The Star and the Ocean (Book 1 in the Starborn Series)

Chapter Forty

[Content Warning: Strong language]

"You ignored me."

Welkin paced across the forest floor. A trail of shimmering light–short-lived scatterings of stardust–followed where they stepped. It was such an enchanting sight May briefly forgot the Star was seething.

They weren't wrong about being ignored; as soon as May had noticed Welkin lurking in the trees she had looked to Em in alarm only to find she had seen the same thing.

"We'll deal with them later," Em had whispered beneath her breath just as Trina slid between them and looped arms with them both. She had led the girls inside, gleefully demanding to be filled in on everything that had happened since Em left Tenna. It had taken hours before the girls found the opportunity to sneak back out unnoticed.

"We had literally just gotten here," Em addressed Welkin, sounding bored already. "What were we supposed to do? Excuse ourselves to go make-out in the woods?"

May groaned and watched Welkin turn slowly.

"I'm glad you think this is amusing." Something in their voice reminded May of an animal's warning growl moments before an attack.

If Em noticed, she didn't appear to care.

"It's not that I think it's funny," she replied flippantly. "I just think you're overreacting."

"Ah," Welkin's eyes flashed dangerously. "So, you know why I'm here then?"

Em crossed her arms. She didn't reply, but she looked uncomfortable for the first time since she and May had crept out from their dorm room to meet the waiting Star.

"Well, I don't know what's going on," May huffed, too agitated by the heavy tension between Em and Welkin to stay silent any longer. "I'd really appreciate it if someone would fill me in."

Welkin swept toward them, fallen leaves and pine needles scattering in the swirl of their long cloak.

"Seeing as I have apparently misread the situation perhaps you should do the honours, Emanthy."

May made a mental note to avoid ever falling on the receiving end of Welkin's particularly terrifying brand of passive aggression. She turned to Em expectantly.

Em, seemingly reduced to a petulant teenager in the face of her parent's wrath, rolled her eyes.

"Welkin doesn't think it's safe for me to be here," she muttered, glancing away as she spoke.

"What?" Cold panic trickled into May's veins. "Why?"

"Emanthy was a bit too careless with her abilities during her previous stay in Tenna," Welkin explained, not looking away from their daughter as they spoke.

"I used them to help people," Em snapped. "How is that a bad thing?"

"It's a bad thing when it attracts the wrong kind of attention." Welkin didn't need to raise their voice to be intimidating. Em's bravado slipped and she glared at the ground instead of making a rebuttal.

"What kind of wrong attention?" May asked, looking nervously between the others.

"Let's just say word of Emanthy's abilities travelled fast," Welkin answered, addressing May with a softness they didn't offer Em. "And it put her on the radar of some less than savoury characters."

"Do you mean the Loyals?" May asked quietly.

"No one knows who I am!" Em shouted, cutting in. "Audrey is dead. Everyone knows that. People don't generally come back from the dead so it's not like anyone was going to draw that conclusion. For all anyone knew those rumours could have been about a witch or a forest spirit or-"