Dominion of the Star (Descendants of the Fallen Book 1)

by Angelica Clyman

  “When was the last time I looked okay?” he growled. “You called me in here to ask me that?” Jeremy snatched the flashlight from her hands and stood. “You’re going to wear this thing out for nothing. Go to sleep.”

  “Wait! I can help you—”

  He laughed spitefully. “Really? How are you planning to do that? Do all you Nephilim think you’re God or is that something just you and Za’in have in common?”

  She let his words hit her. It didn’t hurt anymore. But she couldn’t let him leave without getting the chance to do this thing that was necessary for them both… Before he turned his back, she threw herself forward, her cheek colliding with his breastbone, her hands awkwardly pressed to his chest. Kayla was acutely aware of his Ruiners and didn’t allow herself to be snagged. A tremor ran up his body, his arms twitching with a stifled desire to wrap his arms around her, and as she sensed his struggle, her palms flickered with warmth. So many times she opened her memories to glimpse again a smile or a scowl, the distant image of his bare arms, or the way his mouth moved to form her name, but now she just recalled what she saw inside Asher — the evidence of Jeremy’s virtue despite the demon that rode him. He was the one that saved them all in Azevin. But before his heroics, he was searching for her, high above the city; he was stalking the dark streets. He was feverish, weary, without hope. He couldn’t remember her touch, her face. He was without the comfort of a romanticized past, but he was still drawn to her and repulsed by his own baseness. When he found her, what would he do anyway? He couldn’t touch her, not the way he wanted to. Would he feel any relief if Za’in took her? Were any promises ever real?

  Kayla’s stomach felt loose. She was within him now, and all she had to do was to let the nervous thrill of her closeness to his spirit move her, without losing herself. Her Intercessors were beams of light, penetrating his flesh, and she felt his body tense up, then droop against her, her Angelic fire encircling them in the embrace they were denied. A wave of pain engulfed her and she reeled, swallowing bile. “I’m here. I never wanted to leave you alone,” she breathed into his wounds.

  He struggled weakly, but his anguish began to recede as he surrendered, taking in her light. That glow branched off into veins, sliding around his arm and burrowing beneath his bandages, thickening into milky pools over his mangled flesh. Kayla bit her lip, but she couldn’t hold back a tortured cry. The agony in his arm was limitless, tied to his internal Hell, caught in a cycle of feeding off and fueling his torment.

  She felt her brilliant rays crash against a barrier, her flames curling around the blockage in useless billows. Nothing could get past the image of Evangeline, distorted, screaming in the blood-soaked rain. He was staring at her body, hewn in two. His former Ophan was vicious and manipulative; she had made him a plaything, and then set him up in Madeline. She was blindly loyal to Za’in, willingly taking on Mods and trifling with death. But she was human, like he was. Even if it was all on Za’in’s orders, there were times she had covered his back in battle, there were moments of tenderness when her body comforted him… But she died an abomination. Just like he would.

  His limbs flailed, struggling to escape the warmth that invaded him. The roar that was building up inside came out only as a choked groan as he flung Kayla aside and collapsed to the ground. Welts were rising on her skin from where his Ruiners lashed her, but she kept him reined in by her fire and she was pulled back to his side.

  “You’re not her,” Kayla whispered, brushing the hair from his face. “I won’t let that happen to you.”

  He sighed angrily, his brows pulling together in irritation. “What can you—” he began, but swallowed his words as she grabbed his wounded hand, pulled the bandages aside and pressed it to her cheek. There was pink skin stretched taut over his hand and it tingled with forgotten sensation. He pulled himself up to face her, his palm sliding over her soft flesh, his eyes wet. His fingers twitched before he grabbed the back of her head and pressed her lips to his.

  Kayla struggled. It wasn’t supposed to go this way! Images, words, and emotions rushed between them at dizzying speeds, and she couldn’t find her balance. Her brain screamed her mother’s name, but the voice was silent. Jeremy saw everything in her, no longer turned inward by the healing light, but not even the knowledge of her exchange with Asher loosened his grip.

  He released her lips, but still controlled her movement by keeping a tight hold on her neck. “I was going to give you up,” he said quietly, his face close to hers. “I promised I would. I wasn’t going to stand in Serafin’s way anymore. He’s the kind of man you deserve. But I love you, Kayla. I didn’t think there was any hope for me. I wasn’t planning to survive this. But I want to live. Even if it’s only this way, I can still touch you with one hand. I was going to stay away so you wouldn’t have to keep getting hurt. I thought Za’in was in you because of me, but you must have driven him out. You’re all light.”

  She couldn’t move. Za’in…inside her? She remembered Asher’s words. Were they all his pawns? Her power was meant to be the fire of God, but with the deity absent, her passion was misplaced. What was she doing to these humans? She could see the future that had to be avoided, the 7 of Swords, and here she was acting impulsively. There were just too many choices in the 7 of Cups, but as the 10 of Wands urged, she had to do the right thing, to take responsibility for her burden alone and respond with honorable actions. She concentrated her will, firing up her Intercessors and letting the symbols on her back ignite.

  Jeremy’s panicked voice sounded far away. “Kayla, stop! Don’t do this now!” He shook her by the shoulders, and then held her head in his hands, forcing her to look into his eyes. She could feel his fetters grabbing at her, but the barbed tips melted in the heat she radiated. “You don’t know what you’re doing! You can’t do this alone. Let me fight beside you! He’ll do worse than kill you—” He struggled to keep his fingers clamped tight to her flesh as her fire burned him. His eyes were helpless as he was forced to release her. “You…said you didn’t want to leave me.”

  “You finally want to live. I want to give you more than two days to do it. If I stay, I’ll destroy you all.” Kayla closed her eyes, ready to be Delivered. She could hear his voice, too distant to understand the words that gave meaning to his shouting. There was only one voice within her, and she was compelled to follow its truth. Something collided with her body and took her off her feet, but before she could feel the second impact, the world exploded.

  42

  Kayla’s fingers raked against the little pebbles that were strewn across the cold floor. She lay heavily on her chest, her eyes closed, but she was aware of a dim light, flaring up and then sparking out, somewhere in the dark. Parts of her body rested at a comfortable degree, but a damp chill sent shivers over her bare shoulders and ankles, leaving gooseflesh on her forearms. Although her back and palms were heavy with heat, the gathering cold tightened her thighs, bringing a line of tension up to her face, leaving her teeth chattering softly.

  Soon, a warm pressure began to glide over the surface of her skin. The temporary thaw brought by the sudden contrast in temperature was paired with little shudders that gently shook her awake. She fought the stiffness in her body, and turned slowly towards the source of the comforting touch. Even in the darkness, that black cross was a gaping void lodged in his chest.

  Kayla started, sliding off of his lap. “No…no! Why, why did you…” she murmured, struggling to stand.

  Jeremy grabbed the hair at the nape of her neck, his fingers twisting the strands and jerking her head back towards him. “You know, that was something I was planning on asking you when you woke up,” he said softly, holding her still with the hand she healed, controlling her movement with his merciless grip. “Why did you, Kayla? How did you? You knew you’d end up here.”

  She winced. “Let me go so I can see where I ended up,” she managed through clenched teeth.

  “I’ll save you the trouble,” he snarled, pushing her forward onto her
knees before releasing her. He stood, pacing nervously, the motions of his lean body resembling a stalking cat. “We’re in one of the caves at Velsmere. As if you didn’t know.”

  Kayla looked up at him, absently rubbing the sting out of her scalp. “Then it’s fine. This place has been pulling me towards it for a long time now. There’s nothing more for you to do here. His attention will no longer be on you.”

  Jeremy’s body bristled in anger, his fist clenching as if to strike the cavern wall, but he left it trembling close to his chest as he battled with his impulses. He choked on his low growl before it could rise, flinging himself down onto his knees beside her. His constrained rage seeped out of him as hopelessness, his eyes wide and pleading as his left hand tenderly grazed her cheek. “You didn’t listen to me in Cormina, did you? I’m not letting you go again. Not this time.”

  “Even if that damns the world?”

  He turned his head in frustration. “Kayla, that doesn’t even make sense—”

  “Even if I don’t want you to follow me?”

  Jeremy paused, looking sidelong at her before he spoke, his quiet words skidding against the coarse surface of an unspoken threat. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

  Kayla closed her eyes. They both knew why his hands were trembling. She could do this now, now that she could no longer see the reflection of her dying radiance setting fire to his clouded irises. “Forgive me,” she murmured as her arm shot forward, a vessel for a channel of flames. A tight constriction in her palm was all she felt of the impact when her light met his face. He cried out in pain, one hand coming up to shield himself, the other reaching behind him as he tried to stand, his boots skidding along the slick floor. Kayla slammed her palms to the ground, forcing her Intercessors through the dirt and stone. She then watched them unearth in front of her in the form of hard, white tendrils, raising the pebbles from the wet rocks as they reached for him. Jeremy kicked her Intercessors, the movement forcing him backward, colliding with the wall of the cave.

  In that moment of regained balance, his survival instincts receded while his conscious mind grasped again for control. “Kayla, what the fuck!” His voice was raw, but the cavern allowed his words only a hollow sound. He hadn’t yet recovered his vision, but his arm swung out, almost catching her as he lunged forward.

  She watched his body jerk back, suspended in the air, its hurtling trajectory interrupted. He gasped for breath, and Kayla did the same, her stare fixed on the way his form responded to the pointed ends of bone that held him, as if he was caught in the gleaming talons of some giant bird. His flesh swelled between the sharp crescents that pressed into him, all feverish skin and straining muscles. But the internal combustion of his humanity wasn’t the only force within him. As his energy surged up and threatened to spill over, the darkness that consumed his limbs came to life, lashing out and taking hold of her Intercessors. Kayla’s hands shuddered against the ground. She had the power to penetrate this mountain, but she couldn’t enter him. Her extended awareness was beginning to grow dim, and she felt like she was slipping beneath a pool of tar. She couldn’t allow herself to be swallowed now by those Ruiners. He felt so far away, but she was still within the mountain. She would have to move it.

  The stones that surrounded her flaked off in tiny crystalline shapes as she forced herself deeper into the earth. She let her Intercessors grow barbs, catching rocks as they snaked to the surface, then she willed both materials to gather tightly around what almost still felt like Jeremy. Kayla pulled her weapons back, scraping him against the wall and summoning him to the ground. She called to her bones, bidding them to return, but she felt the crystals clinging to her still, as the boundaries of the two very different surfaces seemed to blur. When she lifted her hands from the ground, she could hear the soft clattering of stones to the earth, paired with a sharp pain in her palms. Her fingers twitched in a failed attempt to form fists, but she shook her head and still moved forward, using her stiff digits to catch her balance as she stumbled to Jeremy’s side.

  She could see him, weakly struggling against the purple stones that tethered him to the wall of the cave. The crystals were cloudy and dense, their subdued glitter lodged in the blackness that surrounded his arms, their jagged edges protruding from his flesh, trailing undulating red lines. As she crouched close to his side, she could make out tiny slivers of white, lacing the stones together. Those rocks gripped him tightly, allowing little movement, and though his head was caught at an awkward angle, his eyes searched for her.

  “This…might be your last mistake…” he murmured, his words fragmented with sharp, pained gasps.

  “Let’s hope so.” When Kayla caught the blue gleam of his eyes from beneath his lids, she forgot the luster of his stone adornments. She let her fingers brush his lashes, travel across the side of his face, and curl around hanging strands of his hair as she grazed his neck. His brow tightened, but that conflict disappeared into a sigh as his eyes closed. She let her hand drop, and then she stood, turning towards the cool light in the distance.

  Behind her, Kayla heard him choke on a broken attempt to laugh. “This changes…nothing. I’ve…found my way back…to you…through worse.”

  His words were faintly carried to her ears, but their meaning was lost in the rumble of beating wings. She looked up when she reached the mouth of the cave, but instead of being greeted with wind and feathers, there were only giant, purple stones, piled sharply in layered chunks to form a tall, steep hill. The sun was rising somewhere behind her, allowing her to see the shimmering purple granite, accented with tufts of green and the somber geometry of ruins. At the very top was a long, flat structure, and although the details of the exterior were simplified by the distance, she was sure the façade would still be austere when she approached the doors. She ran towards the base of the hill, her body weightless. She only had to ascend. There was no past, except the vague memory of anticipation, of longing, of need. She knew she would find gardens enclosed by colonnaded halls. She knew there would be staircases, unfurling like scrolls, and windows that framed the view as if it was an altar’s sacred image. Only the cool marble of this monastery could soothe her burning skin. She would ascend.

  ‘O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I will make your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal, and all your walls of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children…’

  The words were carried along the breeze, finding their way softly to her ears. As she began to climb up the steep path, she felt the verses rising from the cold rock beneath her feet, flooding her legs with brisk energy. That promise, it was Kiera’s hope. These were her steps too, along this ruined road. Kayla grasped at this fragmented vision, but all she could see was dark hair and slender fingers. It was impossible to tell if she was glimpsing her mother’s life before the Eclipse, or if it was her own childhood memory of this place. She paused, kneeling down to scoop a handful of dirt into her palm. Was she ever here before? Small grains of earth sifted through her fingers, leaving a few purple crystals in her tightening fist. She was a part of this place. How many ways did she exist here before now?

  Kayla stood and began wandering upwards again. Her feet moved over splintered rock, roots and debris with confidence, with purpose, as if her body was following an often repeated ritual. The muscles below her shoulders ached, but that pain only quickened her steps.

  ‘…all your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children…’ That’s what all this is for.

  Those delicate fingers were held tightly in a scarred hand. “I don’t have your faith,” he said.

  She could see Kiera clearly now, frustration fitting awkwardly on her peaceful face. “We were children, born without a homeland. We are orphans, who found each other, despite everything. That we’re together now — isn’t that en
ough to build faith on for an eternity? But we can’t let our child come into this kind of world; you know that.”

  “I’m not saying I won’t do it. I just didn’t have any doubts until now. I would have torn the world down before. Now I…now I need to be certain.” Michael wrapped his arms around her, and she happily let herself be enveloped in his embrace, the sigils on his skin pressed to her bare flesh.

  “It will be an adjustment,” she breathed, running her fingers over the dark symbols that marked his body. “Change can be painful. But I’m not afraid of this transformation, because it’s necessary, and for us, it’s natural.”

  “I don’t know. I’ve been thinking…is anything natural for us? We’re not Angels. We’re part human too—”

  “We’re not like them! What do we have to see every day? It’s not Heaven. It’s the drug dealers that hang out by the church, or the sick laying in the street, or the almost healthy ones who are afraid to catch what they have. It’s the grieving families of your friends who shipped out to war and never came back. It’s the bars on the windows, and it’s desperation and squalor and…Michael, it’s our own mothers. What they did to us was out of fear, I know, but this will take all the fear away. Things will be better for the humans too.”

  His fingers gripped her. “Am I any better? What about all the things I did out of fear? Angels aren’t afraid, but that’s because they’re content to follow orders. Is that all we’re doing now?”

  “If you don’t want to follow, then think. Why did he bring us here?”

  Michael closed his eyes. Kayla could feel his awareness dropping through his feet and into the ground. His burden was sinking down, hitting only one barrier before it disappeared beneath the stone.