Page 253 of Starside

A beast is landing right next to my dragon.

Instead of reaching for my sword, I nearly fall to my knees.

Zane. He’s on the back of a massive winged creature. My eyes burn. He did it. He claimed it.

A glorious Helmhawk.

His smile transforms his entire face. In a moment, he’s on the ground, then pulling me into a crushing hug. “You’re—you’re alive,” he says, staggering back from me, eyes wide with wonder.

“So are you.” I frown. “Did you … go in already?”

He nods. “I got my cup.” He pulls a silver chalice from his pack. It’s filled with shimmering liquid that somehow doesn’t spill. “I got here about a week ago. I’ve stayed to get anything else I can, but this place is like a labyrinth. I was just leaving, when I saw you.”

I throw my arms around him again. Finally, some good news. Something positive from this deadly journey.

It reminds me of the bad. Slowly, I pull back. “Kira—Kira is dead.”

The news melts the smile off his face. He curses. “I had hoped … I had … hope, I guess.”

“Me too.” His eyes meet mine, and my voice is poison. “It was Cadoc. He hunted her down, and—”

His eyes flare with something at the mention of that name.

“What is it?” I ask.

Zane’s expression is serious. “He was just here, a few hours ago. He had a cup.” Fuck. He actually made it. The bastard. Zane’s gaze is hard. “I saw him drink it, Aris.”

Silence.

“Did he—did he …”

“He was screaming. His dragon took him away. But … he was alive.”

No. Cadoc—Cadoc cannot be immortal. I tense, knowing what that will mean for the other side. For any world with a person as terrible as him in it.

But that’s not my problem. It shouldn’t be.

Wrath still racing through my veins, my eyes dip to the chalice in his hands. The liquid inside swirls silver, like a cup full of stars.

“What are you going to do with it?” I ask.

He doesn’t hesitate for a moment. “I’m going to take it home and pour it on our land. I’m going to save my mountain and everyone who lives there.”

I believe him. He’ll make it back to the gates on his Helmhawk, if he’s quick. “Go, then. Go save them all.”

Zane hugs me. One last embrace.

His hand grips the side of my arm, grasping the new, sparkling metal. “It was nice to meet you, Aris,” he says. I know he means it.

“And it was nice meeting you, Zane,” I say. I watch him mount his massive bird and disappear into the sparkling light.

My blood pounds with fury and grief and, most of all, purpose.

“Stay here,” I tell my dragon. “And if I don’t come out, know that knowing you was the greatest gift of all.” I press my head to hers.

Then I turn toward the arch and the end of my journey.

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