Starrlings 1: House of Fire

chapter 45

A R I

It was impossible not to see the new addition to the House of Water. Hundreds of students walked across the bridge every day, and as they did, they remarked on the the freshly-painted words on the side of the house, and reflected in the water below.

"Go home Vastiens" was scrawled in huge letters, across stone and glass, so large that it was spread across two floors, so that every student of the school and the university would see it.

It was true, of course, that the House of Water was made up almost entirely of people with Vastien heritage, in the same way that the students of the House of Winter had almost all descended from people of Norrlund. But every single student of the House of Water was Lombardian by birth. None of them had a home except this one.

"The irony," Ari said, looking up at the dark words, "is that no one in this school actually belongs to Lombardia, except Prince Raphael."

"The irony is that if anyone belongs, it is Vastiens," Bell said bitterly. "Vastier claimed all the coasts of Lombardia as part of their empire during the Ocean Age."

"So you have been listening in class then?" Ari asked.

Bell grinned at her. "I may have been awake for at least one history lesson."

The two of them were standing on the bridge opposite the House of Water. Ari had a brief moment of freedom this afternoon after classes, while Katja had her private kinnriding lessons, so of course she was spending it with her sister.

Ari had been feeling terrible all day; an impending sense of panic was seeping over everything, after the attack in New Hamilton yesterday. She was trying to tell herself that it had been an isolated attack and the culprits would rot in prison, but she couldn't help but think it was just the start of something bigger. When she'd seen the black paint spoiling the pretty windows on the House of Water, she'd been dumbfounded, and it had increased her anxiety.

But Bell relieved that almost instantly. "Whoever painted this probably can't even point out the capital of Vastier on a map. They're idiots. Just ignore it."

Bell had finally agreed to go with Ari to the library, to study. It wasn't exactly Bell's idea of fun, but she admitted she had assignments to do, and Ari could help her.

The reading room in the Royal Prince Emmanuel Library was Ari's favourite place in the world. It was a huge space, bathed in light from its frosted glass ceiling. The reading room was open to three storeys, and the walls were covered in books, with curling iron staircases in each corner leading up to the upper levels of bookshelves.

There was a magnificent stained glass window depicting a man riding a falcon, wearing a gold crown. The pillars were carved with stone lions, and there was a gold clock in the centre of the far wall. But apart from the decoration on the walls, Ari just loved the long wooden tables and the chairs with the hard green leather upholstery and shining gold pins. It thrilled her to sit on these seats, which had borne the behinds of thousands of Hilverton students before her.

Sometimes spotted in the bright reading room, but more often seen deeper within the dark shelves of the library, was the librarian. He was a night starrling, which was, apart from air, the rarest of all starrlings. He was often seen with his raven, who was not a kinnling, but did have some particular night qualities.

Ari imagined one day her life would look like the librarian's. She had no interest in going out into the world, or exploring. She had no idea what she wanted to do after school and university. The only thing she knew was reading and studying, and she did that exceptionally well. And, truthfully, she had little desire to own her own wolf. So she liked the idea of giving up a kinnling and instead having an eccentric pet bird, and spending all of her time in the library. It seemed like her perfect existence.

The two girls spent a few hours that afternoon studying. After the suns had set, and when the light wards finally went around the library to light the solar lamps, Ari and Bell packed up their books and made their way across to the Old Building for dinner.

They had to cross the bridge past the House of Water again, and look up at the dark words, which were untouched. There were a few boys on the bridge, sitting on the thick rails and looking out over the House of Water, laughing. Ari kept her head down as they walked past, but Bell stared at the boys.

"Think it's funny?" she said, when she saw them laughing.

"Read the sign, ord," one of the boys snapped. "Go home, Vastiens."

"This is my home, you flaming turnip. I was born here," Bell snapped back.

"And we're not ords," Ari said hastily.

"Really?" the leading boy said, and with a jolt Ari recognised him as one of the boys that hung around Taikku Tsukasai most often. "I don't see your dragons."

As he spoke, the three tigers, belonging to the three boys, rose up from where they'd been lazing on the edge of the canal, watching the ducks. Kinntigers were hundreds of pounds of pure muscle and fire, and the three of them stared at Ari and Bell with interest.

Around them, the few students who were still outside in the cold had paused in their movements to watch the tigers advancing, but no one stepped up to help.

"Bell, get behind me," Ari hissed.

Bell didn't move.

In New Hamilton, Bell had gotten into scuffs with other orphans on the street. But in the neighbourhoods they grew up in, kinnlings were a rare sight. Fights were won with hand-to-hand contact, and the occasional burst of magic. Here, at Hilverton, fights involved beasts. And although her sister showed no fear, Ari knew they had reason to be afraid.

Ari's heart pounded in her chest, a hammer against her ribcage. She felt for the power within her - the power of winter, the power of ice and snow - but her grasp upon it was feeble. She could barely feel the cold in her palms, but she gripped at it, trying to make ice daggers, a weapon she'd been taught in class. Melting ice slipped feebly in her clutching fingers.

The largest of the tigers moved past the boys, and towards Ari. Its eyes were pure gold, rimmed with black like kohl, and they were set on her. She took another step back, terrified, as she felt the hot breath of the tiger on her face.

Then the tiger turned its head, ears flicking back, and Ari followed the tiger's gaze, to see two new figures and their tigers join them on the bridge. Ari felt a flood of panic through her as she realised that Tai and Lumi Tsukasai, each with their tigers, had joined their friends.