Page 42 of Stars Above the Never Sea (The Last Faeyte #1)

Chapter twenty-nine

Selene

T he crossing would not be so bad on this side, they had said.

They had neglected to mention that there would not be a crossing at all.

My grip on the railing grows tighter, holding me in place as my knees tremble beneath me.

Callan had tried to tell me that this would not be the Asteria of my childhood, and I had nodded. Almost dismissive.

Of course it would not be the same. How could it be, when Nyx and Celeste would not be there? Without the Mother, the Maiden, the Crone, without Deva and Erena and Aylina?

Without Emryn, and Leesa—

I stare at this place, this island that calls itself Asteria, and yet looks nothing like it.

It looks like it belongs to the gods. Surrounded by night, the island is tethered to nothing but air. It floats.

And yet light shines from it; grey, almost murky rays of sun glow strangely against the dark that surrounds us.

Even the waterfalls that I played in as a child still flow.

They’re visible even from here as we descend through the sky, although just barely.

They seemed gigantic to me then, and no less so now.

Crashing waves of ice-cold water that flow into sandy streams and pools perfect for paddling, before joining the fast-flowing river that now pours directly off the side into the abyss below instead of leading to the ocean.

Callan guides Volatus forward, his hands raised. His maegis glimmers through his skin, his body alight with a deep, golden glow as we sail forward.

“How do we land?” I ask, studying my unfamiliar homeland as it grows bigger by the moment. For there is no sea for us to land on, not here. At the edge of Asteria is an abrupt shift into the night sky, as if one could simply walk off the end and tumble forever.

“We rebuilt the dock.” Rio clears his throat. “There’s a section we can land in.”

I nod, my eyes locking on those waterfalls with the need to find some familiarity against this strange new place.

“Don’t be afraid.” Esme tries to offer comfort. “They won’t hurt you.”

“I know.” My voice is bleak. “Not until I’ve fixed the Never, at least.”

I wonder what manner of welcome I might find here, in this place filled with the metal men that spilled faeyte blood down the temple steps. If I will find a welcome at all, or if I even want one. “There is nothing more they can do to me. I am not afraid.”

No, afraid is not the right word. Behind my back, I push my wrists together against the railing, scratching at my skin.

“Heading in.” Callan turns the rudder, angling the ship. My feet almost slip as it tilts downward.

“Don’t forget to play dead when we get there,” Rio calls out from beside me. “Give them a good show.”

He rolls his shoulders back with a sigh. “I’ll miss this. Even the food. The rations in the guard quarters are worse than the cells.”

I swing my head to him. “You’re a guard?”

“I am.” He scratches lightly at his throat. “Callan refuses to run these trips without us, so we get a break. But it’s back to mundane life once we set foot on solid ground.”

“Oh.” I had assumed that they would remain together. A vague sense of disquiet settles in my chest. “All of you?”

“Smee works in the castle— uh. Temple.” He offers me an apologetic look. “Sorry. I know it was different before.”

“It’s not a temple anymore.” It’s almost better that they don’t call it one. “Call it what you will.”

He nods. “So, Smee is Asteria’s worst kitchen maid—”

She scoffs. Then hums. “Possibly.”

He snickers. “Merrick retired from the guard a few years ago, so he stays in the town with Leo and tutors the children.”

My eyes search them out. They’re seated down on the main deck, Leo leaning against Merrick’s side. Sol is beside them. “And Sol?”

“Solomon managed to score himself a spot as Matthias’s assistant, although he’s as liable to kill someone as heal them. Lucky bastard. But Matthias is the best healer we have, so he gets a little more influence with Petyr.”

“And that’s his partner?” Sol glances up as if he can hear us.

“It is.” Esme sighs. “He’s been unbearable this trip with Matthias left behind. I promise that he’s usually at least mildly tolerable.”

She sticks her tongue out at Sol, and I can almost hear his scoff from here. My eyebrows fly up when he pulls a face back, his expression twisting.

“See?” Esme points out. “We’re not even down yet, and his mood’s already improving.”

As we get closer, vague outlines become clearer and more detailed.

I make out the solid stone wall that stretches around the edge of the dock.

My heart begins to beat unsteadily. I remember that wall.

Remember how my feet slipped on the slick moss that covered it.

It’s taller now, no longer flush with the ground but rising up, as if to prevent others from doing as I did.

And it stretches out as far as I can see, branching into gray lines that run toward the town and its circle of homes, all of them facing toward the center, where the town hearth sits.

“Why do you need so many walls for an island?”

“Not everyone is a fan of Petyr’s rule,” Esme says drily. “The walls were built around the town to stop people trying to escape the reaping.”

It doesn’t sound familiar. “What’s that?”

Rio taps his cheek where his mark stands out against his skin.

“Since we lost so many of our young people in the Shift who would have entered our military when they reached their majority, Petyr changed the conscription process. It’s done by tier now.

Those with lower tiers got recruited first, since maegis is useful for running things. ”

“The tier fives were taken just before we left.” Esme bites down on her lip. Her eyes flicker to Rio, and the six in his cheek.

“I doubt he’ll go any higher,” Rio muses. “There won’t be anyone left, otherwise.”

My brows dip. “I don’t understand why there is a need for a military at all. If nobody can leave or enter Asteria, what is the purpose?”

“Tradition.” Rio scoffs beneath his breath. “To give people something to do, or something to fear. There are a lot of rumors about what goes on in the compound. Petyr runs it as its own place, separate to the town and castle.”

Frowning, I open my mouth, but Volatus dips again. The figures in the distance, standing beside that wall, turn from small specks to discernible silhouettes. There are dozens of them.

There are other shapes too, shapes that take form as Callan guides us closer.

The clock-tower that announced the Caelumnai arrival ten years ago is cracked and dilapidated now, the once-gleaming white stonework filthy and unwashed and the golden bell at the top blackened and crumbling.

The other buildings surrounding the dock look to be in much the same shape.

The cobbled stone of the dock has given way to a large, oval pit, excavated deep into the ground and supported with wooden planks that spread out in lines. A space built to house the hull of a boat.

The angle of the ship straightens, and I find myself stepping forward. Callan inclines his head in my direction when I stop beside him. “Did you come to continue our earlier discussion?”

I shake my head. The small smile that curves the side of his mouth wavers, then softens. “Then I think I should apologize.”

My face turns away from the dock. “For what?”

The heat of him brushes against my arm. “For pushing something which may not be wanted. I have no desire to be equated with the men you have known.”

I try to pick apart his tone. “You are not like them.”

No. Callan Edgeborn is something else. Something I cannot work out. I search his eyes, looking for any hint of that black, jagged strike across his pupils. For any hint of crimson. He lets me assess him. “I’m fine, Selene. Even with this use, I can barely notice the pretium. Thanks to you.”

My confusion and apprehension smooth away with his words. “I have no need for your thanks.”

The idea of him feeling indebted to me does not settle well.

“Then perhaps I can offer something else.”

I look down at the extended hand, at a loss for what it could mean.

“Friendship, Selene.” His voice is low, almost swept away by the breeze that circles us. “I would like to be your friend.”

Friendship.

Perhaps that is something I need, with the shore of Asteria growing closer by the moment. And I wonder if perhaps I might like to be friends with Callan. “You lied to me. An omission is still a lie. I don’t believe that friends lie to each other.”

“Then let me promise you this,” he says softly. His fingers curve around mine. “As your friend, I will not lie to you, nor bar you from my thoughts, no matter how you may feel about me once you hear them.”

My hand hovers above his as I search his face. Finally, I let my fingers lower, and he clasps them. “Agreed.”

“Good.” His smile grows as he turns back toward the shore.

“Then I should probably inform you—in the spirit of our new-found friendship—that I would like to have our earlier conversation again, at some point in the future, and when you’re comfortable.

” The amusement in his voice winds around every word. “But not yet.”

I still. Heat creeps over the back of my neck. “You jest with me?”

“I’m learning that I might enjoy teasing you.” He raises a hand toward the dock, waving it. We’re closer than I realized. “But it was not a lie. Stay close to me.”

I find myself pinching the skin between my thumb and forefinger as Volatus crosses the stone wall. The ground rises up, so close that I feel off-balance as Callan shifts, the glow of his maegis on full display beneath his skin.

The ship jolts as he lands us within that shaped pit. Unfamiliar shouts come from below us, and I twist as Callan staggers back, groaning as his eyes roll back into his skull. My hands grab for him, my heart jumping into my throat. “What are you doing?”

He stops the theatrics immediately. “Putting on a show.”