Page 46 of Stars Above the Never Sea (The Last Faeyte #1)

Shocked inhales sweep the room. Callan pushes between us, his words abrupt. “I’ll find Selene somewhere to stay.”

Silence. And then a brief, dismissive chuckle. “We have plenty of space. Take your pick.”

When Callan shifts, Petyr looks between us. An amused huff sounds in his throat. “I’ll entrust our guest to your tender care, then, brother. Join us for dinner, will you?”

Callan barely nods before wrapping his hand around my arm.

He nudges me toward the door at the back of the hall—the door that Nyx and Celeste pushed me through ten years ago.

The auburn-haired woman in the second throne watches me in silence as I pass, although a small smile plays around her mouth.

There’s no sign of the male from the shadows at all.

Callan wheels on me as soon as the door closes behind us, enclosing us in the long hall so familiar that it burns the back of my eyes. Sol and Matthias stand on either side of him, their arms folded.

“Don’t,” I snap, before any of them can. “I am not a show for their amusement. If you wish for my help, you’ll not treat me as one.”

“I know that.” Bronze eyes sear me. Any hint of the root is gone, worn off, Callan’s cheeks flushed with healthy color as he gestures. “We know that. But gods—tread carefully, Selene.”

“It was foolish,” Sol snaps.

“It was brave ,” Matthias interrupts. Sol turns to him, his expression incredulous.

Matthias lifts his eyes to the white ceiling high above us, interrupted by dark, carved wooden beams that appear every few feet ahead as if asking for patience.

“She cannot show them any fear, Sol. The court will pounce on her, trying to wield any connection for favors and power. Selene is new, unusual, beautiful, and potentially holds the power to save us all. What an enthralling combination. They’ll respect a strong spine far more than a meek mouse, and she will need to show it to hold her own. ”

Callan’s head whips to Matthias. His snapped response is furious. “Those vultures won’t be getting anywhere near her.”

“You won’t have a say.” Matthias points angrily at the door we just exited. “This is Petyr’s arena. His chessboard, and we are the pieces. Selene can be a pawn, or she can be a queen. Gods, Callan. You were raised in this—you know I’m right. But this isn’t the place—”

“Stop talking about me as if I’m not even here,” I snap. Gods, I’m tired. They all fall silent. Mattias murmurs an apology.

“I don’t care what it was,” I say finally. “And I do not care if anyone in that room respects me, or how they view me.”

“Petyr does not always welcome the truth,” Callan says abruptly. “Matthias is right about one thing. These are politics, Selene. You learn to play the game, or you will lose.”

I have no wish to play their games. “I have already lost,” I say frostily.

I shove past them all. The three of them chase me down the hall, their discussion continuing in hissed mutters that I blank out.

“Selene,” Callan calls. “Where are you going?”

My feet almost stumble. “To—”

I come to a stop without turning back, my shoulders tight. To my surprise, the male that slips an arm around my shoulders is not Callan. Matthias squeezes lightly. “Do you want to show us where it is?”

“What?”

“Your room,” he says gently. “We can check, if you’d prefer to stay there.”

My old room, with the window draft that we could never seem to fix, and the floor that creaked in different places, making sneaking out a game.

The room I shared with them.

It’s a kind offer. But I can’t look at him. “Somewhere else is fine.”

“Then we’ll find you somewhere else.” I stay silent as he leads me up the old stairs. Callan’s eyes burn into my back, but when I glance over my shoulder he’s staring at the ground, his brows furrowed.

Everything looks the same when I had expected it to be changed beyond recognition. The walls are surprisingly bare. Matthias follows my eyes. “We lost most of our belongings during the Shift, since the storage ships went down. Anything worth keeping from Boreas.”

So much waste, lost to Hala’s void.

“You’ll find that the layout is the same,” Callan says behind me. He still sounds on edge. “The kitchens, for example.”

Where we met for the first time.

Matthias pauses at the top of the stairs, finger tapping against his lips as he twists to look down the halls that stretch out to his right and left.

More stairs are opposite us, leading up into the other floors that look much the same as this one, or used to.

Solid double wooden doors line the white walls at regular intervals, each holding a living space behind it.

My bedroom was on the next floor, and I find myself grateful that I won’t have to face it.

“Left,” Callan says tightly.

“I’m sure that was full—”

Callan shrugs past us. “This way.”

Matthias looks amused, Sol as though he’s praying for patience. But we all follow as Callan strides down the hall. He pauses just before the hall reaches its end, and my eyes seek out the familiar stained glass. Two figures entwine beneath a blanket of stars. “Hala and Endymion.”

“I’d thought so.” Matthias opens a door and ushers me into the room. “Here.”

It’s basic, comfortingly so. A bare, dark wooden bed frame sits in the middle of the room, covered with a feather-filled mattress.

Two small matching tables rest on either side, each with an unlit lantern, the wick already trimmed.

A small armoire stands against the wall. “Are the bathing rooms still used?”

Some of my favorite times had been down there, despite the aversion most of us had to being under the ground. I had happily floated for hours in the underground cavern with my hair spread around me, lounging in the hot springs until I was more prune than faeyte.

“Only for leisure.” Sol pushes open the door to my right. My eyes widen at the iron tub, the intricate pipework that sits above it. He gives me a genuine, small smile. “I thought you might appreciate this.”

I crane my neck inside the room. “What are those pipes?”

Sol pulls a lever, and I feel my mouth drop open as steam gushes and water falls into the tub.

Hot water. The heat is perceptible even from where I stand an arm’s length away.

Sol’s cheek dimples when he laughs. And I notice Matthias’s eyes on him, the heat there enough to bring my own cheeks to a flush as I back out. “How is that possible?”

“The Metallurgist. One of his many creations.” Sol pulls the door closed again. “You’ll meet him at some point, I’m sure.”

He doesn’t sound enthusiastic. My mind shifts to shadows, and eyes of purple. “He’s a peristi.”

“That was him in the throne room, yes,” Callan says shortly.

He leans against the wall, crossing his arms. “Avoid him if you can and make the encounter brief if you can’t.

He has Petyr’s ear and strong maegis. He specializes in metals, but any knowledge attracts him. He’ll be very interested in you.”

A shiver dances across my shoulders. Matthias leans back against the wall. “Smee shouldn’t be long. We’ll wait with you until she gets here.”

“Esme?”

“She’s getting herself assigned to you as your maid. Since she’s in and out often, she has no regular duties.” Callan sighs. “I’d feel better if it was one of us.”

“I don’t need a maid.”

“We’ll need to work out a rota.” Sol scratches his chin, his eyes on me. “Reckon we can get Rio reassigned?”

Matthias snorts. “You’d have more chance of persuading Tobias to strip naked and dance at the hearth. But he owes me a favor, since I healed him of something I probably shouldn’t mention in the presence of Hala’s scion. You’re welcome.”

My hands wrap around a bedpost, feeling the smooth wood beneath my palms. “What’s the rota for?”

“To watch you,” Sol says gruffly. “Obviously.”

Oh. They really don’t trust me. Irritation prickles at my neck, and I lift my chin. “I said I’d help.”

Matthias guffaws loudly, slapping a hand over his mouth. “Solomon. Gods, I love you, but you are the worst . He means to watch over you, Selene. Because for all the reasons I mentioned earlier, there are going to be a lot of eyes on you. Some of them aren’t friendly.”

My stomach turns to stone. “You don’t need to waste your resources on me. I’m sure you have better things to do.”

“You don’t understand,” Matthias tries again. There’s a different sort of kindness there, but it irritates me, rather than soothing any fears I might have had.

“Yes,” I say steadily. “Yes, I do. I understand men and their desires far better than you seem to realize. And whether I am in Terrosa or here, I doubt there is much difference.”

The room quiets.

“Do not forget where I was the day the Caelumnai landed.” My hands grip that post tightly as my words strike like hail. “I have seen the appetites of some of your men .”

“Wait.” Matthias is hoarse. “You were here ?”

“I told you there was much to share,” Sol murmurs. But then he turns back to me. “The offer is not negotiable. Here, we look out for each other.”

My heart skips. Jumps, almost. As if that longing has struck again, foolish though the thought feels. But Sol isn’t finished.

“And we’ll do the same for you. You can argue all you like, but we won’t listen. This is what we do for our friends.” Sol doesn’t look away as he addresses the still silent male. “Matthias. We should head back if we’re going to make it back to join everyone for dinner. Callan will stay.”

This is what we do for our friends.

Matthias’s embrace is tight, as if conveying an apology. I accept it almost dazedly. Before I realize it, they’re gone and I’m left alone with Callan.

“You seem to be gathering friends at quite a pace.” He crosses his arms. “Perhaps we need another name.”

“I—”

“If you try to argue this again, I’ll call Sol back in.” He straightens, sauntering toward me. “And Sol is quite fastidious about who he allows into his circle. You’re stuck with him now.”