A Dark and Starless Night

Chapter Fifty

Eve opened her eyes and felt nothing. No pain. No fear. Not even as the star eater came into focus.

His face twisted in shock or anger, and he started to recoil. But Eve curled her fingers around his wrist, his hand still clinging to the knife. Her grip tightened as she felt a burning all over her body as skin knitted back together, as bones healed once again.

"Impossible," the star eater breathed.

Eve did not say a word as she unleashed her power.

It spilled from her like endless light, its warmth searing as the beam reached towards the very heavens. The star eater screamed and shrieked as he struggled against her grip, but she did not yield. Did not think she could, even if she wanted to.

As if from a great distance, she saw the star eater's apprentice run, heard her scream in agony as Eve's light singed her face. Part of her wished she had the control to spread her power outwards to capture the woman who had taken pleasure in her pain, in the killing of others. But her power continued to go up, up, up, reaching for the sky and the heavens beyond it. A beacon to those who were afraid. A warning to those who sought to destroy.

Defender. Saviour. She would be both. A shield and a sword, both made of unending, unbroken light. It was as if clarity had been struck inside her and she knew what it was she was born to do. Knew why she had not died tonight. It was her destiny, her birth right, to protect and liberate. And it would call her south. South to where sand was endless like her light. Where warm pools of water reflected the light of stars under the night sky. Where old secrets waited to be uncovered by the desert winds. And something new waited there too.

The star eater's screams stopped, the only sound the hum of her light. For a moment, she didn't know how to stop. But then, slowly, the light receded, folding in on itself until it was just her skin that glowed. How could so much power fit inside her? Had it always been there, hidden?

She stared at her skin, faintly shrouded in white light. There were no signs of the wounds that the star eater's apprentice had carved into her. Not even a hit of a bruise. She ran her hand along the skin, warm to the touch, and found no bumps or scars. Not the one the star eater had gifted her. Not even ones she had gotten when she was a careless child.

The glow faded, and whatever strength had been holding her upright left her. Her knees gave in and she fell against the side of a building. She slid down it, feeling tremors run through her body as footsteps thundered towards her. She tried to rise, to be ready to defend herself if the apprentice had returned, but three familiar faces came into focus.

Tarlough's friends or associates – Kaseff, Sett, and Layla. They charged forward, taking in the scene as they did. Eve's clothes were in tatters and stained with blood. The ground too was slick with it, and the star eater's knife lay to the side. Ash floated atop the pool of almost black liquid.

"What happened?" Layla asked, rushing to Eve's side and inspecting for injuries, her hands glowing faintly.

Eve shook her head, her voice failing her. Her eyelids became heavy and she leaned her head against the building, looking up at the blinking stars one last time before she slipped from consciousness.

"Tell me again how you found her."

Those were the words that Eve heard as she came to, her head throbbing dully. She was on a cushioned surface and somewhere warm.

"Beside a pool of blood and ash. A knife beside her."

"And she was unharmed when you came upon her?"

"If I have to say it again-"