Page 66 of Starfall

Elias

I woke to a dark world I didn’t recognize. My lungs struggled to expand, and searing pain lanced down my ribcage when I coughed.

Ari and the man who had to be Xavier, dancing.

The violent tremors.

Grace.

The tent…it had all collapsed.

I groaned, forcing myself to roll over, to shove aside the debris covering my body. A splintered beam had fallen from overhead, the heavy wood resting a few feet from my skull.

Thankfully, the surrounding wreckage prevented its full descent. The end of the beam held up what remained of the sagging tent, allowing me to take in some air, otherwise, I’d have been completely buried.

What the hell happened?

My ankle screamed in pain as I shifted to my feet, my back hunched over so I could scramble through the remains of the Lost Souls’ Ball.

Glass crunched beneath my boots, and I cringed when I prodded the squishy flesh of a fallen guest. It was too dim to tell what body part I’d struck.

“Ari!” I called out, even knowing she wouldn’t reply.

She’d left.

With him .

I’d run to her when the tremors began, not having spotted her in the rush of guests streaming outside. I had run headfirst into a death trap, hoping to save her. Because the idea of her hurt and stolen from this world would be worse than any pain I would experience in this wreckage.

Lights flared from just outside the thin material blocking my escape.

I jolted when the subtle glint of a knife pierced the tent inches from my face, ripping into the fabric with ease. Staggering backward, I held up a hand to my eyes, a light far too potent to belong to a lamp or torch blinding me.

The shape of a man materialized, his body glowing with brilliant silver. I squinted underneath the safety of my hand, my panic rendering me immobile.

Slowly, the world dimmed just enough so I could drop my arm.

A man stood in front of me. Young and handsome, he wore plain navy trousers and a silver shirt, his black hair styled neatly to the side. Not a single speck of dust marked his clothing or skin.

“Elias,” he said smoothly, sending a shock of awareness into my veins. “It’s so very good to see you. How much you’ve grown from that small child in Clarine.”

My heart stopped.

“No,” I muttered, trying to rise. To bolt from the otherworldly being blocking my path. My heel knocked against a broken table, and I fell, landing gracelessly at his feet.

“You once made me a promise fourteen years ago, if you recall. To grant you a wish.”

My chest constricted, and sweat blossomed on my forehead. I’d never forget the day my father was killed and I begged the Eternal for help.

“Grant me a wish, and my soul will be yours! ”

“But nothing happened.” I tried to kick back, digging my boots into the ground. I merely flailed; there was too much debris in my way to find solid ground.

The man tutted. “I did grant you a wish, just not when you asked for it.” He peered around the wreckage and wrinkled his nose. “And while it appears as if it failed, you still owe me your end of the bargain. Perhaps I’ll even fix this little mistake as a reward for your loyalty.”

I already suspected who this man was. No . Not a man at all.

This was the Eternal.

He’d come for me after fourteen years . After I lost everything I’d ever loved.

I cringed when he leaned forward and rested his hand on my shoulder. He gave it an ominous squeeze.

“It appears as if we both were deceived by a certain star. Time to remedy that.”

It was then that I realized the absence of the bond. The pull that tightened whenever Ari and I were separated. In its place was a devastating nothingness .

She was well and truly gone. And perhaps not simply from the city.

The next time the Eternal tightened his grip, the world erupted in silver.