Starsinger

Power

Raelyn followed the whisperer down the dark hall, moving quickly and with purpose. The tunnels in the great walls of Aster were deserted.

"They've only got a skeleton crew down here," Felicity explained. "The odds and ends of broken kyrsquads. Since everyone knows the battle will never reach the shore anyways, it's not much of a priority."

"And what if it does?" Delia asked. "Reach the shore."

Felicity grinned, but the smile was humorless. "Then I guess we'll have to improvise. Of course, that's when I do all my best work. Drives Jace nuts."

"I bet it does," said Delia.

Felicity eyed her. "You seem like you might be familiar with the feeling of driving my kyrleader to distraction."

Delia's cheeks heated. "He makes it too easy."

"I'll bet he does."

Katrina would like this girl, Raelyn thought. She tried to pay attention to the whisperer's banter, but her mind was too full and churning too fast. This was it. Ezra was coming with an army, and it was her job to stop him.

She'd never imagined destiny like this, sneaking through dark tunnels with a mage and a stranger. She never imagined the nausea.

What if she had already failed? When she closed her eyes, Raelyn could see the Resonant Stone shattering under Malcolm's heel, hear the buckle and crunch as her hope turned to glittering dust. She could remember the way the moonstone felt smooth and heavy in her hands for the moment she held it – and the mocking emptiness when nothing happened.

You're not ready. Raelyn heard the words in her mother's voice, a constant refrain from her childhood. She'd tried so hard to be ready. What if it still wasn't enough?

Raelyn grit her teeth. She was too old for what ifs. The day was here, the time was now, and all she could do was trust in herself. In her team.

Somewhere low in her belly bloomed a warmth. It was nice to have a team. Raelyn glanced at Delia. It was nice not to bear this burden alone.

Felicity shoved her shoulder against a stone wall and another hidden door popped open, letting them out into the city of Aster.

They were still in the shadow of the fortress, but behind it Raelyn could see the tips of lower buildings – food halls and taverns and houses, stacked nearly on top of one another. Even closer towered the clicking, clanking edifice of the Conservatory.

Raelyn's heart squeezed. The Aster Conservatory was a near exact replica of its sister in Ellanoi, a place that felt almost more home to Raelyn than the palace. She watched the platforms rise and fall on their system of pullys and gears until Delia put a hand on her arm.

Right. Work to do.

The Conservatory entrance wasn't locked. A scholar glanced up, startled, as the women strode into the foyer, but relaxed when they saw Raelyn's burgundy robes. Raelyn mustered her best harried you-know-how-it-is smile before following Felicity down a softly lit corridor, trying to look like she was leading.

"The geoscholars were told to shelter in place along with the rest of Aster," said Felicity.

"They'll be in the dormitories, then," said Raelyn. "Where are the Apprentices?"

"Lower."

Delia growled something under her breath and down they went, winding around staircases and sloping hallways. They passed empty workshops full of strange instruments, some that Raelyn recognized, and some that made her itch to study. She tried to remember if she'd ever been this deep in the belly of the Ellanoi Conservatory.