“Do you see that constellation?” I trace the line of the bow, which ends at the point of the arrow.
“Evaline’s hunt?”
“Is that the name of it?”
Wilder nods.
“Father didn’t know the names of many constellations. And since it was rare for us to see stars on Alyssium, we were better off making pictures with the clouds than the stars. But on the rare occasion the clouds parted, we would seek out the few mentioned in the books Callum brought Father.”
“Your father was close with Callum?”
“My whole family was close with him. My father… my grandfather… He guarded Alyssium for nearly a century. As long as—” I pause at that thought, realizing Callum and Wilder came to Alyssium around the same time for very different reasons.
“It’s fine, Starfire.” Wilder brushes my cheek. “I accepted where I was.”
He shouldn’t have had to. That prison—the nightmares within it—I don’t understand how any Fae leave with their mind intact.
Although, I suppose that’s the point since they’re not meant to leave at all.
Glancing up at the stars, I pinpoint the constellation again. One I sought whenever I could. A guide that made the rest of the realm feel less distant.
Wilder told me his favorite place in Vaelier was anywhere he could see the stars. Looking up now, I can understand why. He spent a hundred years without them.
“Might as well have been longer.”His gaze falls to my cheek.
I swallow hard as my heart starts to race. “Can you tell me the story of Evaline’s hunt?”
“So curious.” Wilder lifts my hand, kissing the back of it.
“I know.” I frown. “Too curious.”
“You can never be too curious, Starfire. Curiosity is the only real way to uncover the truth.”
My cheeks warm at Wilder’s compliment. I’ve spent my life being told my curiosity only gets me into trouble. That it’s dangerous to question things. But as with everything else, Wilder sees me.
He looks up at the stars, and I do the same. “Some say that Evaline’s wisdom was an accident. That the unspeakable gods didn’t offer it as a gift to her, but that she found it herself because of them. Her mate was taken from her in the great war of gods, and she spent millennia seeking her out, searching for any knowledge of her whereabouts among the stars. Evaline traveled to the edges of existence and peered beyond. Fighting great beasts, learning their secrets, upturning entire constellations trying to find her mate.”
“I didn’t know gods had mates.”
“They do. It’s usually how wars begin. Between gods and Fae.”
“Did Evaline find her mate?”
“No, but she found everything else. In her search, she learned all facets of existence. She discovered the secrets of the suns, stars, and constellations. Of all creatures within them. She found everything except for her mate. It was her blessing and her curse.”
“That’s heartbreaking. I can’t imagine finding your mate only to lose them. Seems better to not find them at all.”
Wilder watches me, not responding. His mouth holds a firm line as he glances up to the constellation overhead.
I follow his gaze. “Father used to point to that constellation because it shone the brightest, but he didn’t know the story behind it. Do you see the tip of the arrow and the two stars just beyond it?” I trace the line of the wide V. “He said they looked like my freckles. He said I was cut from the night sky as a blessing to him and this realm.” My chest pangs at the reminder, and I shake my head. “Clearly, he didn’t know the real story.”
“Or he did.” Wilder angles my chin until I’m looking up at him. “You are a star in her own right, Elorie.”
His eyes swirl brighter than the night above us. He makes their beauty pale in comparison. My hands grasp his tunic as he steals a kiss.
If we can’t have forever in this realm, then maybe we can have it in the stars. In this endless night. We can write it in the constellations. A secret between the two of us. Then, when I search the sky years from now, I’ll remember he did exist. That I had Wilder for a moment and that this was real, even if I couldn’t keep him.
My arms wrap around Wilder’s shoulders, and he lifts me from my feet, pulling my legs around him.
