Page 68 of Born of Starlight
I had heard various versions of the story—in texts, from my Sisters. All just as far-fetched as this one. Fen looked haunted—his face had slackened as he stared out into the orchards.
“What’s wrong?” My voice sounded weak from the exhaustion of crying.
Fen shook his head slowly. “Did she ever claim you, to your knowledge?” His words were soft, curious, but not prying.
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “If she had, couldn’t she have prevented me from leaving or called me back? Firose invested so much time in my learning. Maybe she condoned this journey—maybe I needed to see this world to truly understand her plans for me.”
Fen shook his head, but he didn’t respond or look at me.
“Where is the Egress?” I lifted myself upright and out of his arms and dusted my breeches and robe.
“You still want to goback?” Fen gawked up at me from the ground. A look of betrayal crossed his features before Emmerick stood and offered him a hand.
We’d come too far now to go back, too far to let my fear of the Sisterhood lead us astray from our mission to get to Luz.
“How else will we make a quick passage to Luz? And how else will I getanswers?” I asked.
Fen seemed uneasy, but after I took Emmerick’s offered hand and got up, Fen motioned us to follow him toward the estate door. When he pushed, the rotting wood creaked on its hinges before opening in a burst of dust.
Rays of sunlight peeked through crumbled holes in the ceiling. Inside, it wasn’t much to look at—furniture had long ago been removed. Structural features like fireplaces and staircases remained, but not much else discerned it from any other ruin.
Fen approached a seemingly solid wall and placed a hand against the stone. The wall glowed red beneath his fingertips and suddenly began to move.
“It only opens at the touch of members of my family,” Fen explained.No wonder he had been so sure that this Egress would not have been destroyed.
Stone by stone, the wall opened to reveal a depthless space—a hallway so long that the eye couldn’t meet its end.
“After you,” Emmerick said as he leaned away from the moving brick with a furrowed brow.
I stepped inside, creating a blue flame in my palm to light the way for us.
“The 55th door on the right side,” Fen said quietly. He still looked uncertain, calculating something. His posture was rigid, and any trace of warmth was gone from his demeanor.
So many doors—the hallway seemed to go on for miles.
“What were they all for?” I asked.
“During the Great Wars, when dark magic was coming under scrutiny, my family housed those looking for refuge here.”
Emmerick’s brow furrowed deeper. “On the night we met, you told me that you feared what would happen if those in the Wastelands were to get out—why? If dark magic-wielders weren’t truly a threat, why fear them?”
“Not everyone sentenced to their fate in the Wastelands was a monster. Not everyone deserved it. Some have every right to be angry. I don’t fear them for them using dark magic—I fear for you, being defenseless against it. Any form of magic can be used for evil. Just as any form can be used for good.”
My mind wandered back to the plum trees outside, charmed to feed the needy, to the endless row of doors that housed refugees.Good people, magic-wielders helping their own.My head spun.
Luckily Fenris knew the way, and stopped when we reached the 55th door on the right, because I’d lost count.
I opened the door to reveal a small space big enough for only two of us. It would be best if I went first in case my sisters awaited on the other side. But leaving the warlock to the Commander felt risky. Fenris had agreed in blood not to run, but that magic was flimsy.If I left them here, would he be obligated to follow?
“I’ll go first, and you two follow. Alright?” I said.
Fenris refused to meet my gaze but nodded, adding to the pit in my stomach. I turned to Emmerick.
“It will just feel like the blink of an eye, like falling into a brief sleep and waking up somewhere else.”
Emmerick assessed the closet-sized room uneasily. I stepped inside, looking between the two of them. Fen was standing stiff with unreadable intensity.Do not let this be goodbye.
“Central Tower.” Once commanded, the Egress pulled me away.
