“I usually catch a few hours before dawn rises. My thoughts are too important to silence for too long.”
Something about them pricked the hairs over my body. Not in fear, but certainly with a note of caution.
“You’re looking for your brother, I presume. He’s outside with his dragon, waiting for you.”
I frowned out the window but could hardly make out a thing in the thick dark. The clouds smothered the moon tonight.
“How would he know I was coming?”
“Your father needs to be stopped before the gods truly walk our lands.”
I approached Nadir, staring as if they were a puzzle I couldn’t figure out. “Does the plant you smoke give you clairvoyance?”
Nadir chuckled, the sound turning to a cough as they set the pipe aside. Their vivid green eyes shifted up to me. “There are many gifts in this world; we couldn’t begin to comprehend them all.”
I hadn’t failed to notice how many hidden weapons Nadir harbored around their home. Subtle utensils made of stormstone, lethal to the vampires, or obsidian, deadly to the celestials. Various herbs disguising the cosmic plant, nebulora, also harmful to the celestials. It made me wonder what else theycould be hiding, what other materials they could have discovered or created that only served to harm one species or another.
“You do not trust me,” Nadir said, glancing at me like I was a book to read.
“I wouldn’t trust anyone with an armory disguised as a gentle home.”
Nadir smiled broadly. “Very observant.”
I kept my guard firm around them, but I couldn’t deny they’d been invaluable for shelter for all of us when we needed it most.
Just then, Drystan burst in through the front door. His eyes found me with relief.
“You know where Father is, don’t you?”
“I think so,” I said grimly.
“Then what are we waiting for—let’s go eradicate one foe while we can.”
“He’s heading to North Star.”
That straightened Drystan’s posture.
I added, “If he’s not already there, or worse, already been and achieved what he’d planned.”
Nadir said, “He means to use the Mirror of Passage to summon the Gods of Dusk and Dawn and give them mortal forms long enough for them to kill the star-maiden.”
The gravity of that fate slammed down on us all. Fury boiled in my very bones.
“We need to get there before he does,” Drystan said, already marching out.
I cast one last look at Nadir as I followed my brother out, not entirely at ease leaving Astraea under their roof. But I did trust Zath and the others to protect her fiercely while she was healing and vulnerable.
Outside, we found Nadia by Athebyne, casually stroking the giant dragon’s leg.
“You don’t get to have this fun without me,” she said, mounting by the rope hanging over the saddle.
My flat look was met with Drystan’s shrug. “Another sword hand can’t hurt.”
“She’s your responsibility,” I grumbled.
Drystan smirked, heading toward his dragon. “She’s her own responsibility.”
The island of North Star rose like a dream from the vast expanse of the ocean, its silhouette both serene and imposing against the horizon. Small yet striking, the island was crowned with jagged, mist-cloaked mountains that stretched skyward, their peaks kissed by an eternal shimmer of starlight.
