Page 5 of The Night Is Defying (Nytefall Trilogy #2)

5

A straea

I paced in front of my enchanted map on the dining table adjoining my bedroom. It displayed the whole of Solanis now at my request.

No longer was I confined to a single city or kingdom; the expanse of Solanis became a trove of secrets and places to help me uncover how to be the star-maiden. More dauntingly now I knew magick was beginning to fail again; with my being back, Nyte and I had to resume a past quest to find a way without death for either of us to stop it. I couldn’t accept that him leaving was the only option. He might have called this my world, but I didn’t want to claim it without him, even in times I was mad at him.

My sight lingered on Althenia across the veil. It had peace and safety while the other kingdoms to the west fought for survival against the vampires. It became harder to excuse the celestials for hiding all this time. They could come and go; the veil only kept us out. No—not me.

Every time I remembered I was one of them, my stomach tightened and my skin prickled. The sheer sleeves of my black gown showed my silver tattoos adorning my arms. The low dipping neck proudly showed more of them, with my constellation over my chest. My skirt was cut at both sides right up to my hips. With so much flesh exposed, I’d never felt more free, like I’d regained something of myself that had been forced to hide all this time.

Reaching over the table, I dragged the overlay I’d gotten from the Crocotta during the Libertatem. It was useless now as it only had the marker destinations of my trials, but I couldn’t stop my attention from shifting back to it, as if it might magically change to provide a new constellation and show me where I had to go to start figuring things out.

What things? I couldn’t be certain and might go mad in my spinning thoughts toward that first step: direction.

It made me consider Auster, who could provide a new source of information now that I’d met him and became curious. He wanted to show me a land that was once a fable in my quiet corner of the world in Alisus. I was giddy with thoughts of that adventure even if I was nervous about the company.

The other puzzle my eyes slipped to now was the celestial dragon egg. I often found myself hypnotized by the black shell and swirling silver etchings.

My fingers traced the silver swirls delicately, and our markings glowed and my skin warmed touching it. I had a stack of books on the celestial dragons but none had turned up anything about how to hatch the egg, or even attempt it, and my gut sank at the thought of it being long past survival.

Some of the dragons were depicted with leathery wings, while others, I was fascinated to discover, had breathtaking feathered wings. I fantasized about what could be within the black and silver shell. If it hatched, I pictured what colors, or wings, or certain spikes, or feathers the dragon could have.

With a sigh of wistful longing and frustration, I folded and pocketed my map. Drystan had given me the enchanted map that aided me in the Libertatem, and I kept it close to me with a sharp edge of wariness about how he might come to collect it back when I still couldn’t figure out why he’d given me the life-saving advantage.

I needed air.

On the stretch of rooftop where Nyte had first shown me his wings, I stood searching the night sky. It didn’t take me long to find the stars shining brightest to me.

Cassia wasn’t just a single flare, she was a small constellation. For a sorrowful pause I wondered if I was mistaken or desperate, until it blinked three times. It was likely undetectable to anyone else, but I captured it in my heart.

“Hey, Cass,” I whispered.

“There you are.” I startled at that interruption of my quiet moment.

My mood lightened at Rosalind’s voice and my eyes fell down to her. Twisting, I didn’t realize how on edge I’d been to see her until I spied the pink hair bouncing toward me over her black fur-lined winter cloak. She scanned me from head to toe, then gripped my upper arms in her hands and examined me closer. I didn’t think she would give in to a hug, but a sigh of relief left me when she pulled me in.

“This is all a mess,” I said quietly, careful with my words when I couldn’t be certain who was listening. Watching. While I stood as the prime weapon and hostage to the vampires of this castle.

“We’re going to get out of here,” Rose said with determination despite the damning odds.

I’d hoped she would say that. Anticipated it. I was bursting to tell her about last night with Auster but I had to find out what I’d missed first.

“What happened to you after everything?” I asked when she pulled away.

Rose warily surveyed of our surroundings, seeming to deliberate how much she could voice openly too. Looping my arm, she walked me to the rooftop perimeter.

“Nightsdeath declared me the winner of the Libertatem—Pyxtia is safe from vampire attack for now. For all the world beyond this castle knows, the cycle continues.”

It felt odd to hear her address Nyte by his notorious name, but I couldn’t blame her for seeing him as the monster he was portrayed to be. She did so with resentment that unsettled me with conflict.

I wanted to hate him as much as Rose did. He’d come into my life as what I’d thought was a cure only to be revealed as the cause of the curse. Yet the traitorous thing in my chest wanted to fight against the twist of fate we faced.

“Zathrian?” I asked.

“He’s been trying to explain why he’s an ally to Nightsdeath and what happens now that he’s freed and the Libertatem is over with the king missing. Everyone is acting as if things are normal; it’s irritating. Zath’s wounds healed far faster than I expected. He was stabbed and I can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that he’s up and around as if nothing happened. I knew the healers would help along with magick, but…” Rose shook her head, dropping that train of thought. She stopped walking, turning to face me. “All we need to focus on now is taking Nightsdeath down. I’ve been thinking—at first I thought we should escape, but to what end? He wins that way. We need to find out how to kill him.”

“There is no way,” I said. Rose opened her mouth to argue but I explained, “He’s something not from our realm. And too similar to what I am; it’s our clashing existence that is failing magick. He can’t be killed, but I can.”

“No—you can’t,” she said firmly.

It’s exactly what Cassia would say. Exactly the hard determination she would have worn on her fighter’s face. I didn’t expect this fierce protection from Rosalind and I think we both knew it was Cassia’s legacy, her spirit we carried between us, that made the bond growing between us something worth guarding.

With a long breath, I embraced the confidence of both of them. This was my realm, and I had to start believing my death, my failure, could not be an option if we were to win.

“I have to tell you something that happened last night,” I whispered to her.

We found a small pavilion to sit in and kept our voices low. I explained Auster’s visit and who he was to me. I knew Rose would be eager for a reason to leave the city, even if just for a while, but I didn’t expect how enthused she would be at the notion.

“This is great!” she said, taking my hands. The comfort and joy was kind of jarring.

“We don’t know that yet. It could be a trap.”

“It’s your people!” She gushed. “Another bonded; this is wonderful.”

Then I understood. Rose saw this as a way out. That I wasn’t wholly condemned to Nyte if I chose Auster instead.

“That doesn’t mean anything to me,” I said.

Her face relaxed. “It will. You have to give him a chance to show you. For all we know, Nightsdeath has been manipulating your feelings all this time. With his mind ability, how can you trust any of it?”

My skin was beginning to prick with ire but I didn’t expect her to understand. To everyone on the outside, Nyte was a monster known to kill without mercy and manipulate for his gain. It wasn’t a matter of truth but perception.

Rose asked, “Will you tell Zath?”

“I want to,” I admitted. “Do you think I can trust him?”

“As much as it pains me to give him any credit, yes, I do. He might have come to you by Nightsdeath’s request, but his love for you is undeniable. I don’t think he would betray your trust.”

“He already has—in keeping Nyte a secret from me all that time.”

It made sense now. How easy it had been to get him to follow Rose in the Libertatem instead because he knew Nyte was with me. I was never alone, whereas Rose had no one.

“What would you have done if he had told you? It would have distracted you when there was already so much to figure out in that game.”

She was right, and it was unexpected for Rose to be the voice of reason. I liked the layers of her that were peeling back one by one.

“I guess there’s no reason not to tell him then. Maybe he can help make sure Nyte is distracted or come with us. I’m hoping to learn more about the celestials and see where it will lead me.”

“I never believed in them, if I’m honest. Cassia found them fascinating even if they did turn out to be a fable. She promised that after the Libertatem we’d go to the veil, close enough to touch it.”

Rose leaned her arms on the side of the pavilion and rested her cheek on her hands to look up. I did the same, and for a moment that stole me away, it was like the three of us were together.

“She got to see it first,” I said bittersweetly. “The whole world.”

“It was her dream.”

“I miss her.” My voice reduced to a whisper. “So much that I wonder if it’ll ever get easier.”

Rose’s hazel eyes were bright in the moonlight, her gaze falling from the sky to me, and she smiled sorrowfully.

“I hope it never does,” she said.

I’d come to learn grief was not something to heal but embrace. Every time it came back strong enough to take the light and pull me to my knees, I would thank it and treasure the days I had to carry on for both of us.

“Can we make a promise?” I asked quietly.

Rose nodded and our friendship pulled fractions closer.

“If we find ourselves overwhelmed or unsure how to move forward, we’ll look up at the sky, and the brightest star will guide us back.”

Rose reached for my hand, a binding of our promise that settled securely in my chest.

“Stray.” Zath’s voice carried as gentle as the wind and we both straightened.

As he headed toward us across the roof, his face bore so much concern scanning every inch of me.

Over the last two days, I’d been wondering how I would feel to see him again. After all he’d confessed, I wasn’t sure how to process. But now he was here, and I stood from the pavilion as he stepped up. I walked into his arms as naturally as breathing air.

My brow crumpled in his strong, familiar embrace. There were very few places in the world I felt this kind of safety, and despite everything, I was glad to find that never changed.

“I’m still mad at you,” I mumbled into his chest.

“I know,” he said, like a breath of relief.

“Has Nyte asked anything more of you?”

I dreaded the answer as I pulled back, still wanting to cling to the belief that Zath was still mine. My friend, my ally. Not Nyte’s spy.

“I’m here for you. Not him. Please believe me.”

I nodded, choosing to be grateful he was here at all.

Rose remained silent, but her hard stare on Zath spoke enough hostility.

“One sheds thorns while the other grows new ones daily,” he muttered.

Her scowl only deepened, but the twitch of his mouth before she stood told me he riled her on purpose. That was a tangle of vines I didn’t want to find myself in the middle of.

We headed inside and ended up intercepted by Davina, who fussed over me. I’d longed to see her again, despite the fact that she also had a secret alliance with Nyte and posed as my human handmaiden during the Libertatem when she was really a skilled fae warrior. She held my arms, scrutinizing every inch of me and scolding Nyte for putting me behind bars even for a day. I was glad to not be alone in my ire about it.

“He means well but his methods aren’t always right,” she said, looping my arm as we walked. “We need a plan to get back at him.”

My mouth quirked at the thought. It was twisted of me to find a thrill in provoking Nyte.

Inside the castle, the free-roaming vampires set me on edge. There was a hierarchy among them that had become clearer; now that I was around more of them, with time to observe my fear of them lessening. I had to admit I found it intriguing to learn more about the vampires.

The soulless were seen as the most elite. I noticed how they dressed in finer wears and carried themselves with a certain arrogance. The shadowless were like commanders to their generals. Then the nightcrawlers were the foot soldiers. Their tall leathery wings and piercing red eyes only stalked around when the sun fell, but the nights were stretching longer. Giving more hours to the creatures cursed to darkness.

Davina led us to the banquet hall where a long spread of food was laid out on two benched tables. It was a common dining area and we tried not to pay attention to the vampires littered around. It was odd to see them eating and drinking wine—or was it blood in those chalices? I shuddered at the notion. Oddly, I didn’t expect them to be so… ordinary.

Their stares made my skin crawl. Most only regarded us with a passing glance. Others glared a little longer. I swore a shadowless licked his lips as we passed and I wanted to suggest we dine elsewhere.

I had to get used to this. Coexistence. It was a struggle to let go of the stories I had eavesdropped upon from the rafters of my old manor and the tales Goldfell told that made the world seem too vast and full of terrors. That there was no mercy and nothing worth leaving his safety for. They weren’t full lies, but he’d warped my mind to make every small fear a monster too big to face.

Now, I had to become their monster. There was a time of peace and if they wouldn’t follow me in amity, then fear it would have to be. There was a power inside me I hadn’t truly touched yet, and I didn’t know what it made me to be itching for it.

To never be powerless again.

So I let them stalk their hungry stares on me so I could know which ones to starve out first.

We sat at the end of a bench and I filled my plate with fruits and a few cuts of meat. I barely got a few mouthfuls before a dark and familiar awareness stroked my senses. My head turned enough to watch Nyte stroll into the hall. He pinned his attention on me the whole way, as if I was the only person in the room.

I couldn’t explain the language in his eyes every time he stalked me with them. It was personal, always daring, and enticing. Noise muted around us the longer we locked defiantly. He slipped onto the bench beside me, and the breaking of our stare felt like something physical.

“Glad to see you are all surviving your first meal without becoming one,” Nyte said pleasantly. A suspicion in itself, but he merely smiled at me.

Rose glared at him from across the table while Zath shifted a nervous look around the vampires.

“He’s being an ass,” Davina muttered. “He wouldn’t have let us come here if there was a real threat.”

“Oh, there is,” Nyte countered. “I’m just confident I could intervene before a vampire could finish the course.”

“Why are we here?” Rose grumbled. “I’d rather eat in my rooms.”

Nyte was turned to me, one hand braced behind me on the bench, the other casually lifting food to his mouth from my plate as if he didn’t have an empty one to fill right in front of him. He even started adding things absentmindedly to mine, like the little cinnamon rolls I couldn’t reach.

“We have to show a united front,” he explained.

“You don’t have control over shit then,” Rose said.

Nyte found entertainment with Rose, and it was like she enjoyed prodding him for weakness.

“I see you want a demonstration. There’s a few targets on my list right now anyway.”

Nyte stood and the room darkened with the shift in him. The first cry to echo through the hall came from the vampire I’d seen walking in here who tracked me as if I was meal. Nyte moved so flawlessly through shadow that I only blinked and he’d gone from standing in front of me to across the room, hand retracting from the vampire’s back with a bleeding heart in his palm.

The food in my stomach threatened to come back up when he placed it onto the plate next to the vampire’s head. The blood on his hand wiped away in shadow.

“Let that be a warning to anyone else who thinks about tasting Astraea’s blood. I will hear you, then drain yours,” Nyte announced.

He sauntered back to us with a calm smile.

“That was an overreaction,” I muttered as he sat back beside me.

“Really? Then I won’t tell you the other thoughts that crossed my mind before tearing his heart out.”

He reached for a square of cheese from my plate but I grabbed his wrist.

“You’re not touching my food with a hand that was in a man’s chest a minute ago.”

Nyte’s mouth curved in amusement. “I like it when you’re firm with me.”

I shoved his hand away. Deviant bastard.

“What is the plan now?” I asked, changing the subject.

“I’ve never been one for plans. I find they end up unfolding in every which way but the course that was expected.”

“So we do nothing?”

“Of course not. I’m looking forward to seeing your magick alive again.”

“What about the bond? You made it sound urgent we… bind it.”

“There’s nothing I want more,” he said so close to my ear that I breathed consciously to force down the sparks of desire. “I only needed your agreement to it. I’ll tide the eager vampires over about it until you’re ready. They’ll be happy you’re making progress with your abilities; after all, that’s what they want on their side for this alliance.”

I didn’t like how this made me feel like a pawn to gain and move.

“I won’t yield to you,” I said, turning my head to lock our eyes close.

“Good. One day, every person in this world will kneel for you.”

“I’ll give it to you,” Rose said. “Your manipulation is pretty.”

I tensed at the gibe at Nyte and while he would usually play along with her, this time she struck a nerve.

“This is the only time I warn you,” he said with deceiving calm. “Insult me, attack me, think whatever you want of me. But never question my intentions toward Astraea again.”

“Burn in hell, Nightsdeath.”

Nyte reached for his cup of wine. “When you come looking for me down there, I’ll be the one burning brightest for once.”

“Anything new about your father?” I asked carefully.

It was an attempt to sway the conversation but the mention of his father might have made him more volatile.

“He can’t hide for long. Once he comes out, I’ll be waiting.”

“You’re not concerned about what power he might have gained from the opening of the temple with my key?”

“I’m not concerned about what I can’t control. It is done, and I’ll be ready for him no matter what he’s planning.”

I didn’t think it was the whole truth. His composure was masterful, but underneath, I could feel his tension brewing but I didn’t know how to soothe it.

“I wasn’t expecting Drystan to be at the front line with the most notorious vampires behind his father’s back. I didn’t even know the prince was your brother; how could you keep that from me?” Zathrian complained.

Nyte leaned an elbow on the table like the topic tired him.

“Would you really have helped me if you knew I was the son of the king you despised?”

Zathrian took only a second to contemplate. “I still don’t understand why he would make an enemy out of not only his son, but someone as powerful as you.”

“He hoped to have Astraea as leverage against me and tried to use Drystan to do it.” Nyte’s eyes shifted to me. “It’s how Drystan was the first to find you—my father sent him on the hunt for you the moment we all felt you had returned—but he let you go.”

“Sounds like the better brother,” Rose said.

“You’ll have to find something I don’t agree with to wound me.”

“We need to find him,” I said. “We can’t let him kill himself.”

“Agreed,” Nyte said, plucking a grape from my plate before I could scold him. “Only because I can’t risk him coming back as a more prominent thorn in my side.”

I couldn’t read how much he meant that, but it hurt in my heart to think of the hate between them. I resented their father, believing he had to be the knife that split them apart, but then I remembered what Drystan had accused Nyte of in the tower…

My sight slipped to him and his expression turned guarded, as if he knew what I had recalled: Was he capable of killing Drystan’s mother?

“Where would he have gone?” Zath asked, breaking me from that grim thought.

“I’m not entirely sure,” Nyte drawled. Then he spoke to me. “He’s my concern. Right now, you have to focus on awakening the magick within you.”

My skin pricked at the notion. “I’m ready.”

His smile of pride made a beat in my chest strike harder. “Yes you are.”

Just then something caught Nyte’s attention at the far double doors. I followed his sight to find Elliot standing next to a blonde woman with a cold, steely expression that contrasted the warmth of Elliot’s.

“If you’ll excuse me,” Nyte said. He stood and I yearned to ask where he was going, but I had to accept that Nyte had a life out here. A duty. I wanted to trust he wouldn’t keep things from me anymore and that if something was important he would tell me.

“When does training start?” I asked before he stepped away.

“Tomorrow,” he said, leaning into me with a hand on the table. He spilled my silver hair over my shoulder like he forgot the room of people around us. “Make sure you stay out of trouble for my sanity, please.” The warmth of his breath lingered across my cheek before he straightened and headed toward Elliot. To my thoughts he added, “Think of me, or long for me and I’ll come sooner.”