Page 13 of A Sea of Fate and Starfire

I unclasped the knife’s sheath as well, discarding the blade and drinking seawater like a shot of whiskey, sharp and silvery over my tongue, a hint of starry smoke down my split throat. I cleared it loudly, throwing back my head to catch the remaining beads as they dribbled free.

I cleared my throat again, reaching a shaking hand to the steel I’d thrown. “All right,” I croaked. “Lead on.”

Death sewed us through the cosmos in wide arcs and steep hills, a needle guiding silver thread. I churned after him, ducking under burning stars, choking back the taste of ash and stone. Until the haze spit us out, and clear skies opened before us. I glanced over my shoulder as the path wound to the side wide enough to gaze past the storm. Aalto called me like a beacon, the gleaming star almost at the top. Beyond us, at the end of our trail, the cratered crust of a moon floated in an ocean of starlight.

A veil shivered through the air around the moon. A luminous ocean crashing against shores of gleaming silver.

Perpetuum.

I burst toward it. And the mend Love had placed on my leg gave out. I’d forgotten about it under the warfare of the shooting stars. It collapsed under my weight, sending me sideways into the dust, firing pain in sharp rods through my bone. Death raced under me as I fell off the edge of the road, dust gathering to catch me in a net below. Frustrated tears sprang from my eyes as I climbed back up, arms shaking, my leg useless. I sat on the fringe, panting through gritted teeth.

Death lowered himself to the dust at my side almost like a housecat.

Dull fire lanced through my leg as I turned my foot, testing the boundaries of my range of motion. I tried to push myself upright. It immediately crumpled beneath me.

I tried again. And again. And folded each time, dropping onto the silver trail, sliding back into Death’s net. Anger trickled through my veins, warming my blood at each soft pound of my heart. Death watched as I staggered to my feet one last time.

The star almost at the top of Aalto’s circlet throbbed in the sky.

I met Death’s eyes. “Can you help me?”

But he just gazed at me, patient and kind.

With a low growl, I pushed to my knees and crawled, my leg dragging behind me. Dust ventured into my mouth and eyes. I sent small plumes of it airborne in the wake of my hands, the current within me slow and vicious. Death followed, a silent shadow at my side.

Precious minutes passed. My chest heaved, the only sound amongst the distant stars other than the soft stroke of Death’s wings. But slowly the familiar whoosh of a tide beckoned my attention forward.

I’d never make it in time while crawling.

My teeth ground together. I pushed through the fine dust, grunting and growling, ignoring the burn every movement sent into my lame leg. The star at the top of my timepiece twinkled, almost in its ending position at the top.

The last few minutes of the third day.

Rolling onto a hip, I gazed down at my legs. Burns covered them both, the flesh of my right leg fractured just above my ankle in a sickening angle. The star I’d been watching flashed, fully aligned with the one below it. Once. Twice.

I was down to moments.

I screamed as I stood, fresh tears carving tracks through the grime on my cheeks. And then I ran. Fractured starlight broke softly through the boundaries of Perpetuum, refracting below as it slowly spiraled away.

Starlight dusted my eyes. Up my nose and down my throat. My legs carried me forward through dull fire, and I reached the edge of the trail, which flattened into a wide beach.

The star flashed. Six.

Five.

Steps. Mere steps, and I’d reach it.

Four.

A veil floated ahead. An eternity of stars sat in the distance, but here, just beyond the veil, color waited. Hiding like a painting under a sheer tapestry. Shining waves and lush beaches, golden warmth and light. A shape stood on either side of my path, tall and strong, peering at me from behind the silver curtain.

My heart skipped.

Three.

I forced my foot forward, trembling over the scream and fire in my blood. My opposite foot followed, and I bit back a yelp as I rushed to transfer my weight back again.

Two.