Page 63 of Starfall

“W-what do you want with me?” I was a single star maiden whose ritual had been interrupted. I was nobody of value, my sole purpose to serve this man’s self-proclaimed enemy. And brother .

“I can practically hear your thoughts,” Xavier said, the hand on my waist running up and down my spine as if he’d touched me a thousand times before with such familiarity.

“To answer your question, you are not what I had planned for.” He laughed and shook his head playfully.

“I had it all mapped out for years. Someone inside Maldia came to me, begging to stop this ruthless cycle of star maidens, nymphs, ravens, and sprites from having to die. They tried to help, but in the end, my brother got to them first. It didn’t matter that she was far more than a simple creation.

This woman was his own child—his actual flesh and blood—and she’d betrayed him.

” Anger clouded his eyes, blocking out the golden flecks dotting his irises.

“After he killed her, I decided my brother had stolen his last soul.”

I halted abruptly. “ His child ?”

“I believe you know her,” Xavier said somberly, his stare moving to the floor. “You were quite close. And she did have the most peculiar eyes…”

No .

“Xavier…” I wanted him to deny it. Right the fuck now. Because my closest friend’s face floated across my mind, her smile tugging at my heart.

“I’m sorry, Arina.” Xavier held me, his arms enclosing my entire frame as my limbs shook. “Truly, if I could’ve stopped it, I would have. I liked her. She was…fearless.” I could hear the smile in his voice, even if I couldn’t see his face.

But he spoke of her . Of Lily.

I saw curly brown hair and violet-flecked eyes. I heard my best friend all but denounce the Eternal. She’d bitten her tongue on more than one occasion when the Eternal was praised, and during prayers, she barely spoke the words beneath her breath.

All of it came back to her eyes. Violet. Just like the Eternal’s ravens.

His messengers. Or spies .

“The Eternal doesn’t need to consume your souls,” Xavier continued as my head spun.

“He tells you all about the glory you’ll face upon your ritual’s end, but in actuality, he feeds off of every single one of you, even the weakest of the beings.

He’s done it for years now, building up his reservoirs of power until he can take it all, including my power.

That is how he has become all but unbeatable. ”

This time, when I dug in my heels, Xavier stopped, though his hands on my waist refused to budge.

“I…it isn’t true,” I said, lifting my chin. “You’re the one who lied to me.” I grabbed the pendant he’d delivered, lifting it up for him to see. I was gr asping desperately at straws. Trying to make sense of the world tilting on its head.

He raked a hand through his white hair. “Yes, I lied. But Lily’s last wish was for me to protect you by any means possible, even lying. And I have—protected you, that is. That apparition you saw in the pond at Elias’s home wasn’t her. It was him .”

All I held onto was “ last wish .” The words echoed on repeat until the floor rose to meet me. Xavier just held me tighter.

“I was trying to stop you from finishing the ritual, to give me more time to convince you to help me. Of course, you wouldn’t allow that, so I pretended to go along with your plan. I had to in order to get his attention. He couldn’t suspect things had gone awry. ”

“If Lily is...” Fuck I couldn’t even say the word. “We need to help my other sisters. Now.” I had to do something . Lily couldn’t have died for nothing.

Died . Just the word alone made acid rise, my stomach twisting until I ached to curl into a ball.

Partygoers flew around us, giggling and drinking to their heart’s content. Oblivious to the two divine beings arguing in front of them.

Xavier’s grip on me softened, as did his eyes.

For the first time, the gold in them flared to life.

“I know you don’t want to believe it, but your sisters are gone, little star.

He’s killed them all, and to pain you more, he used their likeness to guide you exactly where he wanted you.

Only then could he show himself and take you.

When the bond was severed from your Chosen. ”

I thought of Lily in the pond, trapped. How she appeared a shell of her former self. My lower lip quivered, and nausea churned in my stomach. I was going to be sick.

Xavier’s confession rang true in all the worst possible ways.

“Lily, Carina, they were manifestations. Perverse illusions. If he gets to you …a star maiden who made her Fall by finding the power to defy him, he’ll be invincible.

” Xavier briefly glanced away, and the corners of his eyes creased behind his illustrious mask.

“A star maiden is not like the others, not like the lowly nymphs, sprites, or ravens. Your power comes directly fr om the heavens. He’s been able to command your magic, but it was never truly his.

The only way he can steal it is by having you ascend to his home in the skies, where he can trap you and devour your spirit. ”

“No.” The word was a blow, a growl of a sound. I couldn’t picture a world where Lily wasn’t in it. There had to be another explanation. Maybe the Eternal hadn’t killed his daughter and only tricked Xavier into believing such a thing.

“I gave you that charmed mask so you could see the night Lily ascended and was robbed of her life. See what she turned into. I didn’t want you to witness it, but there was no other way to make you see the devastation he’s reaped.

” Xavier’s white brows knitted together, the act making him appear almost human.

“Please, if you don’t believe anything else, believe I would never wish to hurt you.

I’ve seen how brave you’ve been, and my dreams have shown me…

” He hastily shut his mouth, swallowing hard.

“We have to stop him together . I’ll explain everything once we leave, but in order for you to enter my realm, you must grant me your permission. ”

“Never,” I snapped, tugging out of his grasp. I knew he let me; he was much too powerful. “This all has to be…some mistake.”

Grief, like a wave during a storm, swallowed me, and I choked out a breath. Lily was my family, the one soul who understood me entirely. If she’d been killed, I would’ve felt it, right?

“I got you, little star,” Xavier murmured into my ear when my legs gave out from beneath me.

“I know it’s a lot to take in, and I’m sorry it had to come all at once.

But we needed the element of surprise, or it would’ve been in vain.

He would’ve found a way to break his own rules and take you—or kill you—before you severed the bond with your Chosen. ”

Xavier had lied so I’d be his puppet. He was no different from his brother in that respect. Both wanted to guide me to where they wanted, all for their own gain.

I turned to the crowd when Xavier called out.

“Lily was my insider, the one who saw her father’s corruption and wanted to aid me.

She used to speak about you all the time, her little star maiden friend, and while I’d initially found it vexing, the more I heard of you, the more I desired to meet you.

” Xavier swallowed thickly. “Fate can be a cruel and mysterious beast. ”

All this time…she was working for Xavier. I could hardly comprehend it.

“Her father, while suspicious of her intentions to be placed on Maldia, was finally persuaded. He thought she was devoted to his cause, and that she offered to watch over his cattle ,” Xavier ground out the word, “but she was fighting for you all. Especially you. Ari, she loved you more than you could ever know, and the idea of your death only reinforced her will to work with me. She’d hoped to land on Earth and meet, but her father got to her first.”

Her father killed her. Murdered his daughter. My Lily.

“When he found out about her duplicity, instead of sparing her, he took her soul for himself. Along with her power. She died a painful death, but she knew the risks going into this. She told me it would be worth her life to end the violence and to stop him from destroying the balance. She was a true warrior, and I was honored to have worked with her.”

I peered over my shoulder, tears burning my eyes. Xavier stepped closer. He knew he had my attention.

“Lily was the one to block out Elias’s dreams the following nights leading up to the ritual.

If you knew his mother had passed, you’d select another, and she wanted the ritual to fail.

She gave you time, and she sacrificed herself for your escape.

Regardless of you forming a bond with Elias, she still was the reason you didn’t ascend.

Why you chose yourself as you fell to Earth, making you stronger than any other maiden before.

Able to break free from the Eternal’s hold, which is no easy task. ”

The tears I’d held back slipped free, sliding beneath my mask and down to my chin.

I didn’t grasp what he meant when he said I’d chosen myself, but the sincerity contorting Xavier’s face undid me.

He appeared distraught, his jaw feathering and shoulders tense like he barely kept himself together.

Like he had a decent bone in his body that missed Lily, too. That he truly, deeply cared.

“You aren’t fighting to save your sisters.

You’re fighting to deliver yourself to my brother on a silver platter,” Xavier said, urgency ringing clear in his desperate tone.

“The moment Elias enters the Bleeding Hearts’ Tent, you will ascend, and the Eternal will grasp you from the skies for himself.

He will destroy our world. Too much power has a tendency to corrupt if the soul is impure, and my brother has never cared for anyone or anything but himself.

He already killed off our sister, the third immortal. I’m to be next.”

Mind. Soul. Balance.

The mark I’d left behind on those I used my power on. The symbol of peace and prosperity from the north.

It was too much. All of this. I tore away from Xavier, picking up the hem of my skirt and rushing for the mingling guests. He called my name, but I ignored him, focusing solely on Elias and relaying what Xavier told me. We could take our time and debate on what should be done.

He was the only one I trusted.