Astra’s eyes settled on her sister, glimmering with a love that no one in all the realms could ever hold for Lunelle—a love that she herself knew she’d put before any man, Tether and ties be damned.
“Let’s do this,” Astra said, a slow grin spreading over her lips.
ChapterThirty-Four
Astra glanced at Lunelle from the side as she stared into the murky depths of the woods. They hadn’t moved far from the bloodstained patch of forest, Astra’s gut stopping her as she held out the locket Selenia had given her.
“Selenia Aurellis,” Astra said, a wobble to her voice that surprised Lunelle. She’d so rarely seen her nervous. “We’ve come to return you to your rightful place.”
Astra closed her eyes, the silence heavy between them. Lunelle felt something at the edge of her Soul, a brush against her ribs that reached for something.
Someone, she realized, as a black flash ripped through the woods.
Astra fell back a step, her arm flailing as she gripped the locket tightly. The Shadow circled them, calculating the best way to face the two sisters.
“Steady, As.” Lunelle said, rooting her feet into the ground. “Selenia, we’ve come to claim you!” She let that wisp within her lurch toward the scrambling Shadow as it dipped back into the treeline—call to it. Lunelle drew her in, a stirring in her gut as Selenia’s Shadow darted forth.
Astra held the locket higher, her knuckles white as she clasped it, a frigid breeze arriving as a warning that she was close. Lunelle closed her eyes, too, beckoning the tendril of darkness within her—the one that still wondered what life on the throne might be like—to invite Selenia closer.
Sheheardthe sound of the Shadow smack Astra’s hand, a crack, andwhooshas it clasped shut.
Her eyes fluttered open, the locket swinging violently as if whatever was trapped inside had a change of heart.
“Did… did we do it?”
Astra ran a fingertip over the icy condensation forming on the outside of the metal.
“I think so?” She fastened it around her neck. Lunelle wondered what the weight of her mother’s mother felt like.
“That seemed too easy,” she said aloud.
Her sister laughed, a dark smile breaking over her face.
“I’ll take easy at this point. It’s what comes next that’s going to be impossible.”
They started their trek back toward the edge of the forest, but Lunelle’s head was steeped in so many thoughts that she could not keep them in.
“What do you think Arcas was talking about?” Astra did not turn back as she responded, climbing over tangled branches.
“I’m not sure, Lu, but the Nether queen… she told me that Selenia was Tethered to the Solar God, Lucian. And that she severed it after trading her Shadow to Luciela for a Shadow diamond dagger—the same one I saw Solan use with Leona.”
Lunelle scaled another log, her boots slipping against the peeling bark. She debated if she should add another layer of strange complexities to Astra’s heart—how much more could she possibly put on her?
But, hadn’t keeping it all from her caused half of this?
“Mother asked me to wait at the Lunar Gate before I came through. She said she’d signal me.”
Astra’s lips twitched. “Did you tell her what we planned?”
Lunelle shook her head. “No. This was before, in Pluto. She said that she would be waiting beside the gate and that no matter what, I wasn’t to come through until she reached out for me. At the time, I thought maybe it was a ritual thing, a symbolic gesture. But now I don’t know what to believe.”
The mess of skeletal trees thinned as they edged out of the forest, massive gray dunes rising before them. Lunelle froze as she heard something snap loudly behind her.
“What was that?” Astra asked, her eyes searching the treeline. Lunelle felt the heat spark against her fingertips, ready to jump back, but they eased into a quiet, controlled spark.
She walked faster, unsure she wanted to greet any of the Nether’s strange creatures face-to-face. Her sister broke into a jog to keep up with her.
“We’re almost out, As. Just keep going!” Whatever was at their heels had no trouble keeping pace with them, her Shadow siphoning off her back to get to it.
