CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
The Messenger and the ruling gods were never heard from again. The People of the Stars and humans left their home, traveling to a new land, where they were welcomed by a world full of power and different races.
—Fabia’s Fables, “People of the Stars.”
“Surprise!” Vienah squealed, standing at the front of the small group and holding what looked to be a small pie, dotted with a simple decoration of dried berries on the top. A name day pastry.
“Happy Birthday, Lyvia,” Ronan said, arms splayed out wide, grinning ear to ear. “You didn’t think I’d forget, did you?”
My heart squeezed as I took in the little group, beads of liquid forming in the corners of my eyes. Of all places, of all the people...
Vulcan’s eyes softened, and he offered me a half-smile, the most I’d ever get from him.
Nerissa rolled her eyes at Ronan, but a shadow of a grin hovered over her lips. She gave me a small nod. “He insisted.”
“And that you skip your morning centering exercises,” Vulcan growled, throwing a glare at Ronan.
“I baked the pastry,” Vienah noted, stepping forward and holding out the small pie. “It’s not exactly what you’d find in Sultira, but it’s?—"
“It’s perfect,” I cut in, eyes watering as Vienah placed the pie in my hands. “Thank you. This… This means a lot.” My smile was genuine as I took in the four of them before Ronan squeezed my shoulder, and I thoroughly devoured my pie.
My smile had yetto disappear as Vienah and I made our way deeper into the village later that morning. The celebration of Maadon was well underway. Elders stood outside the icy buildings, adding scenes from the past year to the intricate carvings with small picks.
Large roasts had been carried in by the massive, tusked beasts that the Rhashtai had domesticated. A savory, salty scent wafted through the wide lanes of the village.
We returned to find Astraeus murmuring something to the guard outside of my ice chamber. A throaty laugh escaped his lips, and I caught a wide grin on Astraeus’s face.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, eyeing the guard as he made his way down the road, still chuckling beneath his breath.
“Telling dirty jokes,” he drawled, winking at me. “Does the birthday girl want to hear one?”
Pink tinged my cheeks, deepening as I bristled. “No.”
“I’m offended I didn’t get an invite.” He placed a hand on his chest.
“What do you want, Astrae—” I began before I was cut off, the breath sucked from my lungs and replaced with a wild wind as strange, flat gray clouds cleared beneath my hooves.
My heart plummeted as Tiberius’s view filled the space behind my eyes. Thousands of ships spread across a wide strip of blue.
Where is this?I asked in a panic.
Atrulean Sea,he answered, his mind’s voice hoarse and weary.Sailing south.
The space between my shoulder blades burned as he beat his massive wings against an updraft, and he soared back into the clouds. I gasped as he cut off the cast. Vienah’s hands were at my shoulders, and my back pressed against something hard and warm...
I blanched, wiggling out of Astraeus’s arms and gaining my feet. Had I collapsed?
“Ships,” I said, breathless. “Heading south. It has to be Daimos.”
“Did Tiberius say anything else?” Vienah asked. Her face was pale, and her brown eyes were wide with concern. “When will they get there? We have to warn them!”
I shook my head. “He could barely hold the cast. He’s weak. He’s been flying too long.”
Concern squeezed the center of my chest as if I could still feel Tiberius’s phantom wings. Exhausted. He was utterly exhausted.
“Get the others,” I said quietly. “We have plans to make.”
Hours later,hundreds of Rhashtai, bedecked in ornamental bones and beads, gathered in the icy amphitheater at the center of the village. Xenelpha stood at the bottom of the arena, armswide as she quieted the excited crowd with a single sweep of her large staff. A hush fell, and the matron began to speak.
