Page 71 of Stars Above the Never Sea (The Last Faeyte #1)

“Holy gods,” Esme whispers. “Selene—tell me you have more of that shadow maegis.”

The hallway is full.

Dozens more of the creatures exit a room further down the hall, those hideous metal gazes turning on us as they block our exit to the stairs.

Rio and Callan exchange glances. Between one heartbeat and the next, chaos erupts. Lanterns and rock tear from the walls, smashing into the creatures, sending them tumbling.

I pin the ones who lurch at us with shadow, forcing a path as we push through, Esme’s swords find their marks—not just once, but over and over again—as Rio directs the fire from the lanterns.

The creatures that burn don’t make a sound, their kicking legs visible as we push past, eyes stinging from the smoke.

The stink of burning flesh threatens to make me sick again.

“This way—all of you.” Callan takes the lead, darting down another hall.

“ Sol .” Matthias’s choked words echo back to me. “Leo —Merrick. We can’t leave them, Cal.”

“What’s happening?” I gasp the words. “Where are we going?”

“You’re going under the wall,” Callan says grimly. He drops back and grabs my hand, urging me to run faster. “There’s a tunnel we use.”

My breath catches, head spinning. “A tunnel?”

“To get supplies through to the deserters.” His eyes flicker to me. “And people out , when we need to. There’s a northern encampment several days away made up of those who managed to escape conscription.”

That would take us to the furthest edges of the island. Asteria is not large. My head spins at this new knowledge. “But we can’t go. Matthias is right. We can’t leave them here!”

“We won’t.” We twist down another corridor.

I can hear movement behind us, and Callan jerks to a stop.

His eyes swirl, and I choke on dust as rock tears from the walls.

It falls in tightly packed layers to create a barrier that almost brushes the ceiling, blocking their way.

“I can’t do much more—I’ll bring the whole ceiling down on us. ”

He swipes at a drop of blood that appears beneath his nose, but he’s already pulling me forward once more. “We don’t have much time.”

One final turn. And then we’re sliding to a stop. Callan is already ahead of me, his hands pressing into a wall that looks much the same as the rest, layers of stone on top of each other in imperfect lines. He counts, his lips murmuring as he taps the stones. “Here.”

He pushes in, and the wall… swings outward . Behind it, a tunnel just taller than my head leads away from us, pitch black and without any end that I can see. “Go. Now. Use the horses on the other side, they should be ready.”

“ Callan .” Esme’s voice trembles. She shakes her head. “Matthias, give Nyx to me.”

I can’t breathe as Matthias carefully hands her Nyx’s broken body. Even with Esme’s height, Nyx looks so small against her. He presses his forehead to Esme’s. “Quickly now. Don’t you stop, Esmeray. Get them to Wilder.”

Esme looks at me, her scarlet eyes wet. “We have to go, Selene.”

I glance over my shoulder. The wall Callan created is holding, but I can hear the creatures behind it. The scraping noise almost hurts my ears as their weapons drag over the stone, searching for a way through.

“Selene, you and Callan go.” Matthias steps forward. “I’m not leaving here without Sol.”

But there is also Leo, and Merrick. Matthias would be left here alone, against a swarm of those things. Callan and I lock eyes. His jaw tightens in grim understanding. He turns to Esme. “You and Rio will take them. The three of us will follow when we can.”

“Don’t be a fool,” Esme snaps. “You stay and you won’t be getting out of here.”

Rio’s eyes gleam in the light, but he says nothing, his voice stolen by the pretium thanks to the maegis he used to burn the creatures. His jaw is clenched, and he shakes his head.

“Petyr won’t hurt me or Selene. He needs us.” Callan takes a breath. “Matthias, you need to go. We’ll get Sol out, I swear to you. Leo and Merrick too.”

Matthias shakes his head. “You’d have to knock me out to make me leave, Callan, and they can’t carry me with their hands full. This is wasting time we do not have .”

“Fine,” Callan snarls. “Esme. Riordan. Go now.”

My face threatens to crumple as I look at Esme. To Rio. “Get them to safety. Please And you too.”

The tears trickle down Esme’s face. “Stay safe. Matthias, you eejit. Don’t die, or I’ll kill you myself.”

His laugh sounds choked. “I love you too. Both of you. Go.”

Rio shifts, his eyes darting between us.

But Callan is already pushing the door closed, nudging him back. “You know where the lanterns are. Go. They’re going to find this. You don’t have much time.”

Esme nods. “See you on the other side.”

The wall seals up, and they’re gone. My sisters with them. The sob breaks free as I turn.

“You fool,” Callan breathes. He cups my face tightly, lips crashing into mine. “Stay with me.”

Our hands entwine as we wait. Matthias takes up a space on my other side. He tugs at his sleeve. “Sol is going to kill all of us. I hope you know that.”

Gods, I hope that’s true.

The scratching, whirring noises feel as though they carry on forever. The three of us wait in silence.

When Callan’s wall crumples, we brace. My hands fly up. But the creatures on the other side are still. The male who sweeps through the rubble wears no metal, even as he glowers at Callan. His voice rises. “You’re a gods-damned fool. What have you done ?”

Callan stares at Petyr. “What have I done? What in Ellas—what is this, Petyr? What the fuck are those ?”

He gestures to the creatures. They watch us with eyes of metal, unmoving. I catch sight of amethyst eyes gleaming from behind them, and my body stiffens.

My hands begin to raise.

The shadows form in my palms without any urging, the rage creeping back up my throat. “You hurt them.”

And I am going to hurt him.

Petyr turns to me. He sighs. “Such a pity. You really do have a habit of fucking up my plans, brother.”

The punch to my stomach shocks the air from my lungs.

Nobody moved—and yet—

Callan roars. And I… I stumble , my hands pressing against my middle and coming away sticky and red, the shadows vanishing. I stare down at the familiar color, even as Matthias pushes in front of me.

His hand slams over the injury, holding the arrow in place. “Don’t pull it out.”

A bluish-white arrow. It begins to burn as I stare down at it. Matthias hisses at the sting, but he doesn’t move his hand. “What type of copper is that?”

The walls around us begins to shake. And Callan—Callan is trembling, as his arms steady me. I am falling, I realize. And he’s holding me. “ Selene . Look at me. Right at me.”

But I can’t focus. Not when the burning grows worse, flaring out from that spot in my stomach.

“It won’t kill her,” Petyr muses. “She’s far too useful for that.”

The next arrow lands in Callan’s arm, punching through the skin. He barely flinches, but the stones stop moving. Stop shifting.

His maegis just… stops.

And Petyr smiles. “Just a little insurance.”

I try to call on the shadows again, to coax out my own maegis as the room tilts around me. But there is nothing. Only a dull emptiness in my head. “What is this?”

“Matthias,” Petyr says coolly. “If you don’t want to see Solomon swinging at the end of a rope, I strongly suggest you take good care of them. I’ll need them shortly.”

“Selene,” Callan rasps. He says my name again, but it sounds far away. My vision darkens at the edges. “Stay awake. Stay awake for me.”

But I’m already gone.