Page 75 of Stars Above the Never Sea (The Last Faeyte #1)

He laughs, loudly. “And you even confirmed it, when you stepped off Volatus . You should have been dead, Callan. That much maegis, over that length of time? The pretium should have gotten to you. How interesting that it didn’t. Almost as if someone interfered.”

My heart stops. “I was lucky.”

“Lucky that a faeyte fell in love with you.” He fishes a scroll from his pocket, spreading it open.

“ When a faeyte finds their soul elsewhere, they will love no other. Two souls will become one, two heartbeats bound together. A faeyte may extend their lifeforce to their chosen love, leading to additional healing abilities and a longer lifespan .”

The scroll snaps shut. “A very carefully guarded secret, this one. Locked away, in fact, in a pretty little box. The lock was easily broken, though. Just like them, I suppose.”

I can’t look at her.

Two heartbeats, bound together.

Every time we have touched, our heartbeats have been in perfect sync. Ever since that day on Volatus .

“Did his eyes change, Selene?” Petyr sounds gleeful. “Did they?”

I twist to stare at her. Her lips have parted. “No.”

But I know. Because I know her.

This possibility. This happiness, that I dared to reach for, will be her ruin.

Petyr taps out a pattern on my leg. “It’s terrifyingly simple, really. We have a special metal concoction for you, Cal. And to ensure you survive the changes, Selene will keep you alive. Alone, you’d be dead before we finished. But with her heart bolstering yours…,”

He stretches his neck. “You’ll make a perfect unda.”

“She won’t,” I rasp. “I would rather be dead.”

Her eyes are closed as I turn my head, my words desperate. “I mean it, Selene. Don’t. Whatever—whatever this is, don’t do it.”

Petyr throws back his head, his laugh sharpening.

“Haven’t you heard the stories? The love of a faeyte is legendary, Callan.

They are physically incapable of letting anything happen to you.

She’d move in front of a sword for you without thought.

Selene won’t be able to stop herself from keeping you alive.

From what we learned, I don’t think it’s even conscious. ”

I fight to breathe. Desperately reaching for reasons to persuade him not to do this. “That still doesn’t fix the issue of my own limitations. I don’t have that sort of power. The pretium would kill me long before I reached the shores of Terrosa.”

He hums. “But the pretium does not affect the creatures. And Selene has already demonstrated significant talent in healing you if needed. We’ll test it, of course. But I’m not overly worried.”

“I don’t have the power,” I rasp. “Not for so many. My maegis is not endless.”

Movement in the doorway. Petyr holds out his hand.

“Luckily, we have our amplifier. We actually tried to combine the power of a faeyte within Wendlyn—to see if we could do something interesting with that, but those experiments were a failure. I believe you saw the results downstairs. Rather rude of you to steal the Metallurgist’s test subjects before he was finished with them. ”

He stands as Wendlyn joins him. She doesn’t look at us.

“Don’t worry, Cal. Matthias will be watching over Selene, to make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.

In exchange, I’ll make sure Solomon remains safe on the other side of the wall, and that boy with him.

Say your goodbyes, Callan. We’ll begin momentarily. ”

Matthias shifts into view, devastation on his face.

There is nothing. He has thought of everything. Every possible loose end tied up into a plan that hinged purely on us.

And we walked right into it, she and I.

I look at Selene. My voice is raw when I plead, “Look at me.”

She doesn’t. She stares up at the ceiling, her tears still falling.

“Look at me,” I plead again. Blocking the rest out. “Selene.”

She trembles, her face turning to mine.

“It’s going to be alright,” I whisper. My voice threatens to break. Around us, there is a flurry of movement. The clink of metal instruments. “Stay close to Matthias.”

“If it helps,” Petyr interrupts. “You’ll be spending plenty of time with each other. I’m very curious to see what else your maegis can do, Selene. It doesn’t seem to work in the same way as the others. We’ll take excellent care of your faeyte, Callan.”

She breaks. A sob catches in her throat as my chest caves open with a phantom blow. “I’m sorry. Callan—on Volatus . I shouldn’t have… I’m sorry .”

“Don’t be.” My heart thuds. Our heart, hers and mine. “Don’t apologize for loving me, Selene. Don’t ever apologize.”

Because for all of it, I can’t find it in myself to regret that. Not for a moment. “I think I should probably tell you I love you now, though.”

Before they take away my ability to say anything at all.

“I love you,” I whisper. Metal scrapes as another bench is positioned at my side, and she flinches, staring over my shoulder. “Eyes on me, Selene.”

Her head is shaking, yanking at the restraints.

Gods, it hurts. “Tell me you love me.”

Her eyes squeeze closed. I say it again. Desperately, my voice raising over the activity happening around us. I need to hear it. “Tell me you love me, Selene Amaris.”

“I love you,” she chokes. “I do.”

Even though it shatters my heart, I still manage a smile. “As if I didn’t know.”

She chokes on a watery laugh. “You seem to know me better than I know myself.”

“Not yet,” I whisper. “But I will. I’m going to come back to you. I’m going to kiss you every day. I’ll build us a home.”

Her breathing shudders, and tears run down my face.

“We’re going to be so happy. One day—not yet, but one day, when you’re ready—we’re going to have daughters, Selene.

Three of them, that look just like their mother.

With beautiful wings, and eyes of starlight.

You’ll teach them to fly, and I’ll catch them when they fall. ”

I know, because I saw them, so clearly, that day on the steps of the Sanctum. A flash in my mind, the sound of bubbling laughter that warmed up my soul.

Hala, or Caelum. They showed me a glimpse of a blissful future that feels as though it’s slipping through my fingers, but I hold onto it.

Her entire body trembles as she closes her eyes. “That sounds—”

But her works break on a sob.

“We’re going to be perfect, you and I.” I whisper the promise to her. “Show me your eyes, Selene.”

She turns. And I can see how hard she’s fighting not to break apart.

“I’m coming back to you,” I promise, my voice unsteady. “We’ll find a way. You’ll find a way.”

Because Selene Amaris can do the impossible. She’s done it before, and she’ll do it again. People move between us, and I strain to keep her in my line of sight. “Get out of the way.”

They don’t. They lean over me, and I start fighting. “ Selene !”

“Callan.” She sobs on my name. “It’s going to be alright.”

And it breaks me, that she’s trying to comfort me when I’m the one leaving her in this horror. I search for the maegis, for even a single thread of it as my head bangs back into the table, but the threads are curled up and dark.

The Metallurgist leans over me, purple eyes whirring.

“This may hurt a little.”

There is pain.

Screaming, too. So much screaming. Molten pain runs through my veins, burning me alive from the inside out.

But I fight it. Fight the darkness that creeps up on me, as I hold onto thoughts of her. Until Selene starts screaming too, and I feel the leash on my sanity slipping away. My body grows colder, the taste of metal stronger.

And the ticking. I can hear it, burrowing into my ears until I can’t hear her at all anymore.

I will come back to you.

I will.

I—