related to you ?”

He growled, his blond shoulder-length hair swinging wildly as he marched straight toward me.

“You are no heir of House Earendel. No woman will ever sit my throne !” he screamed, his rage blinding him to all else.

“It’s MY throne. You aren’t fit to rule a kingdom, Father . The gods realized this, and Earendel has chosen me to lead us. Your views on women, humans, all of it is part of the old world, and Celesterra will be moving in a new direction now.” I smiled at him, side-eyeing Cyrus as well.

“And I think I’ll start by making sure you two pests don’t affect MY kingdoms!” I snapped, making Aelius’s face crumple into a snarl. But instead of attacking me, as he’d meant to, I watched in glee as my brother attacked from behind, taking Aelius by complete surprise.

I was saddened he didn’t take his head, but I was sure that would come.

This was a fight my brother well deserved. For all that I had been affected by Aelius, I had never lived with him. Hadn’t spent years being talked down to and degraded by him. Hadn’t seen how our mother had been locked out of council rooms and made to watch from the sidelines. Arien deserved this fight.

More importantly, the move distracted Cyrus, and I used that to quickly fly up, shifting into my dragon form and barreling right at him. Cyrus’s eyes widened at the giant teeth about to swallow him whole.

“Iron! Now!” he shouted, slight hints of panic leaking into his voice before he quickly shifted into his Pegasus form.

Calix would secure my parents while I would take care of the monster my nightmares were made of.