Fall of Ruin and Wrath (Awakening, #1)

Three sōls danced together above the roses as I walked the gardens that evening. I hadn’t ventured too far, able to still hear the music drifting from the lawns of Archwood Manor.

After speaking with Maven, I had searched for Claude, but hadn’t seen him until this evening. There was no chance to talk to him. He was holding a party that likely rivaled what took place during the Feasts. The drive was full of jeweled carriages and the Great Chamber teeming with glittering aristo. I’d spent only a few minutes there, and knew that most had come to catch sight of the lords of Vytrus, and of course, the Prince.

I reached out, running my fingers over the silky petal of a rose. I’d been wrong in my assumption that most of the aristo would abandon the city upon hearing of the impending siege. None of them appeared at all concerned about why they were here, their thoughts consumed with catching a glimpse of the Hyhborn and more.

Which meant none of those in attendance had been with the Hyhborn that morning to prepare for the siege. That wasn’t at all surprising. I still believed that many would be gone once the reality of what was to come settled in.

The Hyhborn weren’t in attendance, and I didn’t know if any of them would eventually show.

I didn’t even know if Thorne had returned to the manor or had come to look for me yet.

One of the sōls dipped down, nearly brushing against my arm before it floated deeper into the roses as I heard Maven’s words echo in my thoughts. That he came for what is his. The warm swirl of tingles rippled across the base of my neck, and that same feeling as before returned. Rightness. Acceptance. I didn’t understand it.

I started walking, unsure if what I felt was from my intuition or not. Having felt only vague premonitions about them before, it was hard to know what fueled the feeling. It was also hard to believe what Maven had said— had suggested.

If she’d spoken the truth, then she was saying that I . . . that I was a caelestia and that was how I’d gained my abilities. Could that be impossible? No. I didn’t know my parents, let alone my ancestry, but Claude had no gifts. I’d never heard of any having abnormal abilities, but both she and Claude spoke of Beylen as if he were different. Divine. As if I were different. Divine. Because we were . . . starborn?

I glanced up at the star-swept sky. Part of me wanted to laugh at the ridiculousness of it. Wouldn’t Thorne have, I don’t know, sensed that I was a caelestia? Wouldn’t Claude have just told me this? Why keep it hidden from me? A horrible thought crossed my mind. Could he have kept it hidden from me because caelestias were automatically accepted into the aristo class? Certain opportunities presented themselves. I could seek education if that was what I wanted. I could own land. Buy a home. Start a business—

“No,” I whispered. Claude wouldn’t have kept that from me just to keep me by his side. If it was true, and I was a caelestia, there would be a damn good reason why Claude wouldn’t have told me.

Unless I was incredibly naive, and I wasn’t. At least, I didn’t think I was.

I walked on for several minutes, stopping when I felt the sudden thickening of the air. The brief, unnatural stillness and then the sharp crescendo of humming insects and chattering night birds. Tiny bumps spread across my arms. Awareness pressed upon me.

Slowly, I turned. The breath I took was unsteady as the swelling motion returned to my chest.

Thorne stood on the walkway, a handful of feet from me, dressed in the black sleeveless tunic and pants. A warm breeze toyed with the loose strands of his hair, tossing them against the cut of his jaw. There were no golden glints of weapons on him, at least that I could see, but their absence made him no less dangerous.

And that damn urge— the one to run, to provoke him into giving chase— rose in me again. My muscles tensed in preparation. It was a wild feeling.

“I’ve been looking for you,” he said, drawing several sōls from the air above.

Clasping my hands together, I held myself still. “Were you?”

“I thought you’d be in my quarters or yours.”

“You mean you thought I would be waiting for your return?”

“Yes,” he answered without hesitation.

“You shouldn’t have.” I turned from him, heart pounding as I forced myself to move slowly. To not run. I didn’t look back, because I . . . I knew he followed. A warm shiver curled down my spine.

“I thought we had come to an agreement on this arrangement,” Thorne said, sounding as if he was only a foot, if that, behind me.

“Had we?”

“We have,” he said. “I recall telling you that I would return as soon as I could.”

“But I do not recall agreeing to sitting around and waiting on your return.”

“I didn’t expect you to sit and wait.”

I halted, and faced him. He was close, having approached me in that unnerving silent way of his. “What did you expect then?”

The blue of his eyes was luminous as he stared down at me. “For you not to hide from me.”

“I wasn’t hiding, Your Grace.” I lifted my chin. “I was simply enjoying an evening stroll.”

One side of his lips curled up. “Or were you simply seeing if I would find you?”

I clamped my mouth shut. Had that been why I’d come out here?

His smile deepened.

That he came for what is his.

Pivoting, I nibbled on my lower lip as I began to walk, the gown I’d changed into before supper whispering along the stone path. “You met with the people of Archwood today?”

“I did.” He fell in step beside me.

I kept my gaze trained ahead. “Did many show?”

“Many but not all that could,” he told me, his arm brushing mine as we walked. “Your baron did.”

“What?” Surprise flickered through me as I looked at him. “He did?”

Thorne chuckled. “I was as surprised as you.”

I blinked, focusing ahead. “Did he train?”

“No, but there wasn’t much in the way of training to be had today, as Rhaz needed to differentiate those who had skill with sword or arrow from those who had none,” he said, and I found it amusing, the shortening of their names. Rhaz. Bas. Thor. “You are likely not surprised to hear that most have no such skill.”

“I’m not. Beyond the guards, I doubt many have lifted a sword,” I said. “The only ones who likely have skill with a bow are the long hunters, and they are likely on a hunt. The rest work in the mines.”

“For the most part, it was only they who showed and were eager to learn,” he commented. “Yet they aren’t the only ones capable of defending the city.”

I knew he spoke of the aristo. “I imagine most of them had yet to awaken from their evening pursuits to join,” I said, still stuck on the fact that Claude had gone. “What did the Baron do?”

“He mostly listened and watched, which is more than I expected from him.”

I glanced at him, stomach dipping when our eyes locked. “He’s not completely irresponsible, you know?”

“We shall see,” he replied. “But I believe he is better suited for Court life than to govern a city.”

What Maven had shared with me flickered through my thoughts. I twisted my fingers, having the sense that whatever I asked, I had to do so carefully. “Is that what most caelestias do?”

“Some. Depends on the Court and how they treat caelestias. Some Hyhborn treat them as if they are . . .”

“A lowborn?” I finished for him.

Thorne nodded.

“How so?”

He didn’t answer immediately. “They are treated more like servants than equals.”

I exhaled slowly. “And does that differ from your Court? I’ve always heard that lowborn were not welcomed.”

“They aren’t.”

My head cut toward him. “And here I was beginning to think that what was said about you not liking lowborn was another false narrative.”

Thorne stared ahead. “The Highlands are fierce lands, na’laa. Dangerous for even a Hyhborn to travel without knowledge.”

I thought about that. I knew that the largest portion of the Wychwoods was in the Highlands. “Are there any caelestias that live there?”