Page 7 of Starfall

I could almost handle the idea of being stuck in this depraved mortal world, a star maiden who’d let down the Great Eternal, but my sisters? I’d be the reason they, too, had failed to ascend. Trapped like Lily. It was too much to bear, and I doubled over, clasping a hand to my chest.

I’d ruined not only my life but theirs.

“ Where are you? Are you really here in front of me?” I begged, needing to know how to fix this more than I needed air.

Lily’s wan face twisted into something unrecognizable. My soul is everywhere and nowhere. When one sister fails, we all fail, and our eternal souls weren’t able to find our new homes in the sky. We’re bound together.

The ash. It tied us together so we could journey below…and then above.

Your fault. Your fault. Your fault. The mantra looped on repeat in my head, a taunt worse than any physical pain. This was bone-deep. A wound I’d never be able to reach.

I squinted at the water, searching for Lily, her blurry shape barely visible.

Ari . My name was barely a murmur. The tears on my face slipped freely onto the pond’s surface, falling onto my friend’s image. There’s still hope , she said gently. I’ll need you to fight for me. For us all.

“What is it? What can I do?” I frantically pleaded as my hands fisted the loose soil.I needed to hold on to something solid and real. “Tell me, Lily, please ! My Chosen’s mother died, and his wish to save her can’t be fulfilled.”

Lily’s mouth never moved, but her voice wafted into my mind, reminding me how utterly horrid this situation was. How I had done this to her .

I’m so sorry this has fallen on you, sister.

Lily shook her head sadly. She shouldn’t be the one concerned about me.

I’d let her down. If you can grant a wish that rivals the original, then all will be set right.

Once you’ve granted it, the Eternal can free us.

I’ve seen him, Ari. Her eyes turned soft with reverence.

You were right. He’s…breathtaking. I should’ve believed sooner.

And he wants us to succeed, so, so badly.

He only regrets that he cannot help you — midnight has passed, and his abilities have rules of their own.

If Lily professed such things, then it had to be true; the Eternal had to be as grand as I imagined. He’d sent her to help me.

Black spots floated around my periphery, my strained lungs unable to suck in a full breath. “My Chosen kicked me out. He wants nothing to do with me.”

The man has another wish. One he fears to put much faith in. Push him, Ari, and he’ll give in.

“I-I don’t understand,” I whispered, wiping the tears and snot from my face, uncaring that I’d become a wretched mess. “Nothing happened when I touched him. I sensed no other wish to grant.”

Below, Lily’s lips parted as if to speak. All that came out were more bubbles. Even if I made this right, Lily’s disturbing image would forever haunt me.

You must have him speak the words. A bargain will be struck, bonding you two together. You have until the full moon to succeed, Ari. To give us all our freedom.

“Can the Eternal help?” Maybe he could show me the way or give me some sort of sign. He was the greatest being known across the realm—the granter of wishes and dreams, a deity that bestowed miracles with his creations. Believing he couldn’t assist me was unfathomable.

The image of my sister began to fade, the cloudy waters rushing to sweep away Lily’s beloved face. She never had the chance to answer me. But she didn’t need to—I was on my own, and the Eternal, as she said, could only do so much in such a situation.

Another tear fell from my eye, rippling the now still waters.

Lily was gone .

Even as I reached into the pond, I knew Lily had vanished somewhere I couldn’t reach.

I forced myself from the dirt, my gown sullied and soaked in sweat. Standing here would do nothing. Feeling sorry for myself wouldn’t stop time, and it certainly wouldn’t change a thing.

I had one option.

Clenching my fists, I turned back to the path leading to the farmhouse. I could do this. Just a step, and then another, and I’d be back on his doorstep. I would corner the man and make him tell me what else he wanted, and then I’d grant it using whatever magic I could wield.

All star maidens possessed certain abilities given by the Eternal.

Lily could project a mirror-image of herself, Carina could move light objects with her thoughts, and Dara had the odd gift of changing her eye color.

But my power? Our mistress had never come across something like it before, and I could tell it had frightened her.

The thought of exploiting a power Mistress Lina had once referred to as ‘dangerous’ lifted one corner of my mouth.

Too bad Lina wasn’t here to tell me no.

With Lily’s soul in the balance, I ran, sprinting back to the house and the angry man who lived there. I hesitated only for a second when I reached the front door, cringing at the possibility that he’d turn me away once more.

My fist struck the thin wood hard enough to rattle the hinges.I winced. I’d have to be more mindful of my strength in the mortal realm.

The thud of feet and the growl of a curse made it to my ears. I stiffened, lifting my head high and rolling back my shoulders. I was a star maiden. A blessed being. A?—

Another curse, and then the door swung open.

“Oh, I don’t think so.” The man made to slam the door shut, but as I had earlier, I stuck my foot inside the threshold. The door’s uneven edge dug painfully into my skin.

“I need to talk with you,” I demanded, my voice devoid of emotion. When the bastard didn’t react, I added a strained, “ Please ?” I loathed begging, yet I prepared myself to get on my damned knees .

His face twisted, and the creases of his eyes—a shade I now recognized to be a stunning yellowish-green—softened.

He lifted his brow, a barely discernible scar stretching across his left eye.

Another glimmering scar danced down his right cheek.

Now that I examined him, truly taking him in, I noticed just how many scars and scrapes he wore, all running up and down his exposed forearms, along with a few grisly purple and greenish bruises still in the process of healing.

I wondered where else he’d been marked. How he’d earned them.

“Please,” I repeated. “I just need to explain?—”

With a gentle push, he sent me stumbling a few feet back. His hand on my shoulder might as well have been a white-hot brand of repulsion.

“No! Wait!” I made a dash for the man, determined to convince him, but my forehead collided with coarse wood. This time, I screamed my own curse, uncaring if the Eternal watched me. I could be as blasphemous as I desired. As long as my sisters were safe.

The bolt slid into place a second later.

Fine. If he wanted to play, we would play.

Sprinting down his steps and racing across his property, I tested my forming theory. It happened to every Chosen and their stair maiden—a connection that bound them, albeit briefly. In our case, I prayed it would remain intact. If it had been there at all.

Hope this changes your mind . I smirked as I passed the invisible barrier, smiling through the wave of nausea that assaulted me. Smiling through the aches in my bones. To me, they were nothing, but to a human…