Metal walls roll up from either side of the bed and seal around Stan, enclosing him in a Space capsule. Eurek inputs a sequence, and the whole thing tips up until it’s perfectly vertical, like a rocket.
Eurek rests a hand on the metal and says, “Go in peace, brother.”
Then he stands back, and the rest of us do the same, right as a blast of fire booms out, and the capsule shoots into the sky. My robes flutter as it goes, and in seconds it disappears among the stars.
I love you so much, Stan.
I’m sorry for failing you.
But we’ll be together again soon.
15
LIKE SAGITTARIANS, ARIEANS CELEBRATE DEATH—they don’t mourn it. So there’s a huge party following the Ascension, and it’s exactly what I was counting on.
Red bonfires spring up all around us, illuminating the night. Since everything has been so tense until now, most Zodai are already drunk within the first hour. Raucous music blares through the clearing, and the party has an “end of the worlds” feel to it—like no one’s sure they’ll ever laugh or dance or kiss again after tonight, so they’re getting their fill.
Pandora stands close to me while Hysan and Mathias fetch us drinks. “Whatever you’re planning, let me help you,” she says the instant the guys disappear.
My gut clenches with alarm. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’ve been secretive all day. Hysan can tell something’s up.” The deep purple of her robe makes her violet irises pop. “I’m offering you my help because I think you need it.”
“I’m fine,” I say too quickly. Then I turn away from her and distract myself by watching the tables of food that Majors are carrying over from the closest keep’s kitchen.
It seems like any Zodai who aren’t drinking or dancing or hooking up are leaping into the cobalt sea or standing in the shallows of the Everblaze. A tall Ariean girl enters the black flames, her eyes closed and head tipped up to the sky; I count off the seconds, and when I get to thirteen, she jumps back out like she’s been burned.
There are no visible scars, but she’s clutching her chest like the fire is inside. When she looks up, she spots me.
“Rho!” she shouts over the loud music, and as she bounds over, I recognize the youngest healer—the one who was eager to summon Hysan for me. “I’m so sorry about your brother. Can I get you anything?”
“Hysan’s on it.”
Her brown eyes light up and grow even larger. “I’m so glad you guys found each other! He was so worried about you—I swear, I’ve never seen anyone so distraught before. Just watching him as he watched over you was enough to break even an Ariean’s hard heart—”
“What were you doing in there?” I ask, cutting her off and jutting my chin at the fire. I can’t hear another word about how perfect Hysan is; not when I alone am keeper of his secrets.
“Oh, that,” she says, shrugging. “I was trying to get a vision, but it’s impossible. I can count on both hands the number of Arieans in history who’ve managed it. They’re legendary.”
Hysan and Mathias come up behind her, and they each hand a drink to Pandora and me. “Hi, Valea,” says Hysan, greeting the Ariean. “Can I get you something?”
When the healer looks at him, she freezes like a prisoner in The Bellow whose mobility has been suspended. “I—I—sorry, I mean no, I mean thank you!”
Her face looks radioactive, but Hysan gallantly pretends not to notice the effect he’s having on her. “Let me introduce you to some friends,” he says, and as Valea trades the hand touch with Mathias and Pandora, I watch Gamba step into the Everblaze.
Tendrils of fire reach up and engulf her brown robe until she’s barely visible through the black flames. I count off the seconds, but when I get to thirty, she’s still inside. I haven’t seen anyone endure it that long.
When she finally reappears, she looks pallid and out of breath, and I wonder if she Saw anything.
She turns to me suddenly, like she feels my stare, and we hold each other’s gaze as she walks over to where I’m standing. “Wandering Star. May I have a word?”
I hand off my untouched drink to Valea, and I don’t offer her or my friends any explanation as I follow Gamba to the tree line where the forest grows denser. Once the music from the party sounds faint, she stops walking and asks, “So what’s the plan to save our mother?”
“Tell me about her.”
Her troubled expression slackens, like she’s taken aback by the question. “About Mom?” I nod. “What do you want to know?”
“What was she like with you?”
“Insightful. Tough. Protective.” She recites adjectives like she’s reading a report, not describing a beloved parent. “Honest—”
“Honest?” I almost laugh.
“She told me everything. She was my mother by choice, not chance.”
Even though the subject we’re discussing couldn’t be more personal, she still speaks in even, measured phrases, like this is an intellectual exercise. And I feel like in this girl I’m seeing who I might have become if Mom had raised me.
“What’s everything?” I challenge.
“I know her mom was an imbalanced Riser, and she had to fight her for her freedom. I know the night she ran away from her childhood home was the first time she Saw herself Rising. I know that to this day she doesn’t know her mother’s fate.”
I try to interrupt, but my brain feels frozen, like my thoughts can’t move beyond this moment. Gamba goes on, and I have no idea if she’s aware of how much her words are affecting me because I’m not sure she’s capable of comprehending emotions.
If she did have feelings once, Mom drilled them out of her.
“I also know that she was always going to abandon you and your brother and your dad. To protect you, in case she turned out to be too much like her own mother.”
I can hardly breathe, much less respond. Mom trusted her.
Gamba chose Mom, and Mom chose her back.
“She’s your mother,” I say at last. “You save her.”
? ? ?
The music grows louder as I walk away from Gamba, and I dig my hand under my robe’s neckline and activate the Veil collar.
I have to force myself to wall off thoughts of my dysfunctional family so I can focus on tonight. I can’t let my mother derail me anymore—Gamba can worry about rescuing her. After all, she’s the daughter Kassandra wanted.
When I return to the party, people’s guards are down, but there’s still tension in the air. Everyone is too ready to switch into Zodai mode at the first sign of trouble. I spy Skarlet in the crowd chugging drinks with a couple of male Majors, and my lip curls—the perfect fuse to set off.
As I make my way over, I nearly topple into Mathias and Pandora, who are filling their plates with food. “I think that’s enough, thanks,” says Pandora as Mathias keeps piling her plate with desserts.
“Don’t be shy,” he says, adding yet another chocolate treat to her teetering stack. “I saw what you put away after last night’s meeting.”
Pandora’s eyes grow so large that they’re practically bulging out of her head. “What do you mean by that?”
“Just that you have a weakness for sweet things,” he says, popping a star-shaped candy into his mouth.