Starborn Legacy (A Starborn Series prequel)

Chapter twenty-three

When the sun rose the following morning, Phoebe was unsurprised to find that her mood hadn't improved. She was just as irritable after her fitful night's sleep as she had been when she'd crawled into bed the night before. Her mind immediately snapped back to Rue, and her stomach knotted involuntarily. Sleep had done little to soothe the sting of Rue's words.

Outside her chamber door, Phoebe could hear the sounds of a household already in motion. Amid the scraping of chairs and clatter of dishes, her father was ranting. His voice was loud and tinged with righteous indignation. Phoebe couldn't make out what he was saying but she listened anyway, hoping to pick up on some kind of clue as to whether he'd found Connor. Not that she could tell much by his tone alone: he'd likely be angry whether he found him or not.

Eventually, Phoebe forced herself to roll out of bed. She took her time changing out of her night clothes and steeled herself with a deep, grounding breath before slipping into the hallway and padding her way to the kitchen.

"Good morning," she said from the doorway. Her parents swiveled in their seats to look at her.

"Barely," teased her mother, though Phoebe could sense an undercurrent of judgment running just beneath the surface. "It's nearly noon."

Surprised, Phoebe eyed the wall clock and saw that her mother wasn't joking. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been allowed to sleep this late. "I'm sorry! Why didn't anyone wake me up?"

"It was a long night for everyone," was her father's gruff reply. "I thought you could use a little extra rest."

Phoebe's brows shot up in disbelief. She cast a curious look at her mother, who gave a little shrug from behind her teacup.

"Well, thank you. I guess I needed it." Phoebe joined her family at the table and plucked an apple from the fruit bowl at its center. She was so unaccustomed to such thoughtfulness on her father's part that she almost didn't want to risk ruining the moment with her questions. But minding her own business had never been one Phoebe's finer traits, so after swallowing her first bite she cleared her throat and lifted her eyes to her father. "So, what happened last night? Did you find them?"

Her father stiffened and Phoebe braced herself. But instead of blowing up, he simply sniffed and took a long sip from his cup.

"No," he answered eventually. "We'll do another sweep in the daylight, but I doubt it will make a difference. I believe they're both long gone by now."

Up until that moment, Phoebe assumed her father was just being dramatic—maybe even a little paranoid—when he said that the vigilante Starborn was probably there for Connor. The fact that he apparently believed it seemed laughable to her. If Connor had somehow befriended a true Starborn, Phoebe was certain he would have told her. If Phoebe knew her cousin (and she did) he was probably just laying low until things calmed down a bit.

"Connor wouldn't just leave," Phoebe insisted. "He knows how dangerous it is."

Her father clicked his tongue. "Don't be naive, Phoebe. He's a Wish."

"So? What does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything!" Her father slammed his cup down, rattling the table and making both Phoebe and her mother jump. "Use your brain, Phoebe! Wishes are the antithesis of everything the Stars stand for. Their very existence seeks to undermine the millennia of hard work that the Stars have done in overseeing the Plan. Why wouldn't someone like that be in league with a rogue Starborn?"

Phoebe dropped her gaze to the apple in her hand. She was gripping it so tightly that her fingertips pressed into its flesh. Sweet juices trickled down her fingers and dripped onto the table, making a mess that she nervously wiped away with her sleeve. "But why would this Audrey person want to join forces with a Wish then? If she really came here for Connor, it doesn't seem like she had good intentions. What if she hurts him?"