Light of Stars [2]

Chapter Sixty-Nine

♕ Clawdust ♕

Air hit their face as the both of them left the manor. The branched tunnel far from their view. She couldn't know how the two to of them would manage to cross the yard, without having one of them faint from exhaustion. Aubrette turned to him, opening her mouth to suggest staying through the night, even if both had to sleep in the floor of the hall in front of Nevaeh's room.

Dorian grabbed her arm before words could come out of her and pushed her behind him. Aubrette felt every muscle in her body instantly tense up. She look around, half expecting to see another hydra, another blood moon, another nightmare to run away from. But she found nothing except for one of the hooded men, with half their hood falling of their head as they walked closer to the entrance.

She relaxed briefly. This was nothing, one of them after everything that had happened was nothing they could not face.

"There could be more" he whispered. "It could be a trap"

Aubrette felt her head spin, knowing he might be right but far too tired to care. "Let him come" she whispered. "If he wanted to hurt us he would have tried to do so by now"

Dorian said nothing but made no further attempt to move. The hooded man stopped few steps away from them, and let go of his cloak so that it fell on the grass. She could see the marks on his face, traveling down his throat, could see the darkness of his eyes the way the ones on the ice had too.

The marked lifted his arms, and fell to the floor on his knees. Looking up at Dorian, and then at Aubrette. His eyes staying in hers for far longer before he started nowhere.

"The stars have spoken. The Head has fallen and a shift must be held. I've been sent as gift to you both, a gift and a warning. If you are not to hold a ceremony in the next moon, one he might join, the rain of flames will not be the last curse that touches Infernum."

"Belial" Dorian said. "This is what he wanted, wasn't it?"

Aubrette sighed. "So he wants to participate and what? Why not try to get head by attacking us? What'd does he gain from this?"

Dorian sighed, looking at the man still kneeling on the floor. "Apparently entertainment." He said. Grabbing the marked by the colar of his shirt and pulling him up to his feet. "Go tell Belial that he'll have his fight, and it will be the last one he ever has." He said, and pushed him away. The marked said nothing as he wrapped the cloak back on his shoulders and faded back in the distance. Shadow and smoke left where he once stood. Aubrette reached to touch Dorian, grabbed his hand before he could move away. "He's been searching for a way into the throne for far too long. I won't let him get away with it."

"Hey" she whispered. "This is nothing we can't deal with okay?"

He nodded. "I know" he said but his eyes were far away from her.

"Dorian" she said, grabbing his face and pulling him to her. "Come back to me, please" she whispered, and felt Dorian's eyes briefly spark in response.

"I'm sorry" he whispered. She shook her head, not needing an apology.

"We'll deal with this later. You need to sleep. We need to sleep"

Dorian nodded, and both of them crossed the rest of the courtyard, into the branched tunnel.

☆

There was a soft sort of silence that had hovered above them ever since they had gotten back from brimstone. She could not say it bothered her. They had both fallen asleep as soon as their heads had touched the cold covers, his hand never leaving hers even as she woke up through the night.