“Always hated Ivonne,” Ehlaria scoffed beside Astra.
“I held a council meeting and distracted them long enough for Ameera to seduce a clerk—you know what, maybe not so much detail,” Astra added as Ameera’s eyes widened. “Anyway, she borrowed Ivonne’s notes and Lux found the passage about Shadow Bargaining. That tipped us off that Ivonne was on the hunt for dirt on Selenia.”
Astra was on a roll now, her mother’s eyes widening with every word she dropped before her.
“On our way home, a Solarian soldier attacked us. He almost killed Lux, and something inside me snapped. I immolated him without even touching him. We both know my fire has been an issue when emotions run high, but I’d never purposefully tried to do anything with it before. So we started training. Lux helped me find my limits when he wasn’t busy flirting with Father,” Astra laughed.
“I needed you not to hate me, Nayson,” Lux sighed. “I knew from the second we touched in Celene it was over for us. It was just a matter of time. I needed Nayson on my side so your mother wouldn’t have me beheaded when she returned.”
Astra grinned. “Fair enough. We visited Ehlaria during the Equinox. I realize now that she was oath-bound not to tell me anything, but she hinted that my fire was actually sunlight, which set us down a whole other path. And then one of us got a little pissy—I won’t name names—and fired a spark at the other, knocking the moonstone amulet off. And that’s when all Nether broke loose.”
“You both needed a push. I knew the looking glass would set you off.”
A warm smile melted over Ehlaria’s lavender complexion, reflected by her own, she was sure.
Astra chuckled. Passion was predictable when you’d seen it boil over for centuries, she supposed.
“When you came back from Pluto with Arcas, I was floored that you would throw Lunelle to our enemies. I see now that you were feeding a fire you’d been tending for decades. You needed me to make a final stand, and my sister’s happiness was one thing I’d never risk. Mirquios and Lux took me to Mercury to see the Sun, and I met Maeve and then Lunelle waltzed in. In pants!”
Oestera released a laugh, a melodic sound she’d been starved of for too long.
“They broke their news to me and that’s when I knew I had to do something drastic. I couldn’t let my sister live her whole life shackled to some pouty prince when she had real, true love on the table. I tried to ask you about The Flare, but you shut me down so quickly.”
Oestera held her wrist up again, the dull scar pale in the morning moonlight. “I knew what you were asking, but I couldn’t get into it. I hoped if I showed you the fear, the genuine anguish, it might motivate you to seek the truth in other avenues.”
Astra nodded, remembering the pain in her words.
“I went within that night and watched Leona and Solan’s last few moments together, which was awful. But it did reveal how little we actually knew of our own history.”
Astra turned toward her mother, reaching for her hands again.
“And I watched you save a little Solarian boy before The Flare could kill you both, but it didn’t register at the time who that might have been.”
Lux’s hand grazed her shoulder, a soft calm from his touch soothing the heavy feelings weighing on her.
“On my way to the Rift, I saw Selenia in Solaris, our eyes locked. I wasn’t sure what was real or just a dream when I was in the Astral. I didn’t expect her to come looking for me.”
Oestera smiled, holding up her hand. “Do you remember that I asked you about that dress you were wearing?”
Astra nodded.
“I thought all these years that Leona’s ghost had screamed at me to run. You just look so much like her. But you were there, you yelled at me.”
“Yes,” Astra gasped. “That was me!”
“A Light Goddess, a Shadow Goddess, an astral traveler… what can’t you do?” Oestera’s eyes warmed as she laughed.
“Wait patiently for anything,” Lux snorted.
Ameera piped up, “She’s not very good at math.”
Astra rolled her eyes, but she laughed despite herself.
“When I jumped into the Rift, I got stuck. I couldn’t find my way up, but Lux pulled me out. The Tether disappeared when I went within, so he came looking for me. We were enjoying a pleasant dream in the Earthen Court when I was kidnapped by?—”
“Me.” Nine sets of eyes snapped toward the end of the room, where a pale figure in all black leaned against the wall, silently watching.
“Alastair,” Oestera cooed, holding her hands out to him. He embraced her warmly, her lips brushing against his cheek as he sat beside her. Lux tensed against Astra, his guard immediately up.
