by J. A. Comley
Starla spun towards the bed, but she didn't notice anyone until an indignant chirp and ruffling of feathers drew her attention.
“Aimee! I understand you again!” Starla rejoiced, extending her arm.
The little sparrowhawk flew onto Starla's waiting arm.
“Ezira gave me the gift of speech. I can talk to anyone now, anywhere, just like the Guardians' animals can,” she chirped proudly.
“Oh, Aimee, I have missed you,” Starla said, cuddling her little friend gently, her voice thick with the tears that threatened to overflow again. She started to walk to the door, trying to still the drops forming in her eyes.
“You're not going to get all weepy on us, are you?” Rya's playful voice came from the doorway.
“Rya!” Starla cried, then looking through the open door she greeted the others. “Lua! Alli! It's wonderful to see you all again!”
“We thought we'd come and see what was taking you so long,” Alli said, winking, a huge smile on her face and her orange clothes shimmering.
“I am so glad that you aren't dead!” Lua gushed, tactlessly, pig tails bouncing. The other Guardians rolled their violet eyes.
Starla was beaming, her heart bursting with joy at seeing her friends again. But then her face fell. She remembered Gaby, and the horrible scream that had echoed after her through the night. She glanced up at the others. They were all watching her, their expressions wary now.
“I have to tell you something.” Starla stopped to swallow the new lump in her throat. She wasn't sure if she could get the words out.
She closed her eyes and took a steadying breath, opening her mouth.
“So, she's finally awake,” an all too familiar voice said.
Starla eyes shot open, her gaze darting a short way down the passage, as she choked on Gaby's name.
“It can't be. The grobblers—” Starla spluttered, watching wide-eyed as Gaby heaved herself off the door frame she was leaning on and came to stand behind Alli, an amused smile on her face.
“They're dead. Well, at least the ones who took us are,” Gaby said, sounding grimly satisfied. “When you tossed your amulet at me, it hit my chains and cancelled out the magic. I felt it, even though the chains stilled glowed.” Her expression suddenly became embarrassed. “I'm sorry I didn't help you. I am no match against the magmus alpha.”
Starla waved her apology away. “But you … I heard you scream,” she said, shaking her head, trying to force her memories to fit the wonderful reality before her.
“One of those scaly creeps bit me.” She stretched out her left leg. A ragged double crescent of grey marred her otherwise flawless obsidian skin. “Their venom burns like you wouldn't believe. As soon as I was sure the magmus wasn't coming back, I broke out.”
“And Heny, Biki and—” Starla stumbled over the last name, “and Flek?”
She watched pain flit over Gaby's face, both of them sharing the memory of watching Flek burn.
“They are all alive,” Gaby said, keeping her voice steady with effort. “Flek is still recovering.”
“And Larkel? Did you explain to him—” Starla trailed off as all the Sacrileons dropped their gaze.
Starla waited, Gaby's words about war not being a place for friendship or love came back to her.
“I knew you were in the worst kind of trouble. That we all were doomed if Kyron got to you.” Starla flinched, and Gaby's quick eyes passed over her new red scar. She nodded in acknowledgement of how close it had been.
“I came here but Ezira said you'd already entered Abyss Valley. It was infuriating!” Gaby snarled.
“Abyss Valley is like our meeting glade in Rainbow Wood. You can only enter by invitation, or magical anomaly,” Rya added, taking note of the confusion in Starla's eyes, her yellow glove shimmering as she waved a hand.
“We could do nothing,” Gaby hissed, remembered frustration carved into her features. “Ezira promised that if we got an opportunity, we would at least try. Then your amulet sent out a signal. An invitation. And we were in there as quickly as we could.” Gaby shrugged, as if the daring rescue had been perfectly run of the mill.
“We should go,” Alli said, beginning to move down the hall, past Gaby, the blue droplets carved into her skin catching the light.
Starla followed Rya out and found herself locked in Gaby's embrace.
“I am sorry about what I said in the grobbler camp,” Gaby whispered in Starla's ear. “You came for me. Thank you. And thank you for fighting him, for never giving in. I saw how bad you looked when you arrived. More than half-dead.” Her voice caught in her throat.
Starla squeezed her in return. “Friendship and love are powerful things. Kyron will figure that out to his detriment.” She stepped back, smiling broadly. She opened her mouth to say more when a woman with greying, brown hair stepped into the space at the end of the hallway.
Starla, stopped mid-way to the lady, her feet moving dream-like before her, heart pattering out a frantic rhythm. The woman matched the picture Father Joe had shown her so long ago. She matched it perfectly, except for her neck, which was a gruesome purplish-black.
The woman's blue eyes were filling with tears as she stared at Starla.
“You … you're my grandmother.” Starla sounded dazed. She wasn't even sure that she had meant to say that out loud.
The old lady nodded and closed the distance between them.
“Yes, sweet child,” she said, looking Starla over in wonder. “Kyron,” she added simply as she noticed Starla's gaze linger momentarily on her neck.
She took Starla's hand, still staring as if she were not yet sure that she was real. Fey called to her as she laid a square of cloth in Starla's hand.
“Astria,” Fey called, “Ezira is ready to see the two of you now, in the central dome.”
Starla felt her knees grow weak, her voice came out a breathless whisper, her Star glinted against the fabric in her palm. “Astria? As in the Inagium Queen of Galatia?”
Her smile turned ironic. “Yes,” she said again, then gave Starla's hand a gentle squeeze. “Come. Ezira will help explain everything.”
Starla slipped the amulet over her neck, feeling certain that she would wake up at any moment.
Starla wasn't sure if she was still awake as she let Astria guide her into a huge room. A long, golden table set with twenty-one matching chairs dominated the room. The walls and ceiling were the same glass hemisphere as the first chamber.
Ezira was seated at the head of the table and waved to the two seats on either side of her as Starla and her grandmother entered the room. Astria let go of her granddaughter's hand, after another little squeeze, then took the seat to the right. Starla numbly found her way to the one on the left. Her brain seemed to be stopped or stuck, unable to process the simplest thing.
Ezira turned her gaze on Starla, then nodded knowingly. “Yes, it is a lot to take in and I know that you will have many questions. I understand.” She paused, waiting for Starla to meet her gaze. “But our time is short. Kyron is ready to make his final move against the Galatian people. We only have time for a few answers. Astria has reminded me how mortals require explanations to process new information.” She gestured to Astria, a regal wave of permission.
Starla nodded, looking back at her grandmother. Astria, the Inagium Queen, wife to the— Starla's mind suddenly launched back into gear. She knew now why the King's smile had looked so familiar. It was the only part of his face left in the burnt picture. Her grandfather. His big hand resting on the shoulder of another man who had been burnt away.
“I have a brother?” Starla gasped, emerald eyes wide. She suddenly realised who it was that the Prince reminded her of. The shape of his face, the curve of his mouth, were both vaguely similar to her own. The Prince reminded her of herself.
“Yes. Prince Niden is your elder brother. The only of your five other siblings to survive.” Astria murmured, her voice weighed down by a deep sadness. “I thought we had lost you, too,” she said, the tears fin
ally spilling over.
“But why didn't they recognise my name. Is it very common?” Starla wondered aloud.
“That is because of a series of things,” Ezira began, patting Astria's hand in what Starla thought was meant to be a kindly way as the Queen stilled her tears. “Firstly, you should know your mother's name. She was Princess Alshia of Galatia, eighth daughter to the King and Queen of Galatia.” She smiled briefly, gesturing to Astria. “She was the copy of your grandmother. Glowing, light-brown hair, sky-blue eyes. Your brother, Niden, inherited the colouring too. She, too, was a powerful Inagium.”
Amazed, Starla looked back at her grandmother. She was the descendant of two Inagium.
Astria smiled weakly, then nodded to Ezira to indicate that she would continue her family's story. “Alshia was a strong woman, not one to be swayed by protocol or what others thought right. She fell in love with a Brosney of Cosmaltia. They are able to manipulate metal,” she added, quickly. “Edehin was not of noble blood but she would not be dissuaded. In fact, he was quite the outcast, the abandoned child of an Aurelian warrior. When his Cosmaltian mother died of illness, the warrior left a ten-year-old Edehin behind. But your mother loved him with a fire that couldn't be dimmed.”
Starla smiled, feeling pride crack her chest. Her mother hadn't allowed what others thought to govern her life either. Something else nagged at her memory when her mother had mentioned Aurelians but she pushed it away, focusing on her grandmother.
“As she had many other older siblings, we allowed her to follow her heart. They were married within the year and moved to his home on Cosmaltia, surrounded by its beautiful, lush gardens. They had many children and were very happy. They were expecting you when the threat of Kyron returned to our galaxy.” Here, she stopped, her clear blue eyes clouding over with tortured memories.
Ezira jumped in while Astria gathered herself again. “Kyron had grown stronger in his absence. He had been travelling the universe, gaining power from those he defeated. He destroyed many galaxies. Killed many other Demilain. He returned more powerful than any of us could ever have imagined or feared.”
Starla tried to grasp the amount of havoc and death Kyron had wreaked in his centuries of destruction and war. She failed entirely. Shaking her head, she focused on Astria. Cosmaltia had been the first planet in this star system to fall. It had also been her home, or where her home would have been.
“So, what happened? How did Kyron get my … my parents and siblings, but not Niden or me?” she asked, her voice only a little louder than a whisper, her head still spinning at the thought of the mischievous Prince being her brother.
“Partially by chance,” Astria murmured, a faint smile suddenly turning up her lips. “Niden always loved the Royal City. He had come to visit us and two of your elder sisters, Shedana and Kara, who had both chosen to live in Galatia.” Astria's mouth twisted in a strange way as she said the final name. Starla opened her mouth to ask, but Astria was already speaking again. “When Cosmaltia realised it was at war with a, then unconfirmed, assailant, your father and all your of-age siblings were sent to the Capitol to fight. A couple of your siblings were also Brosney or Inagium of varying degrees of power.” Suddenly her voice became thick with tears. “I had been meant to go to Cosmaltia to join my daughter for her last two months of pregnancy, to be there with her for your birth. I delayed my journey because Kara got engaged. I stayed for the celebration. Afterwards, it was too late.”
Starla stared. How could they have been celebrating anything when Kyron was attacking their home, their neighbouring planet?
Ezira nodded as if Starla had voiced the thought aloud. “Kyron's attack on Cosmaltia came out of nowhere. They had no warning. Your sister's engagement party happened on the day before he returned. Before we were sure,” she continued, claiming Starla's attention. “When my other half attacks, he misuses his abilities as a Demilain. He shuts down everything. There can no longer be free movement between neighbouring planets. Not even messages get through. He makes it so that no one can call for or go to the aid of family and friends. He makes it so that no one knows what he is doing until the smoke clears. Once everyone realised what was happening on Cosmaltia, no one could get through any more.” Her voice was filled with so much bitterness it almost matched Kyron's in coldness.
Starla shook her head, imagining the terror, Kyron bearing down on people you loved, with yourself stranded, helplessly watching. She felt a tear escape her eye.
“So my mother gave birth to me alone? No one else knew?” Starla asked, her voice tremulous.
“Your youngest sibling was with her. He was too young to fight.” Astria's tears were flowing like rivers into her lap. “We didn't even know if you were going to be a girl or a boy. We didn't even know if she'd been able to give birth, before—”
“So, my parents died in Kyron's attack, but … but my mother saved me, first?” Starla asked, trying to focus on her grandmother's blurry outline through her own tears, on the information that hurt less. Her mother hadn't given her up willingly, it had been to save her life.
“Yes and no,” Astria said. She looked at Starla, blue eyes meeting green. “The first night after we all knew for sure who had attacked us, his magmi flew over Galatia, over the Royal City and dropped several hundred half-eaten bodies into it. It happened on Aurelia's capitol too.” Astria stopped as a wave of wrenching sobs took her.
Starla felt nauseous at the horrific picture forming in her mind. She imagined the Royal City being bombed with bodies, the citizens there finally realising the truth of who had sealed communications and travel between the planets.
Ezira took up the thread. “You need to understand that Kyron is, by nature, a Destroyer. It is what he was made for. But his cruelty is all his own.” Her voice was cold and sharp. “He had picked his victims with care. All of them had family on Galatia or Aurelia. Among the bodies were your parents and your youngest sibling, who had remained with your mother. It was a show of power, meant to terrify. Many of the bodies were so badly ripped up it was hard to tell anything, but their faces he had left pristine. Your mother's body … there was no way for anyone to know whether she'd given birth or if you'd simply been torn from her.”
Starla held up a hand to Ezira, unable to speak, to beg her to stop. She felt the sobs building in her. They grew louder as she laid her head on her arm and let the pain have its way.
When she had wanted her answers, and come searching for them, she had never imagined they would be so painful. She now realised that until this conversation had begun, she had hoped to find her parents alive.
A fool's hope, she thought bitterly, her tears splashing on to the table as she raised her head.
Starla caught her grandmother's eyes. The message was clear in the way Astria wiped her tears away and stood straighter. They had to put emotion aside. The war was still raging and the evil being who had destroyed so much was still out there. They both turned to Ezira, their wet eyes hard with determination.
“The magmus drop was also an invitation,” she continued, as if the hysterics of her guests had never happened. “Three days later, he opened the way between planets. The families, enraged by their losses, wasted no time in ordering an attack. Thankfully, the royal houses of both planets listened to me for long enough to realise the trap. The Queen of Cosmaltia managed to save herself and several thousand citizens before the way was shut again. The slaughter was dreadful. So many lives lost, so much terror and blood. But it would have been far worse if Galatia and Aurelia had sent their armies.”
“Kyron finished off Cosmaltia at the beginning of the new year. Now, it is just a blackened crater-strewn globe. The few Cosmaltians who had fled to safety are now watching it all happen again.” Astria hissed, her voice hard with anger.
Starla shook her head, thinking of Zerina, how her amber eyes were haunted as they had prepared for the Trimoon Festival. Starla noticed they were both watching her, waiting. She still had hundreds of personal questions, but the t
hought of imminent battle made her limit them.
“How did my mother save me? And why Earth?”
“Your mother did not save you,” Ezira said, rising and placing her hands against the far wall. “Children under the age of three are too weak for inter-planetary travel, let alone inter-galactic. Your mother would never have considered it,” she said turning back to the table, eyes on Starla. “I saved you.”
Starla gasped, watching as Ezira sat back down. A bell tinkled somewhere in another room.
“Why?” Starla breathed, “Why me? Why not everyone? If you could do—” she fell silent as Ezira raised her hand, impatience flickering in her dual-coloured eyes.
“Peace, child,” she said, her face calm. “I am a Demilain Creator. We Demilain have no equals in power when we are united. Separated, however, a true Soreiaphin can defeat us. I know, as the Creator, whenever a new Starborn child awakens in its mother's womb, though my gift is limited to my own galaxy. I knew where you were but I had not yet approached your family. When my brother went straight for Cosmaltia, the least of these three planets, I knew he had somehow discovered your existence. He would make sure you died. I sent the two lesser Soreiaphin we had to protect you.” She rose again and motioned for Starla to follow.
Starla gasped in wonder as she took in the scene beyond the glass. Seated at the table, all she had been able to see were stars. Now, she could see a dozen more hemispheres hanging in the haze of stars, connected to each other by short, silver corridors. Beyond the haze of stardust, the rounded shape of a planet was barely visible. Now she understood why Fey had said they were close to Aurelia.
“Aurelia is orbited by a constant nebula of dying and newly forming stars obscuring the sunlight. But these are not natural stars. They were created by Kyron and me together, to hide our home here in the Dome,” Ezira began, waving at the expanse. “Each Starborn child, naturally enough, has its own Star. These Stars take the form of amulets, and they exist to protect their masters. Your amulet,” she glanced down at it where it hung over Starla's dress, “is incomplete and still it has proven itself stronger than any I have ever seen. An amulet's power usually mirrors its master's. Yet each amulet is unique and each must be studied as such. Each bearer must follow their unique key to activate the amulet and release their otherwise dormant power.”
