Light of Stars [2]

Chapter Fifty-Three

♕ Don't Fly ♕

She had woken up in her own room, with her own hands intertwined in their own. She had left, not because she regretted allowing herself to get that close, but because as much as she had tried to deny it, being that close to him made reality feel too much like one of her dreams, where she got to be happy, where she got to feel hope, and there was nothing in her that could survive walking up to it being taken away again.

There were knives strapped to her tights. At first she had thought there'd be drops of blood running down her leg from how tightly she had placed them, but the only thing they'd left was rush spreading to every inch of her body.

Aubrette made her way across Lynx, finding them all inside the room she'd first heard Dorian play, the piano moved to the furthest corner, allowing more space for all to fit. Heaven smiled at her as she stepped inside, and closed the door, making sure it was locked behind her.

Dorian stood against one of the bookshelves, his eyes meeting hers as she stepped inside. Sybilla, Zander and Iz sat on one of the couches, Bren, Nevaeh and Phoebe pacing around the room as if they too could not be standing still.

Aubrette went to stand next to Dorian, and felt the briefest of touches on her hand from his fingers.

"We don't have much time now" Heaven said. "But I've made sure Stella already saw me and Phoebe on our gowns, just so she won't remember not actually seeing us there."

"We will have eyes on her all night long" Phoebe said. "Bren and Nevaeh will cover Gloas, make sure no one comes inside that is not supposed to be there"

"Syb and I already checked most of the throne room, everything seems to be normal." Iz said. "If there's something out of order we'll know"

"That leaves Morte to me, along with Bren and Nev who'll watch out for him getting out of his cell" Zander said. "And well, the actual retribution of the necklace to you both" he said, to Aubrette and Dorian.

"Heaven will signal you both, the second Stella moves to attack for Aubrette we'll use the same distraction to take the necklace from her. Bren will be waiting with the portal next to the rivera"

"What if we are wrong?" Aubrette spoke. "And she did not send the hooded men to attack me?"

"Then we'll have to create a diversion of our own" Nevaeh said.

Aubrette tried to get her mind to focus on their words, but all she could hear was the voice of her mother, floating in her head. She could feel Dorian's eyes on her. Sybilla's shifting back and forth between her and the rest, as if she too could tell something was wrong. She blinked the feeling away, forced a small smile on her face and turned towards Dorian.

"I think we better go now" she said.

"Everything is going to be okay" he whispered. "I'll make sure of it"

"Me too" she said, holding that promise close to her heart.

☆

The music wa loud enough that the second her heals touched the crystal bridge she could hear it loud and strong, almost melting away every thought that entered her brain.

Underneath her she could see the entrance of carriages surrounding the mountain. The line of bachelors waiting in line for an opportunity to meet the queen, to offer them a piece of themselves in exchange for a pretty piece of gold to rest on their heads for the rest of their lives.

Aubrette moved forward trying her best to bury the unhealthy beating of her heart deep into her chest. The ball opened up in front of her, parting as they saw her and spotted the tiara atop of her head. The crescent moon in the middle.