Astra leaned away, Lux’s face stoic as heat rolled off him. “Goodbye, Alastair.”
“Good luck, Fire Queen.” He tossed one last glare toward Lux, who reached his hand out for her, not wasting a second more as he crashed them through the trees and into the Rift, clutching his hand around an aventurine thread as Astra held her breath.
Chapter
Forty
“You found her!”
Lunelle’s voice echoed off the halls of the Mercurian palace as they landed at the gate and ducked inside. Lux dropped Astra’s hand as they rounded the corner and Lunelle’s arms collided around her sister’s shoulders.
“Are you hurt? Who took you? How did you find her?” She directed her last question to Lux, who hadn’t spoken since leaving the Court Above.
“I’m fine,” Astra insisted as she struggled against Lunelle’s grasp.
She dragged Astra down the hall and into a lush library. Red tapestries and carpet glowed under the sunlight trickling in through the windows—the scent of something herbal rose to Astra’s senses. Ameera perched beside a table overflowing with pastries and fruit, nervously picking at grapes the same color as her concern.
“I’m fine,” Astra said again, easing everyone’s tension. She felt a sharp tug at her chest as the commander crossed the room, the unexpected pull stealing her breath. Her eyes flew toward him, but the pain was gone almost as quickly. She watched his fingers fasten the leather cord around his neck. Beams of Sun brightened his dark countenance, but not enough to comfort her.
“I cannot believe I let this happen.” Lunelle’s chest was a pit of black loathing. “Anyone could have grabbed you. I told you she shouldn’t be in the Rift!”
“You sound like Mother.”
Lunelle stopped pacing, a flare of bright red resentment blaring within her chest.
“Sorry,” Astra apologized. “But I wasn’t in the Rift. I was dreaming, Lunelle. It could have happened anywhere.”
“You were gone for hours! The Lunar Court will awaken any moment and we’re lucky we aren’t bringing back a corpse!”
Astra flopped onto a chaise lounge. She’d forgotten how little she was wearing until the embroidered cushions touched her exposed back.
“I attended a ball with a bunch of deities and drank some wine. That’s a Tuesday in the Lunar Court.”
Mirquios snorted in the corner. A quick dart of Lunelle’s eyes wiped the smirk from his lips.
“What did Selenia want?” Ameera asked. It was the first question she wanted to answer since Lux had dragged her back into the Rift.
“To make a deal.”
Lunelle kneeled in front of her, searching her sister’s gaze. “What did you do?”
“She wants me to go to the Court Below with you and Arcas to retrieve something for her,” she said as if describing the weather in the Court Above. “And Mirq.”
Lunelle gasped, resting her hands on her silver silk-coated knees.
“Mirquios?”
“In exchange for my help, Selenia will nominate Mirquios as a champion.”
“What—no. No!” Lunelle argued. Lux’s body stiffened in the window, his fingers clasped around the trim.
“Lu, it’s the solution we’ve been looking for. If Selenia nominates Mirquios, no one can argue. Not Mother. Not Arcas. It will be seen as a formal decision of the gods.”
“It’s too dangerous!”
“You’ll both be there with me,” she shrugged. “When I’m not knocked unconscious by an Ascended god, I actually handle myself quite well.”
Lunelle leaped forward from the ground, throwing her arms around Astra’s shoulders, a sob ripping from her chest.
