“Welcome everyone!” Oestera rose, stepping forward as heads whipped in her direction. “Thank you so much for joining us on this most sacred night, celebrating centuries of tradition. For our visiting friends, a Lunar heir’s trial is not just a feat of strength or endurance, but a symbolic gesture between her and her future partner, demonstrating they are equally matched and equally capable when faced with adversity.
“This morning, in the temple, our champions were separated from their Shadows, the piece of them that holds their darkest qualities, the hardest parts of themselves to look at. The most powerful parts of themselves. They offered their Shadows to the Nether Queen herself in a ceremony few ever undertake—she has them in safekeeping. To complete this rite, they’ll have to descend into the Court Below and reunite with their Shadows, through whatever means necessary. They’ll rely on their Intuition, their empathy, and their magic to complete their task. The first heir and champion to return will be crowned Queen and King of the Lunar Court.”
Oestera looked to her left where Lunelle stared stone-faced, her heart racing. Blood-red fear pounded against her chest, but her face displayed none of it. She’d trained for this day for years.
Mirquios and Arcas flanked Lux on the platform near the Rift, tension rolling off them.
“Whenever you’re ready, dear.”
Lunelle drew in a deep breath and Astra knew this was her only chance. Everyone would be distracted as they watched Lunelle cross the garden.
She sent her sister a quick message. See ya in there, Ice Queen.
Lunelle’s smile curved slightly as she took her first step across the crowded garden.
Don’t forget to stick your landing, Fire Queen.
Astra slipped away, only Nayson’s quick glance clocking her as she darted behind the hedgerow, skirting the withering moonblossoms as she pumped her legs. As she ran, the tension on the Tether pulled with every thump of her feet against the forest floor.
She did not give herself the chance to break or hesitate at the rippling edge as she leaped through the Rift’s smokey barrier.
She landed in the cosmic river with a soft twist, her eyes searching for the obsidian thread that would pull her down to the Court Below. She caught sight of it between brilliant blues and violets, wrapping her fingers over the shadowy cord as the rest of the courts whirled by.
By dawn, the thread would be gone again until Spring.
She sailed past the Outer Courts Gate and watched as the Rift darkened into a deep, purple haze consuming the edges. A hundred paces ahead, a black stone gate loomed, absorbing any remaining light from threads that seemed to originate from the gate’s gaping mouth.
Or perhaps it was where they ended.
Her feet twitched as she braced herself, a decision she regretted as soon as she hit the slippery sand. She’d expected something more solid. A pair of steady hands reached for her shoulders, righting her as she oriented herself in the murky haze of the Court Below.
Lux hovered behind her, his chest locked down, a reminder that they had no idea what they might encounter here.
She worked to build the same iron wall around her own chest.
“I thought I told you to stick your landing,” Lunelle said, glancing around at the desolate stretch of muted gray dunes.
“She never roots into her knees?—”
Astra’s glare silenced the commander. “Lunelle said it!”
She brushed him off. “Where’s the prince?”
“Which one?” Mirquios snorted, eyeing his best friend.
“That one,” Lunelle pointed to a blue streak blazing a path into the dune below. “He took off as soon as he landed. Before we go…” She reached for Astra’s forearm, pulling her close and searching her eyes. “Just in case…”
“Do not ‘just in case’ me!” She pulled her arm away from Lunelle, frowning. “I need you on your queen shit, Lu, not your just-in-case shit.”
“Astra,” she said sternly, her jaw set as the sands beneath them whipped around their calves. “If anything happens to me, keep going. I mean it, don’t come back for me.”
“Lunelle!” she groaned.
“Promise me,” she said, the desperation in her chest so intense she could hardly breathe.
“No!” A vision of Lunelle’s coronation robes resting on Astra’s shoulders lit up her mind, sending a wave of agony over her muscles.
“Promise,” she insisted, her eyes locked on Astra’s. “The rebellion will keep spinning without me, but without you...”
