Princess Robyn saw the broken star the first night it shone, and it kept her awake long into the night. The men in her hunting party all whispered of omens, saying a great weapon had been forged, or all ships in the Dahrry Sea would sink, or a plague was coming, or the harvest would be plentiful. Everyone had a theory. Talon, however, explained that a star had burst, and such things had happened before. The men laughed at his histories.

“I believe you,” Robyn said as they sat before the camp fire that night. “How does a star burst?”

He looked tired from the long ride, and his stringy gold hair was pulled back in a tie and needed a wash. “I do not know. Perhaps it is struck by something greater, or maybe it grew too big and exploded.” He shifted his seat on a log and stretched his legs out. “Anatoly City is not far. We will arrive tomorrow.”

Anxiety rose in Robyn. Gabriel was not so far away now. She could hardly wait to be reunited with him. In no time she would spirit him out of Nolen’s control and he would be free of the Prince.

The last hours of riding the next day were the longest. Robyn ached to see Gabriel, to know he was well, and the weeks apart had made her desire him all the more. She tried not to think of the years spent with only him, but it was all she knew, so she kept drifting back to the memories. They had a dull life once setup in a cottage or cabin, but it was a life she missed already.

She missed his companionship the most. He was quiet when he was alone, so the silences were not awkward but completely normal. She found she could be with him for hours without saying a word and still communicate. He had been a man so far above her, but after she spent almost two years alone with him, she realized there was so much more to him she never knew. She found they could indeed be friends despite his Class and lofty station in life, and as one of the few friends she had, she called him her dearest. She missed the scent of his hair, his knack for leaving his room strewn with clothes, his calloused but gentle hands, the predictable way he played Tiles, and even the way he would use the word ‘Highness’ when he was irritated with her.

Anatoly City peeked over a ridge. Robyn’s heart rose to her throat, and her breath came out as a sharp hiccup. It was a beautiful City with strong walls and yellowed houses. Kilkiny Palace stood in the center shining for all to see for many leagues. They passed apple orchards being picked, fields of yellow squashes, and pumpkin patches ripe for harvest. The few people they passed stopped to share news.

People’s tongues were loose with talk of the broken star, but a fair few had more to say about Prince Nolen’s new pet and the destruction of Telmon Palace in Viorica city. Some said the two were related, but most instead told wild tales of Mages and their powers. A farmer even went so far to say that all Mages should be caged like the Prince’s pet. Calsifer had to bodily drag Robyn away and remove her bow and quiver until they were well out of range.

They were at the City gates before nightfall and found an inn closer to the high-class areas just outside the second wall. Robyn was anxious to go to Gabriel that night, but Calsifer said they needed a day to scout and plan.

She sat glumly in the great room of the Bramble Rose Inn with Andolyn on one side talking to a handsome hunter. She had no taste for the strong mug of ale before her, but she held it to give her something to do. She swirled it like she always used to with Gabriel to create Water energy. Once, she had been separated from him in a market fair, and by swirling her canteen, he found her.

General Calsifer left her hours before night fell to seek out his son, leaving her no one to talk to. A few of her men had sought out supplies and others scattered through the great room, a girl on their laps or playing a condensed version of Divided Kingdoms for coin. Talon had long ago bedded down after a hot meal.

Robyn felt like she was wasting time, but knew she could not be hasty in her attack. She did not have the resources to wage war on the palace. She would have to mount a small, quiet rescue, and hope to the stars it went as planned.
‘No plan survives contact with the enemy,’
Calsifer had told her, so she worked every angle to make sure she was prepared.

The mug of ale swirled flat by the time Calsifer returned with a gangly youth in a hooded mantle. They grabbed a mug of ale and slowly made their way past a loud game of Tiles and a few men kissing ladies who should be finding rooms.

“Zodie, this is Lex,” Calsifer said taking a seat near her. The young man nodded within his cowl and gave a pleasant smile. He did not look as rugged as the General and had more of a fair, average face with short brown hair, and a bold nose like his father. “Lex, this is
she
.”

“It’s—it is a great honor.” He had a handsome smile, if the rest of him was a little plain.

“Lex was telling me of the battle that took your man.”

“You were there?” Robyn asked, a little hesitantly. If he fought to capture Gabriel, he could not be trusted.

Lex nodded. “They call it the Battle of the Stars now. Your Mage saved me.” She liked the way he spoke of Gabriel as hers, so she gave him a little more confidence. He pulled back his cowl to expose the right side of head where the hair was just beginning to grow back. “I was burned and blinded, and he healed me.”

Robyn had seen Gabriel heal people before, and while most Spirit Mages were good, he was
good
. He could reconstruct shattered bones, reform muscles, attach tendons, and form skin to look like no blemish had ever touched it. Healers mended bone, skin and muscle well enough, but he had a special ability to make the result flawless. She had even seen him reconstruct a man’s crushed skull. Though the brain he dared not touch until absolutely necessary, everything else was his playground.

“I could not tell you were injured,” she smiled, swirling her mug. “Tell me, how fares my Gabriel?”

Lex swallowed a draught as he nodded. “He fares, m’lady. Lady Aisling has set him up in her spare quarters.” He nodded again and pinched his lips. There was more he was not telling her.

“Is he…has Prince Nolen….”

“He’s not broken, m’lady. But the Prince tries very hard.”

“Lex,” she said and leaned forward, setting her mug down. “You better tell me everything.”

He nodded, a sign she took for his nervousness, and wet his tongue again. “The Prince tortured him for four days, damn near killed him—pardon my loose tongue—but me and Lady Aisling got him out before lasting damage could be inflicted. Prince Nolen and he went to Viorica, and all I know is the Prince tore most of the throne room down and killed a few dozen people, but Gabriel won’t speak of it. He won’t speak of his tortures neither, but we could tell most of it from his skin and bones—there was
so
much blood it just wasn’t right. When the star broke last night people thought he did it—what with his title as the ‘Star Breaker’—and he was attacked, but your brother and the Prince rescued him before he could be much hurt.”

She nodded thoughtfully, concealing her horror. Gabriel was not broken and that was worth more than all the other information. “Can you help us get him out tomorrow?”

“Sure will, m’lady. I’ll be standing guard outside the Queen’s rooms—switched my post with another soldier—so I’ll get you in.”

“Do not tell him we are coming.”

To her surprise, he raised his brows and threw a look at his father. “But what if….”

Calsifer set his untouched drink down and slid it to his son. “Prince Balien has been getting Gabriel some, ah, sleeping draughts.” He smiled over at Lex. “You’ll just have to make sure
he
doesn’t take any that night.”

“They said your hair was blonde,” Lex remarked and shifted the sword on his hip hidden under a long coat.

“It’s dyed,” she answered. “Is there anything else worth note you can offer me?”

Calsifer and his son both shook their heads, but then Lex perked up. “Gabriel found his father here.”

Her face brightened. “Cordis?” she whispered, putting a hand over her lips. The Mage had been a father to her since losing her own. “Is he well?”

“Quite well. Prince Nolen had him imprisoned, but he’s regaining his strength.”

Her gleeful emotions cut off. “Nolen?
Why
?”

“Don’t rightly know, m’lady. I stay out of Gabriel’s way most hours, so the Prince doesn’t know I’m for him.”

“I will see you rewarded for your actions, Lieutenant. Keep him safe until we can get him out.”

Lex smiled. He had his father’s handsome smile indeed. “I will. Are you to come in through the servant’s quarters or the livery?”

“Oh, there are many other ways into the palace,” she whispered.

Mikelle pushed Gabriel through the palace quickly, taking the darker halls to avoid windows where people gathered to stare skyward. Gabriel found she always hung off his arm when they walked, and if not, she sat or leaned against something. If she was weak somehow she did not show it now, urging him to move faster as they passed a group of guests. “It’s not much further,” she whispered and pushed him down a slender servant’s hall unlit at this hour.

He had seen the broken star shortly after the sun sank, burning brilliantly enough to be seen with the sun’s vestiges of light. Mikelle had visited to sup with him and discuss nonsense, but she worked a few things out of him he was sure she came for. His balcony faced away from the Gray Mountains, so they had gone walking to see the sunset. When the sun finally sank, and he saw the star, almost instantly he felt a growing energy of excitement around him. They had been accosted before he could make it back to his rooms, some with eyes of wonder but most with fear. Servants were uneducated and did not understand the workings of the skies, and what they did not know they feared, much like a man with a deformity or a language unlike their own.

“Our hall is this one,” Mikelle whispered and slowed him. She took a moment to brush off his shoulders and straighten his hair before they stepped into the warmly lit Arconian hallway. It was composed of seventeen rooms, with one grand suite at the end where the Queen stayed, and was decorated in dark green and bronze accents.

Mikelle touched a finger to his dark crimson vest and felt the place where a button should have been. All three had been torn off in his haste to escape the hoard of followers. Several people nearly ripped the shirt off him. To any passerby it would look as though he had been in a fight or a serious romp through the sheets.

Several Arconians stood in a window that illuminated the hall halfway down, so Mikelle made a show of acting foolish and giddy, holding onto a fistful of his shirt and whispering nonsense in his ear. The nonsensical whispering alone made him chuckle, which was the reaction she wanted, and she laughed gaily, catching the attention of the others. A few mouths fell open, and one woman gave him a look that declared she would have him next, but Mikelle quickly steered him into a room and bolted it behind her.

The room was tall and long, with a section for entertaining that led to a wide archway sheltering several beds and the washroom. The hearth already roared, and candles flickered along the windowsills, but the curtains were pulled back to let the starlight in. Three heads popped up as he entered, two over a game of Divided Kingdoms and a third reading in a chair before the window. Lace and Bianji he recognized, but the girl in the chair was new.

“Look what I found,” Mikelle smiled and pushed him in, her hands on his bottom to make him move faster.

Red-haired Bianji crossed the room and took his hands in hers. She put a kiss on his cheek in Arconian fashion and clasped his hands lightly. “Wine?”

“Most definitely.”

Lace, curiously playing with blue tiles, stood and gave him the same greeting. She smelled of rose as she gave him a beaming smile. “Do you feel well after Viorica?” Her voice was so high and sweet it was hard to not like her presence immediately.

“As well as one can be.”

She nodded knowingly. “Come, I must introduce you.” She held his hand as if they were fast friends and led him to the girl in the chair. “This is Shayleen Donell, a Class Five Earth Mage and the finest scholar we have.”

The young girl stood. She was boy-slim in the hips but well-endowed up top, similar to Robyn, but her shoulders were not as strong as his love. She had dark eyes like most Arconians and light brown hair that fell in coarse waves, pulled back atop her head. She smiled sheepishly and pulled at the dark brown gown she wore.

“Whatever Lace says, she likely lies,” she said in Arconian. Gabriel was surprised she did not speak his tongue.

“Shayleen spends most of her time in the libraries and has uncovered a few tidbits on the Castrofax for you. She has been researching since we arrived and is a most well-versed girl.”

Shayleen pointed a graceful finger to the broken star. “Did you do that?”

“The Slayer of Stars is staying the night with us!” Mikelle declared and twirled a hand as if conducting the gleeful cheer that sprung up. “He will be staying in
my
bed.”

“I would much rather the floor before the hearth.”

“Like a common servant?” Bianji scolded as Lace chimed, “Yes, Mikelle steals the sheets.” The redhead handed him a goblet of wine.

BOOK: Breaking Stars (Book 2)

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