I bite my lip. “When?”
“By Dark Star Festival.”
My mouth goes dry. I have been dreading Dark Star Festival for months.
It’s a celebration and remembrance of the time when Divine Stellaria made the whole world dark in protest of Polm stealing her husband Asher. As an eclipse sends Lunameade into three days of full darkness, the city begins a three-day party. Each day follows a theme of the story.
Day one is the Agony, in honor of Stellaria’s grief and rage at her love being stolen from her. It’s the day when all of Lunameade honors those who have died in the past year. Ceremonial floral pyres are burned and the people bring letters to their lost loved ones to add to the fire. People gather in bars and private homes to tell stories and celebrate the lives of those they’ve lost.
It’s not the grieving I dread, though. It’s convincingly performing my grief for a crowd by pretending I miss my first husband, Marc. It’ll have the whole city watching me and, by proxy, Henry.
“You want Henry to make the accusation on Agony night,” I say. The puzzle pieces in my mind click together. “Everyone will be looking to me, because of Marc.”
My father opens his mouth to speak. “And?—”
But my mother, seeing that I’m on the hook, grabs his arm to silence him. I’m shocked that he lets it happen.
“They’ll be looking to me—and Henry will be with me,” I say. “You want him to lay blame then to start the groundwork.”
“With that much attention, it’s sure to catch fire as quickly as the pyres,” my father says. “Even the magical houses who like Rafe won’t risk supporting him then. I swear to the Divine they’re only pretending to now to get things from me. None of them actually want that animal in charge.”
There’s terrifying satisfaction on my mother’s face, the hint of delight that she’s about to get away with something.
“During Descent, we will continue to ensure the rumor spreads,” my mother continues. “The mayor always starts the celebration by summoning the Descent drummers to begin. We will ensure that there’s some kind of public scene to make things worse for him.”
Day two of the festival, the Descent, echoes the part of the story where Stellaria descended from the sky to take back her love. Polm cursed the land where he hid Asher so she couldn’t retrieve him herself. He cast his malice magic on the land so that no one of sky or earth, living or dead, could set foot there without burning up. That is why Stellaria created the first Drained, a being of both life and death, a man of earth transformed by her star magic and reanimated by Asher’s ending magic.
For the Descent, women put on their finest dresses and take to the streets in search of their lost loves. They can bargain with men dressed as Drained, who will go into the crowd and retrieve the man she wants. While it’s largely considered a night for single people to meet and get to know each other, there are plenty of committed people who join in the fun.
“And I assume this will culminate in some major event at the Dawn,” I say.
“By the Dawn, there will be some evidence found to link Rafe to the crime. By the time the sun comes out on the fourth morning, he’ll be the most hated man in Lunameade,” my mother says. “We will take it from there.”
They look so certain I’ll agree that I want to hold out just to spite them. But I picture Aidia’s face when she knows he can’t hurt her anymore. I picture life beyond these city walls in another town somewhere far from here—and that vision gives me the strength to stay silent.
I take a bite of my chicken and chew slowly, letting the silence stretch as I sip wine to wash it down.
I slide my chair back and stand, planting my hands on the table so that they won’t see the way I’m trembling—how much it costs me to stand up to them.
“I will do this, but I want your word that you will give me what I want,” I say, ignoring the breathlessness in my voice. “Before you make assumptions, this is not a suggestion or the start of a negotiation. I am risking an enormous amount behind enemy lines and I want to be clear now that I expect to be rewarded for it. These are my terms. When this is over, Henry has skewered your latest rival, and I’ve delivered you the information you need about him and his family, you will give me the tunnel key, and you’ll make all of my siblings cooperate to let me out with any supplies and resources I request,andwithout Gaven tailing me.”
The crease in my father’s brow deepens, and I know I’ve hit my mark. That was his plan. He agreed to let me use the tunnel, but he intended to send my guard with me to keep him informed.
My chest clenches. I can barely draw in a breath. Until now, I wasn’t sure how I would get Aidia out of the city. She can glamour herself, but my father would still be able to see her aura. Seeing a woman with a silver aura leaving the city with me would instantly make him suspicious.
But now that I know Henry has a ring that hides auras, I could steal it for her and pretend she’s just one of the lovers Gaven thinks I sneak out to see at night.
My father’s hands flex on the edge of the table. He wants to avoid offering me the safest way to escape the city and losing access to me.
Finally, he meets my eye and offers a stiff nod. “Fine.”
He’s only ever seen me as a currency. He’s not considered me a worthy adversary.
Maybe not today, but someday I’ll change that.
38
HENRY
