Page 168 of Starside

But he’s talking about my hair—it’s a liability in a fight.

“I’ll put it up before we leave,” I whisper.

He leans in. I stop breathing. He’s so close, curved over me against this tree. His fingers are still tangled in my hair.

I don’t understand him. He told me not to get near him again, but here he is, pressed against me. Worse, I don’t mind it. No. I want him closer.

He doesn’t have his mask on. Those lips … they could be against mine in half a moment. My back arches slightly, meeting him halfway there.

“Pity,” he finally says. I barely hear the word. Then he drops his hand, sheaths his blade in one smooth motion, and turns away.

30

At first light, I visit the blacksmith. He’s a tall, regally dressed man with perfect posture, dark skin, and long, lean limbs. Just like everyone else in this magical place, he emits a subtle glow. He eyes me warily, though that might be due to the hole in his window. And the matching one right next to it.

His forge is built into the base of a massive tree. Swords with clear, crystal blades cover the walls. Silver speckles float within them like trapped stars.

“You don’t use metal,” I say, my lips parting in disbelief. “You don’t actually … forge.” I look around and barely see any of the materials that were crucial to making blades back home.

“There are different ways to forge weapons,” he says smoothly. “And various strengths to different materials.”

He motions at the wall. “Faeling swords are made of pure, distilled starlight.”

Incredible. I would have never thought something like that was even possible.

“How does one forge starlight?” I ask, marveling at the material. In response to my wonder, he motions toward his worktable.

There, at the center, sits an anvil. It glows more than anything in this Traveling City. Beside it sits an equally stunning silver hammer.

“My bloodline is one of only two blacksmiths blessed by the original god,” he says. Original god? I’ve never heard that before. “I claimed these tools—and they claimed me—just as your sword claimed you.”

His skills must be incredibly valued. I can feel the strength radiating off the starblades.

I rub my fingers over the strange material, and the specks of silver stir beneath my touch. “And those?” I ask, jutting my chin toward the opposite end of his workshop.

One wall isn’t filled with blades at all—but with various objects. Bones. Feathers. Sheets of strange metal. Crystals. Gemstones.

“We are the keepers of many of the most powerful materials on Starside. Those who come upon us often leave us with their most treasured possessions. The ones they don’t want anyone else to find.”

It makes sense. I stop in front of a long feather made up of shades of red, orange, and yellow, like a slice of sunrise. “What is this?” I ask, though I already know.

“That’s a phoenix feather.”

My soul snags on a hundred memories. All the times I was called that very creature, by someone I cared for very much. My voice is rough with emotion. “They’re real, then?”

The blacksmith nods. “Real, but rare. One hasn’t been seen in a long time.” He runs a finger down the middle of the feather. “Which makes this all but priceless. And dangerous, should it be forged into the center of a sword.” Right. Because bits of powerful creatures can create weapons that draw from their magic.

“So a sword made with this would have powers?”

He dips his head again. “If it’s forged correctly, then yes. Blades that possess magical abilities are called skylarks. It means they are more than just their metal.” Skylark. Even the word seems to contain a whisper of power.

I want to ask him a thousand questions. I want to stay here and shadow him, the same way I did Stellan. But light is beginning to fill the forge. My time is up.

I present my blade. “Is this … a skylark?” The hunter hinted as much, but I need confirmation from an expert.

He gently takes it in his hands, and it’s strange to see anyone else holding my metal. But he’s careful, turning it slightly. I imagine he’s already studied it, when we were first saved.

“No,” he finally says.