Page 64 of Stars Above the Never Sea (The Last Faeyte #1)

Chapter forty

Callan

“ G ods.” I had thought I was fit enough, but these steps are testing even my limits. “How long is left?”

Selene did warn me. She told me of the challenge to climb these steps as part of her Ascension.

I still vastly underestimated the sheer height of the wide, adralite staircase that runs from a small, innocuous room off the great hall.

Gaps in the wall at regular intervals— holding no stained glass to keep out the elements—pull a wind through the space that forces me to steady myself.

Little wonder that nobody ever comes up here.

Selene stops herself on the edge of a step a few paces ahead. Her wings spread, helping her balance as she looks back. Her lips twitch. “Perhaps you should climb them more often?”

“I would laugh, but I don’t have the energy.” I look behind, to the endless winding staircase. “One thousand steps? More?”

She nods. “We only climb them once. The first time.”

Her eyes shutter, and I find a burst of energy as I jump up the next few and wrap our hands together. Her eyes soften as I press my lips to the back of her hand. “I’m sorry you didn’t get that.”

She inhales. “Hala chose a different path for me.”

“Have you had any more thoughts on the letter?” We keep climbing. The bright white of the steps is hidden in a thin layer of dust, our feet leaving marks as we get higher.

“One, mainly.” Her fingers grip mine. “I have a father. Here, somewhere. I have wondered if perhaps it might have been Jonas.”

I consider it. “What of Ria?”

“I’m older than Ryn by around eight years. It’s possible the arrangement could have happened before they married.”

“How do faeytes normally choose?” I frown, having not considered it. “A partner, I mean.”

A dull flush pinkens the skin at the back of her neck, swept up in a loose bun. “It did not happen often. I was the first child born in years. And there were none at all, after me.”

“And you don’t know who your mother was?” A space opens up ahead of us, and I exhale in relief.

“She passed into Ellas on the night of my birth.” Selene looks up too, her feet swift as we climb the last few stairs.

“Nyx and Celeste raised me. That was always the way. Faeytes birth faeytes, no matter if the father was Caelumnai or inritus. We raise our children under Hala’s blessing, and any partnership was entered into with full knowledge by all parties. ”

Bright laughter echoes in my ears, my vision blurring. Shifting.

Selene stops when I miss a step, turning as I stumble before righting myself. Her eyebrows raise in question. “Is something wrong?”

It felt so real.

I stare at her face. “I… no.”

Her eyes narrow. But the faintest blush appears in her cheeks as she turns, and my heart beats faster. “Almost there.”

We reach the top at the same time. There is no doorway, no ornate welcome awaiting us for the number of steps we have just climbed.

A square, unassuming space opens up in front of us, empty aside from the walls, each filled with sleek white stone shelving.

There is no ceiling, the Sanctum open to the elements and only the endless gray sky of Asteria above our heads.

Opposite, yet more steps lead up to an open ledge.

But the shelves —

“So,” Selene says tightly. “That’s that.”

For there is nothing. Every shelf is bare, whatever used to sit here gone. Cleared out. Burned, perhaps, because although I don’t remember any such event, it seems like something my brother might do. “I’m sorry.”

She looks at those empty shelves, her throat working, and my heart aches for her. “Aylina would be furious that someone touched her scrolls. She was meticulous.”

She turns away. I follow her down the steps once more, her hand in mine. I give her the silence, until her words echo back to me.

“I thought it might just be that easy.” She sighs. “That there might be a single scroll waiting for us that somehow explained all of it. My maegis, the letter. My fate, even.”

I frown. “They could be down in the storage rooms. Or below them, even. There are other floors.”

“Possibly. But why would someone bother moving them down there?”

“Worth considering, at least?”

Her voice threatens to break, the words cracking. “Not today.”

“We can go to Merrick’s now, if you like,” I say gently. “Or if you’d prefer, we can go to the house. Everyone will be there. Or back to your room.”

Wherever she wants to go.

“No,” she says at last. “I want to see Leo. And the others.”

“That’s good. Truthfully, Matthias would likely have hunted us down and pulled us out regardless.”

The smile is small, but it’s there. “And then the house?”

“Yes.” I squeeze her fingers, relishing the way they tighten around mine. “If you’re sure you’d like to stay.”

“I am.” She doesn’t hesitate.

I can’t help it. I tug us to a careful stop, stepping down until I can face her at eye level.

“What are you doing—?”

My hand slips around her neck, our lips meeting. She melts beneath my touch, and I catch her as she lists into me, swallowing the small, breathless sound she makes. Drinking it in.

And then I pull away. She’s breathing unsteadily, her eyes wide. “Why did you do that?”

“Because I can. And because there are several hours between now and then, and I couldn’t face going that long without kissing you.”

Her lips find mine, and this time it’s me that nearly overbalances. Selene’s tongue traces my lips, cautious and sweet, and I pull away with a groan. “Now I have regrets. I definitely can’t go that long. Perhaps we shouldn’t have dinner with the others.”

Her eyes dance. “No. I want to see them.”

“Then perhaps I’ll kiss you in front of them.” I study her, looking for her reaction. Wondering if this is something she would prefer to keep between us, although I know my friends too well to believe I could ever hide my feelings from them.

Because that’s worked out so well, so far.

A flush creeps over Selene’s moonlight skin, spreading down below the neckline of her shirt. My shirt, I notice suddenly, and gods, if that doesn’t fill me with satisfaction. “If you must.”

My grin spreads at the almost prim response. I have to kiss her again, and I taste her smile as my fingers brush the membranes of her wings until she shudders, her bones loosening.

“I fear I must,” I murmur against her lips. “I really, really must.”