Abbernathy and Magick's End |Trilogy Now Complete!

(13) - Sunrise -

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AXION STOOD on his balcony, unfocused eyes on the city below. He never cared for the Evernight's capital - the Shadling homes, squat and huddled together, made of metal scraps and fallen branches. Most of the time the streets were abandoned, houses emptied as Shadlings scavenged the surrounding forests and plains for scraps to trade. It felt as hollow as he had after his mother's death.

It was a city of bones, but without blood and a beating heart, it was exactly as its namesake - a dying city.

Real cities pulsed with life, he'd learned. Exul was full of them. Exorbitant, loud places filled with ruckus and laughter. Where expressions weren't so solemn or scared. Feasts were held on days decreed by the royal family, celebrations swept the streets when the seasons changed, boat races and magick shows were watched with eager, apt attention. Hemmas lounged in the sunlight, they napped in the shade, and they had the most wondrous dreams under the moon.

Life was not about the struggle nor the sacrifice, but the very act of living itself.

And Axion's people would. Just like the mouse wizardess had planned, they'd been moved to Aelurus, where they would survive. Maybe after a few moons, they'd flourish. He hoped they would just as he hoped they would accept his abdication of the throne.

Axion turned his head, shooting a glower at the rubble where his father's throne had stood - looming and menacing, creating a shadow so big he thought he'd never escape it. For so long, it had kept him mired in the dark, afraid to show his light, to shine as brightly as his mother's blood urged him to be.

Abby had not been afraid to shine, and it was because of her, Axion had been freed from his father's reign of terror. He owed her a great deal, and though he'd arranged for her to meet her loved ones in the Hollows, it was a pittance compared to what she had done for him. He'd be in her debt for the rest of his life, and it wasn't the worst way to live, he supposed, repaying her kindness, protecting her from the shadows. He'd owed bigger debts to far angrier people, after all.

"Axion?"

He gave a smirk, Abby sidling up beside him. His stars twinkled with warmth, a soft golden glow peeking from his collar.

She leaned on the railing, beside him. Her scent was one of night roses, sweet dew, and starlight. Water dripped from the ends of her hair. She had bathed in the underground springs then. Good. The water there was said to mend the spirit, and steady the mind. They'd never worked for him though, but perhaps Axion's spirit had been too broken, his mind too troubled, for the water's healing properties to take affect.

"They're about to release the Dusk Stag."

He gave a quick nod, his fingers clenching and releasing the railing. "The Shadlings?"

"The last of them arrived yesterday. They've already settled into the temporary encampments. Margo expects them to be moved to their permanent residence by the next moon."

"Mmm."

Overhead, another star crashed to the ground, leaving behind a yellow streak. That's all that was ever left behind from a dead star - a streak of color that faded, and a handful of dust that got swept away by a gust of wind. And then it was if it hadn't existed at all. Axion's hands gripped the railing, his teeth grinding against each other.

"They've decided on a name." Abby glanced at him, hopeful. She had moved closer, her blouse - a flouncy, light blue affair that complimented her hair, and pink complexion rather perfectly - grazing his arm.

His stars rushed over his skin, colliding into each other as they raced to cluster around the spot, drawn by Abby's proximity. He needed to be careful, or he would become an embarrassingly open book, one Abby would eventually figure out how to read.